Background
Simon Breines was born on April 4, 1906, in New York City, New York, United States. He was the son of Louis and Anna (Backrack) Breines.
200 Willoughby Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11205, United States
Pratt Institute where Simon Breines received his Bachelor of Architecture degree.
Simon Breines was born on April 4, 1906, in New York City, New York, United States. He was the son of Louis and Anna (Backrack) Breines.
Simon Breines studied at Pratt Institute and received a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1941.
Simon Breines, after graduation from university, embarked on a successful career in the field of architecture. Some of his projects include the Bronx Municipal Hospital Center, the Lexington School for the Deaf, the Rose F. Kennedy Research Center, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and the Grand Concourse Public Library.
When the Landmarks Conservancy of New York was founded, Breines served as the organization's first president. He advocated against the construction of what he considered to be oversized buildings on narrow streets, and he was for the creation of better public access for pedestrians. In 1971-1974, he also served as an architect member at the New York City Art Commission. Also, Breines was a partner in the firm of Pomerance & Breines, Architects, the designers of structures both public and private.
At the time of the 1961 revision of the city's zoning resolution, he led the civic design committee of the American Institute of Architects' New York chapter.
With regard to the creation of better public access for pedestrians, he wrote with William J. Dean The Pedestrian Revolution: Streets without Cars (1974).
Breines was also the author of Architecture and Furniture of Alvar Aalto (1942) and, with John Dean, The Book of Houses (1946), which offered practical advice to home buyers and builders on design pitfalls.
Simon criticized quickly executed architectural undertakings. He also opposed overscale buildings on narrow city streets both in his public statements and letters to the editor and in his advisory work on the revision in 1961 of the city's zoning resolution, a law adopted in 1916. Breines was also an advocate of easing the way of pedestrians.
Quotations: ''I have learned that large-scale, 'instant' projects leave little room for adjustment for errors or experience. What architecture and planning need, in the future, are a more deliberate pace and a more human scale.''
Simon Breines was a member of the American Institute of Architects, Community Service Society of New York, and New York Park Association. He also served on the boards of Citizens Union of the City of New York, Municipal Art Society, Fine Arts Federation of New York, and New York Landmarks Conservancy.
Simon Breines married Nettie Weissman in 1937, and she died in 2001. Two children were born during their marriage, Paul and Joseph.