1969 in architecture
The year 1969 in architecture involved some significant architectural events and new buildings.
Events
- January 8 – At the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden building is begun, with ground-breaking by President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson, Chief Justice Earl Warren, and the Secretary S. Dillon Ripley.
- April 3 – Pope Paul VI promulgates the apostolic constitution Missale Romanum which confirms the desirability of celebration of Mass facing the congregation in Catholic churches, with implication for their internal layout.
Buildings and structures
Buildings opened
- March 7 – The John Hancock Center in Chicago, Illinois, by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.
- May 19 — Robert H. Goddard Library, Clark University, designed by John M. Johansen.
- June – Houses for Visiting Mathematicians, University of Warwick, Coventry, England, designed by Bill Howell of Howell, Killick, Partridge and Amis.
- September 18 – Dresden TV tower begins radio transmission in Dresden, Germany.
- October 3 – Fernsehturm Berlin in East Berlin, Germany.
- St. John's Beacon in Liverpool, England.
Buildings completed
- Knights of Columbus Building (New Haven, Connecticut), designed by Roche-Dinkeloo
- One New York Plaza, Manhattan, New York City, designed by William Lescaze & Associates and Kahn & Jacobs
- Bank One Plaza, Chicago, Illinois
- 555 California Street, San Francisco, California, the tallest building west of the Mississippi from 1969 to 1972
- Sultan Yahya Petra Bridge, Kelantan, Malaysia
- Toronto-Dominion Centre is partially completed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Hilton Hotel, Paradise, Nevada, designed by architect Martin Stern, Jr.
- Ullasund Bridge, Norway
- Wyndham Court, Southampton, England
- Span Developments houses at New Ash Green, Kent, England, designed by Eric Lyons
- Benjamin's Mount, Perry House or Teesdale, Westwood Road, Windlesham, Surrey, England, designed by Ernő Goldfinger
- Taivallahti Church, Helsinki, Finland, designed by Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen in 1960
- King George VI Memorial Chapel at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England, designed by George Pace
Awards
- AIA Gold Medal – William Wilson Wurster
- Architecture Firm Award – Jones & Emmons
- RAIA Gold Medal – Robin Boyd
- RIBA Royal Gold Medal – Jack Antonio Coia
- Twenty-five Year Award – Rockefeller Center
Births
- February 28 – Sadie Morgan, English architect and designer
- date unknown – Sami Rintala, Finnish architect and artist
Deaths
- February 11 – Frederic Joseph DeLongchamps, Nevada-based architect
- May 23 – Owen Williams, English structural engineer
- July 5 – Walter Gropius, German architect and founder of the Bauhaus School
- August 8 – Welton Becket, Los Angeles architect
- August 17 – Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, German-American architect and last director of the Bauhaus
- August 19 – Sir Percy Thomas, Cardiff-based architect
- November 7 – Ernesto Nathan Rogers, Italian architect, writer and educator
- December 15 – Ruth Rivera Marín, Mexican architect