César Pelli

César Pelli
Architect César Pelli.
Born	(1926-10-12) October 12, 1926 San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina
Nationality	Argentine American
Occupation	Architect
Awards	Doctor of Arts, CTBUH Skyscraper Award, The Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award
Buildings	Petronas Towers, Malaysia Cira Centre, Philadelphia 30 Hudson Street, New Jersey 1 Canada Square, London
Design	Metallic, art deco-influenced buildings

César Pelli (born October 12, 1926) is an Argentine American architect known for designing some of the world's tallest buildings and other major urban landmarks. In 1991, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) listed Pelli among the ten most influential living American architects. His many awards include the 1995 AIA Gold Medal which recognizes a body of work of lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture. Perhaps his most famous work are the Petronas Twin Towers, which were for a time the world's tallest buildings. He also designed the World Financial Center complex in downtown Manhattan.

Personal life

After studying architecture at the Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Pelli completed his studies at the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He started his career in the New Haven offices of architect Eero Saarinen.

He emigrated to the United States in 1952 and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1964. He married Diana Balmori, a landscape and urban designer. They have two children: Denis, a neurobiologist and Professor of Psychology and Neural Science at New York University and Rafael Pelli, also well-known architect.

Pelli served as dean of the School of Architecture at Yale University from 1977 to 1984. His firm employs about 100 architects, designers, and support staff in New Haven, Connecticut.

Awards and honors

• In 2004, his famous work Petronas Towers of Kuala Lumpur received the Aga Khan Award.

• On May 26, 2008, Yale University bestowed an honorary Doctor of Arts degree to Pelli for his work in architecture.

• He received the The Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat in 2008 to honor his work in the field of tall buildings.

• In 2012, Konex Foundation from Argentina, granted him the Diamond Konex Award for Visual Arts as the most important artist in the last decade in his country.

Career

Works

Main article: List of works by César Pelli

• Project Designer, Eero Saarinen
  • TWA Terminal Building, John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, New York
  • Morse College & Ezra Stiles College, Yale University
• Director of Design, Daniel, Mann, Johnson & Mendenhall, Los Angeles, California
  • COMSAT Laboratories, in Clarksburg, Maryland, 1967-1968 (with landscape architect Lester Collins)
• Partner for Design, Gruen Associates, Los Angeles, 1968–1976
• Cesar Pelli & Associates, 1977 (currently known as Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects)

Publications

• 1982: "Skyscrapers," Perspecta 18, pp. 134–151.
• 1984: Introduction to The Second Generation by Esther McCoy (Peregrine Smith Books)
• 1999: Observations for Young Architects (Monacelli Press)
• 2002: Foreword to Ralph Rapson: Sketches and Drawings from Around the World by Ralph Rapson (Afton Historical Society Press)

External links

• Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects