César Pelli

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César Pelli (born October 12, 1926 in Tucumán, Argentina) is a noted architect known for designing some of the world's tallest buildings and other major urban landmarks. His firm has it's headquarters in New Haven, Connecticut. He is known for his extensive use of curved facades and metallic elements in his designs.

Pelli's Petronas Twin Tower

Pelli emigrated to the United States in 1952 and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1964.

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.

Pelli is not only an architect, but an educator. He was appointed Dean of the School of Architecture at Yale University in 1977, and served in that capacity until 1984. He started his venerable career in the offices of the great Eero Saarinen and also designed the World Financial Center complex in downtown Manhattan, best known as the surrounding buildings around the now fallen World Trade Center. Pelli authored the book "Observations for Young Architects" as well.

In 1991, the AIA (American Institute of Architects) listed Pelli as one of the ten most influential living American architects. He has won numerous awards, and is the recipient of the 1995 AIA Gold Medal which recognizes a significant 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.

[edit] Career

• Project Designer, Eero Saarinen
  • TWA Terminal Building, JFK Airport, New York
  • Morse College & Stiles College, Yale University
• Director of Design, Daniel, Mann, Johnson & Mendenhall, Los Angeles
  • COMSAT Laboratories, in Clarksburg, Maryland, 1967-1968 (with landscape architect Lester Collins) - [1], [2]
• Partner for Design, Gruen Associates, Los Angeles, 1968-1976
• Cesar Pelli & Associates, 1977

[edit] Buildings

Other famous buildings he has designed include:

Pelli's Wells Fargo Center

• 1966: Worldway Postal Center, Los Angeles International Airport, California - [3]
• 1967: Kukui Gardens housing, Honolulu, Hawaii - [4]
• 1969: San Bernardino City Hall, San Bernardino, California - [5]
• 1972: Pacific Design Center, Los Angeles, California - [6]
• 1972: US Embassy in Tokyo, Japan
• 1981-1987: World Financial Center, New York City, New York
• 1982-1984: Herring Hall at Rice University, Houston, Texas - [7]
• 1984: Residential Tower atop the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York City, New York
• 1984: Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury, Connecticut - [8]
• 1986: One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, England
• 1987: Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, Charlotte, North Carolina - [9]
• 1987-1990: Carnegie Hall Tower, New York City, New York
• 1989: Wells Fargo Center (formerly Norwest Center), Minneapolis, Minnesota
• 1989: Gaviidae Common, Minneapolis, Minnesota - [10], [11]
• 1990: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Headquarters, Tokyo, Japan
• 1990: 181 West Madison, Chicago, Illinois - [12]
  • A 50-story skyscraper thought to be inspired by Saarinen's second place entry in Chicago's Tribune Tower competition - [13]
• 1991: Key Tower, Cleveland, Ohio
• 1991: 777 Tower, Los Angeles, California
• 1991: Aronoff Center for Performing Arts, Cincinnati, Ohio - [14], [15], [16]
• 1991: Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York - [17]
• 1992: Bank of America Corporate Center, Charlotte, North Carolina
  

  

  Bank of America Corporate Center, located in the center of uptown Charlotte, North Carolina.
• 1992: Plaza Tower, Costa Mesa, California
• 1995: Wachovia Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
• 1996: Edificio República, Buenos Aires, Argentina
• 1997: Ronald Reagan National Airport, Washington, DC
• 1998: Overture Center, Madison, Wisconsin
• 1998: Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• 1998: Schuster Center, Dayton, Ohio
• 2000: Boston Bank Building, Buenos Aires, Argentina
• 2000: KABC-TV
• 2001: Citigroup Center, 25 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London
• 2001: Bucksbaum Center for the Arts at Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa
• 2001: Athletic and Fitness Center at Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa
• 2003: Gerald Ratner Athletics Center at University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois - [18]

Philadelphia's Cira Centre

• 2003: Two International Finance Centre, Hong Kong
• 2003: Center for Drama and Film & the Martel Theater at Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York
• 2003: 25 Bank Street, Canary Wharf, Docklands, London
• 2003: 40 Bank Street, Canary Wharf, Docklands, London
• 2004: Goldman Sachs Tower, Jersey City, New Jersey
• 2004-2005: BOK Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma - [19]
• 2005: Cira Centre, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• 2005: Repsol-YPF Building, Buenos Aires, Argentina
• 2006: Federal Building Eastern District Courthouse, Brooklyn, New York - [20]
• 2006: Science and Engineering Research and Classroom Complex at University of Houston, Houston, Texas
• 2006: Minneapolis Public Library's Central branch, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• 2006: Joe Rosenfield '25 Campus Center, Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa
• 2006: Segerstrom Hall, Orange County Performing Arts Center, Costa Mesa, California
• 2006: Thomas E. Golden Jr. Center, St. Thomas More Catholic Chapel and Center, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
  • Currently under construction, with expected August 2006 opening
• 2007: St. Regis Residences & Hotel, Mexico City, Mexico - Under Construction
• 2009: Costanera Center, Santiago, Chile - Under Construction
• The Landmark Tower, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - Under Construction
• 2009?: South Station Tower, Boston, Massachusetts – proposed
• 2009: New terminal building at Winnipeg International Airport, Winnipeg, Canada - proposed

[edit] Book

• 1999: Observations for Young Architects (Monacelli Press)

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: César Pelli

• Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects
• Cesar Pelli's Architecture of Enclosure
• http://web.njit.edu/~nls4/pellipage.html
• School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign