Gyo Obata

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Gyo Obata (born 1923) is a significant American architect.

Obata was born and raised in San Francisco. Due to his family's Japanese heritage, he and his other family members were nearly interned with other Japanese-Americans during World War II. Obata earned his bachelor of architecture degree at Washington University in St. Louis, then studied under the great Eero Saarinen at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan.

After short periods in the U.S. Army and working as an architect in Chicago, Obata returned to St. Louis in 1951. Four years later, he helped establish the St. Louis-based architecture firm Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum. Due in part to Obata's prowess and growing reputation, the firm achieved global renown, and Obata himself has won numerous awards for his designs.

In 1992 Obata was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame.

[edit] Projects

Obata's national and international projects include:

• Foley Square in New York City
• Independence temple, Independence, Missouri
• King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
• National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C.
• Pavilion at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles
• Sendai International Airport Terminal Building in Sendai, Japan
• Taipei World Trade Center

His St. Louis-area projects include:

• The James S. McDonnell Planetarium at the St. Louis Science Center
• Boatmen's Tower
• Cervantes Convention Center and Stadium
• Children's Zoo and Living World
• Forsythe Plaza
• Metropolitan Square
• One Bell Center
• Priory Chapel (Saint Louis Abbey Church)
• Union Station renovation
• Southern Illinois University Edwardsville campus
• Bnai' Amoona Synagogue