Cesar Pelli (1926 – Present)
Cesar Pelli is often praised for using a wide variety of materials and designs, seeking new solutions for each location. Believing that buildings should be “responsible citizens,” Cesar Pelli strives to design buildings that work within the surrounding city.
After completing his Master’s degree in architecture, Pelli spent ten years working in the offices of Eero Saarinen. He served as Project Designer for the TWA Terminal Building at JFK Airport in New York and Morse and Stiles Colleges at Yale University. He later became Director of Design at Daniel, Mann, Johnson & Mendenhall in Los Angeles, and from 1968 to 1976 he was Partner for Design at Gruen Associates in Los Angeles. Cesar Pelli & Associates was founded in 1977.
Cesar Pelli has become known as a master designer of public spaces such as the Commons of Columbus (1970-1973) in Columbus, Indiana, and the Winter Garden at the World Financial Center (1980-1989) in New York. Some critics say that Pelli’s public rooms contribute to modern-day life in the same way the Italian piazza shaped life in the 16th century.
In 1997, Pelli’s design for the Petronas Towers was erected in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Petronas Towers are among the tallest buildings in the world.
Quote:
“A building must be both background and foreground. As foreground, it must have some exceptional qualities. But it must also try very hard to knit into the fabric…”
Notable Buildings:
1972: US Embassy in Tokyo, at Tokyo, Japan
1975: Pacific Design Center, at Los Angeles, California
1981 -1987: World Financial Center, New York City
1986: Canary Wharf Tower, London, England
1987-1990: Carnegie Hall Tower, at New York, New York
1998: Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2006: Minneapolis Central Library
