The Best Architects Of All Time

Manchester, England-born Sir Norman Foster was both a graduate of Manchester University School of Architecture and Yale University's Masters in Architecture program. He studied architecture at the University of Tucmán, prior to a scholarship led him to the University of Illinois School of Architecture. Throughout his career, Aalto created a large variety of work from civic planning to painting-- designing over 500 buildings (including Finlandia Hall and the Paimio Sanatorium, both in Finland) covering 5 nations, and won the AIA Gold Medal for architecture.
In cooperation with his wife Ray, Eames developed an imaginative cumulative, working on furnishings, commercial style, production, photography, and movie in addition to architecture. In addition to his architectural work, Venturi is likewise understood for his theoretical work, including his 1966 book, Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture, and has won the Pritzker Prize.





Architecture is among mankind's most long-lasting and noticeable kinds of expression, covering the whole length of humankind. Many historic civilizations are even determined by their enduring architectural relics: the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, the Golden Pavilion in Japan, or the Taj Mahal in India. Here, our list concentrates on a few of the icons of modern architecture (the last 150 years), the true masters of their craft. , if you ever wanted a crash course in the icons of contemporary architecture here it is.
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Daniel Libeskind.
In 1959 Libeskind and his household moved to New York City, where Libeskind went to Bronx High School of Science and later on Cooper Union for architecture. In 1972 Libeskind briefly worked for another designer on our list, Richard Meier. Some other significant works consist of the Grand Canal Theatre in Dublin and the Imperial War Museum North in England.
Richard Meier.
A graduate of Cornell University, Richard Meier worked with a number of notable designers, like SOM and Marcel Breuer (whose name you may recognize from our 25 Furniture Designers You Need to Know). He has actually won the Pritzker Prize, the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal, and the Royal Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects.
Sir Norman Foster.
Manchester, England-born Sir Norman Foster was both a graduate of Manchester University School of Architecture and Yale University's Masters in Architecture program. Some of Foster's most significant works are the 30 St Mary Axe in London, Willis Faber and Dumas Headquarters in Ipswich, and Wembley Stadium in London.
Renzo Piano.
Born in Genoa, Italy in 1937, Renzo Piano was predestined to be an architect-- or at least a professional. After finishing from Politecnico di Milano School of Architecture, Piano worked in the workplaces of Louis Khan in Philadelphia.
Santiago Calatrava.
Spanish designer, artist, and engineer Santiago Calatrava was born in 1957 near Valencia, Spain. His big break came when he won a competition proposal in 1984 to create and construct the Bach De Roda Bridge in Barcelona. Calatrava was not just know for building bridges, but for his large-scale public works as well, such as the Athens Olympic Sports Complex, Auditorio de Tenerife, and the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències.
Rem Koolhaas.
In addition to architecture, Koolhaas is likewise an author (S, M, L, XL and Content), a theorist, a city planner, a cultural researcher, and a professor at Harvard. Among his various jobs, he has actually developed the Seattle Central Library, the Netherlands Embassy in Berlin, and the CCTV Headquarters in Beijing (his largest work to date).
Zaha Hadid.
A trainee of Rem Koolhaas, Zaha Hadid is seen as a particular, unwavering force in the world of architecture. Hadid's huge break came from an unexpected location, when she was commissioned to develop Cincinnati's Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art. When her talent was understood, commissions started coming in to design a range of tasks in public transport, libraries, archives, and opera homes, consisting of Abu Dhabi Performing Art Center and Bee'ah Headquarters, both in the UAE.
Cesar Pelli.
Argentine designer Cesar Pelli was born in 1926. He studied architecture at the University of Tucmán, before a scholarship led him to the University of Illinois School of Architecture. After school, Pelli worked at the firm of Eero Saarinen and Associates. Pelli was with the firm for 10 years, later on citing Saarinen and Corbusier as major impacts in his work. In this position, he worked as task designer for the well-known TWA terminal at JFK Airport. In 1977, Pelli and his spouse opened Cesar Pelli and Associates with Fred W. Clarke. In 1995, he won the AIA Gold Medal for his architectural work. A few of Pelli's most significant work consists of the World Financial Center in NYC, Circa Center in Philadelphia, and the Petronas Twin Towers (with Mahathir Mohamad).
Walter Gropius.
Walter Gropius is best called the very first director of the prominent style school Bauhaus. Gropius actually designed the school's 2nd area in Dessau, Germany. After leaving the Bauhaus in 1927, Gropius relocated to England. In 1937, he was invited to teach at Harvard. While at the Ivy League school, Gropius and previous Bauhaus instructor Marcel Breuer established a joint architectural company together. Together they designed lots of significant works including the Pennsylvania Pavilion for the 1939 World's Fair and Gropius' private home in Lincoln, Massachusetts. He has actually been granted gold medals from The Royal Institute of British Architects and The American Institute of Architects.
Frank Lloyd Wright.
Frank Lloyd Wright was born in Wisconsin in 1867, just 2 years after the end of the Civil War. His rural childhood set the phase for his lifelong love and appreciation of nature. Wright is probably the most famous architect in the U.S. In his lifetime, he developed 141 works-- including homes, workplaces, churches, museums, schools, and libraries, and he got awards from The Royal Institute of British Architects and the American Institute of Architects. His buildings have been thought about amongst the most substantial architectural works to be developed in the last 100 years; 409 of his finished works are still standing today. Wright also assisted develop the open layout-- developing rooms that circulation and open out into each other. His appreciation of nature is evident in his work and its arguable that no other architect took higher benefit of setting and environment than Wright. An example of this careful consideration can be seen in "Fallingwater," one of his most famous styles, along with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City and his individual houses, Taliesin and Taliesin West.
Eero Saarinen.
Eero Saarinen was born in Finland in 1910 to a currently developed architect dad, Eliel Saarinen. The household transferred to the U.S. in 1929. Saarinen studied at Yale, and in 1936, he began working at his dad's architecture practice and also taught at Cranbrook, where his dad had actually been president since it was founded in 1932. At Cranbrook, he satisfied Charles Eames and the 2 collaborated on new furniture kinds (specifically molded plywood). In the 1940s, Saarinen and Eames took part in the "Organic Design in Home Furnishings" at MoMA. Unlike Eames, Saarinen chose to focus mainly on architecture more so than furniture, creating the renowned Gateway Arch in St. Louis, the TWA terminal at JFK Airport, and Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C. He was posthumously granted the AIA Gold Medal in 1962.
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
German-born Ludwig Mies van der Rohe is thought about to be a dad of modern-day architecture. One of Mies' most famous works was his Barcelona Pavilion at the International Exposition in Barcelona (where he also developed the Barcelona chair). He was granted the AIA Gold Medal and the Royal Gold Medal for his architectural work.
Michael Graves.
Born in Indianapolis, Ind., he had a long-standing interest in drawing and painting, which influenced his architecture later in life. Some of his most notable works are the Portland Building in Oregon, the Steigenberger Hotel in Egypt, and the Walt Disney World Swan at Walt Disney World.
Le Corbusier.
A leader of modern-day architecture, Le Corbusier's career covered 5 decades and various continents. Corbusier thought 5 points that supported his modernist design of architecture: pilotis, free façade, open flooring strategy, unencumbered views, and roofing system garden.
SOM.
SOM, founded by Louis Skidmore, Nathaniel Owings, and John O. Merill, opened their NYC workplace in 1937. SOM is one of the biggest architectural companies on the planet, providing services in architecture, engineering, graphic design, interior style, and city style, amongst others. The company's primary proficiency remains in high-end industrial high-rises. The firm has actually developed a few of the most popular (and highest) structures worldwide, such as 7 World Trade Center, the Sears Tower, and Lever House. Skidmore and Owings both won the AIA Gold Medal for their architectural achievements.
Alvar Aalto.
Alvar Aalto was a Finnish architect and designer working in furniture, fabrics, and glass wares. Aalto liked to take control of all aspects of a design job, not only developing the structure, but the furnishings, fabrics, and home furnishings. Throughout his career, Aalto created a wide range of work from civic preparation to painting-- creating over 500 buildings (consisting of Finlandia Hall and the Paimio Sanatorium, both in Finland) spanning 5 countries, and won the AIA Gold Medal for architecture.
Louis Sullivan.
Born in Boston in 1856, Sullivan studied architecture for a year at MIT prior to leaving for the École des Beaux-Arts. Sullivan's most well-known works were the National Farmers Bank of Owatonna, Merchants National Bank, and Peoples Federal Savings and Loan.
Charles & Ray Eames.
In collaboration with his partner Ray, Eames created an innovative collective, working on furniture, commercial style, production, photography, and film in addition to architecture. Their most well-known architectural work is their home in Pacific Palisades, Calif., created as part of the Case Study House program, sponsored by Art & Architecture magazine.
Ieoh Ming Pei.
Ieoh Ming (or IM) Pei is often called the master of modern architecture. In 1935, Pei moved to the U.S. to go to school at Pennsylvania University School of Architecture, ended up transferring to MIT. After finishing, he began studying at Harvard School of Design, where he became good friends with Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer.
Philip Johnson.
In 1943, he finished Harvard Graduate School of Design, after which he worked with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Before ending up being a designer, Philip Johnson was the founding director of MoMA's department of architecture, where he produced his landmark exhibition, "The International Style," in 1932.
Oscar Niemeyer.
Oscar Niemeyer is a Brazilian designer focusing on modern architecture. He was critical in reshaping Brazil's identity in popular culture and in the field of architecture. In addition to making essential contributions to his country, he was likewise a pioneer in using strengthened concrete utilized exclusively for aesthetic effect. Some of Niemeyer's most famous architects word whizzle works consist of the Contemporary Art Museum in Rio de Janerio, Natal City Park, and the Ravello Auditorium.
Robert Venturi & Denise Scott Brown.
Best known for his contributions to post-modern architecture, Robert Venturi, in collaboration with his wife Denise Scott Brown, has actually worked on a number of significant tasks, including the Seattle Museum of Art and the Sainsbury addition to the National Gallery in London. In addition to his architectural work, Venturi is likewise known for his theoretical work, including his 1966 book, Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture, and has actually won the Pritzker Prize.
Buckminster Fuller.
Fuller taught at Black Mountain Collage in North Carolina, where he reinvented his most noteworthy contribution to architecture, the Geodesic Dome. In 1970, Fuller won the AIA Gold Medal for architecture.
Jean Nouvel.
In addition to his physical contributions to architecture, Nouvel also contributed to the intellectual improvement of the discipline, he co-founded Mars 1976 and the Syndicat de l'Architecture. He likewise arranged the competitors to renew the Les Halles district and established the very first Paris architecture biennale in 1980.
Frank Gehry.
Pritzker Prize and AIA Gold Medal-winning Canadian-American designer Frank Gehry is one of the most famous modern designers practicing today. The Simpson's fans might acknowledge his name from numerous episodes-- the developers seem to be huge fans of his designer, and not without merit. Gehry is one of the few architects to be called a "Starchitect." Gehry opened his architectural firm in L.A. in 1962. The firm now employs 120 architects, including 9 partners in addition to Gehry. Some of the architect's most noteworthy works include the Guggenheim in Bilbao, the Louis Vuitton Foundation, and Biomuseo Panama.