Former Architect of the U.S. Capitol Alan Hantman presents CCNY's Rudin Lecture, May 2

Alan M. Hantman, who served as the Architect of the U.S. Capitol, will be visiting his former school, CCNY, on May 2 as the 2024 Samuel Rudin Distinguished Visiting Scholar. During his visit, he will give a lecture titled "Under the Dome: Politics, Crisis, and Architecture at the United States Capitol," which is also the title of his new book. The lecture will take place at 5:30 p.m. in CCNY's Great Hall, located in Shepard Hall. Attendees will have the opportunity to purchase a copy of the book, and Hantman will be available to sign copies after the lecture.

The talk is available to everyone and doesn't require any payment. Don't forget to register by clicking on the link before April 30.

Hantman was part of the group of students who became the first graduates of the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture at CCNY. He accomplished the completion of a Bachelor of Science degree in 1964 and a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1966, both at CCNY. Furthermore, he acquired a Masters in Urban Planning from the Graduate Center, CUNY in the year 1979. Currently, he is a member of the Dean's Advisory Council at the Spitzer School.

Hantman, who is a member of the American Institute of Architects, was chosen by President Bill Clinton to be the 10th Architect of the U.S Capitol in 1997. He was approved for a 10-year term by the U.S. Senate without any opposition. In his role, he managed a team of 2,300 individuals who were responsible for the upkeep and conservation of all the buildings and land located on Capitol Hill. He was also in charge of designing and constructing the biggest expansion to the Capitol structure ever built.

He was in charge of the Architect of the Capitol federal agency, which was responsible for overseeing various aspects relating to the United States Capitol, the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress, Congressional office buildings, the Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building, the U.S. Botanic Garden, the National Garden, and the Capitol Power Plant. He also supervised the maintenance, renovation, and construction of these facilities, as well as the upkeep and enhancement of almost 300 acres of historic Capitol grounds.

Hantman was in charge of the arrangements, concepts, and creation of the underground extension of the Capitol, which is the biggest and ninth increase since President George Washington picked the design for the Capitol back in 1793. This expansion is the most remarkable task that the Architect of the Capitol's Office has tackled since the Capitol's Dome and extensions were established over 150 years ago. He decided to retire in 2007.

There have been many impressive Rudin Scholars in the past, including some well-known people such as Walter Cronkite who used to work for CBS News, Patricia S. Schroeder who used to be a congresswoman, Walter Mosley who wrote a book and got his Master's degree in 1991, Tom Brokaw who was once a news anchor for NBC, Ric Burns who made movies, Sonia Sotomayor who is a Supreme Court Justice, and Mo Yan who won a Nobel Prize for writing.

Find additional details regarding the Samuel Rudin Lecture by clicking here.

If you want to know more, you can send an email to: [email protected].

The article comes from the Office of Institutional Advancement and Communications at the City College of New York.