Igor B. Polevitzky

Igor B. Polevitzky (June 21, 1911 – May 5, 1978) was an American architect, most recognized for his contribution to the architectural styling of Miami Beach hotels, residences and the development of the tropical modern home in South Florida.

Igor B. Polevitzky
Igor B. Polevitzky
Born	(1911-05-21)May 21, 1911 St. Petersburg, Russia
Died	May 5, 1978(1978-05-05) (aged 66)
Nationality	American
Alma mater	University of Pennsylvania
Occupation	Architect
Practice	Polevitzky, Johnson – Associates
Buildings	Gulf Service Station and Hotel Albion Building Shelborne Hotel Birdcage House Sea Tower Hotel Habana Riviera

Born in St. Petersburg, Russia on June 21, 1911, Igor Polevitzky was the son of Russian electrical engineer Boris Alexander Polevitzky and Katherine Polevitzky, a physician and microbiologist. In November 1922, the family immigrated to the United States as it is believed the father had some involvement with the Russian Revolution.

Polevitzky's mother Katherine, immediately received a research position at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, where Igor was able to attend in 1929. His father received a position at General Electric through a friend. Although he originally studied civil engineering for a year and a half, he was directed to the school of architecture where he studied under the well-known architect and critic of Modern Classicism, Paul Philippe Cret; who was credited for having major influence on Igor. Polevitzky graduated cum laude in 1934, when the school remained Beaux-Arts throughout his stay.

Upon his graduation in 1934, Polevitzky moved to Miami and began what would become his career focus on tropical design. Working with other modernists of the time in Miami, Robert Law Weed and classmate Thomas Triplett Russell (who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1935), the firm began to bring a new Modernist approach to Miami and Miami Beach. At the time in Miami, the effects of the Great Depression had begun to pass and the city was beginning to boom with population growth, tourism and a new regionalist architecture. The style was a response to the specific demands of the south Florida coastal climate by using innovative passive cooling design strategies. "This singular integration of concepts of Modernism and regionalism defines the nature of Polevitzky's contribution to the aesthetic of the region.[1]

World War II hindered construction and the progression of architectural implementation in the region, when Igor was required to take a job as Chief Engineer for the Army Air Force. Upon his return, he opened a new office where he formed a partnership with Verner Johnson, and so began in 1951, Polevitzky, Johnson and Associates in Miami. Long-time associates of the firm included William H. Arthur, Samuel S. Block, Jerome L. Schilling and illustrator J. M. Smith. Often-employed photographers included Robert R. Blanch, Jim Forney, Samuel H. Gottscho, Ernest Graham, Rudi Rada, Ezra Stoller and Earl Struck.[2]

The constant theme in the Polevitzky's work was termed as an "envelope for living," which is characteristic of the many projects throughout Igor's career. One key concept maintained by Polevitzky through most of his career was the almost ambiguous blending of interior and exterior spaces which helped to relate the home to its immediate environment. Simple considerations like the sloping of roofs and extending overhangs on houses proved well suited for the intense sun and rain in tropical Miami. Then in 1939, Polevitzky introduced what he later termed, "the four stages of indoor-outdoor living" where his plans began to have a progression from the living room, to the dining room, into a screened porch and then outside; this became a common tool in his designs in years to come.[3]

Polevitzky designed more than 500 buildings during his Miami career.