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com | Feb 2011

Eco-Schools

Green
Building
Sta n d a r d s

Top Global
Architects

China
Under
Construction
 Architect
Shaking
Photo: Iwan Baan

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 Architectural Design

Architect s
g U p Des i g n
Call them mavericks,
leaders or
overachievers—these
architects have
shaped, and continue
to transform, the
design industry
by Laura Clapper

February 2011
 Architectural Design

Y
Photo: Roland Halbe
wond
it arou
power
have s
indeli

ZAHA
She’s
and a
have t
of ofte
BMW Central Building, Zaha Hadid
defyin

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 Five Architects page 47

Y
ou’ve probably walked past the
designs of these architects on the street,
visited them on your last vacation to a
global city or even work in one. Perhaps
you’ve crossed one of their bridges or
stopped at one of their railway stations
on journey through Europe. Chances are
the design evoked a feeling: inspiration,
der, giddiness, confusion. Regardless of the feeling
used, the fact that you felt something makes it a
rful design. The following are global architects who
shaped the architectural field and continue to leave an
ible impression.

A HADID
has been called many things: controversial, impractical
a “paper” architect; however, even critics of Zaha Hadid
to admit that her innovative designs push the envelope
en-stale architecture into whimsical new territories,
ng the laws of physics along the way. She’s a pioneer

February 2011
 Architectural Design

Museum of Tomorrow, Santia

who kicked open the door of the male-dominated

field, crafting complex dynamic structures that
drive the evolution of the architectural ideal into a
new design aesthetic. Notable designs include the
MAXXI: Museum of XXI Century Arts in Rome,
which embodies the inspiration of innovation,

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 Five Architects page 49

multiculturalism and interdisciplinary

function; the Nordpark Railway Stations
in Austria with a shell-like exterior that
takes inspiration from the movement
of glaciers and the BMW Central
Building in Germany which combines
organization with modernism and a bit
of whimsy.

SANTIAGO CALATRAVA
Spanish architect, Santiago Calatrava
has built a solid career designing
ago Calatrava bridges and train stations. The
structural engineer/architect/sculptor
has been praised for linking traditional architecture
and structural engineering. He designed the Bach
de Roda-Felipe II Bridge in Barcelona, the Trinity
Footbridge in Manchester, England and the Puente
de la Mujer in the Puerto Madero district of Buenos
Aires. Calatrava is also known for designing

February 2011
 Architectural Design

buildings as well, including the Olympic Sports

Complex in Athens, the Turning Torso Malmö
in Sweden, the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia in
Valencia, Spain and the Museum of Tomorrow
(“Museu do Amanhã”) in Rio.

LORD NORMAN FOSTER Luxem

How many architects can say that they’ve
been knighted by the Queen and honored
with a Life Peerage? The man behind such
icons of the urban landscape as London’s
Swiss Re Tower (you might also know it as
the Gherkin), New York’s Hearst Headquarters
Tower and Moscow’s Crystal Island, was
born in industrial Manchester, England. He
attained degrees from Manchester University
School of Architecture and City Planning
and Yale University before founding Foster +
Partners in 1967. Over the last four decades,
the firm has won over 470 design awards

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 Five Architects page 51

and honors and over 86 international and national

competitions. Lord Foster and his firm continue
to design diverse structures and communities
including the Faustino Winery in Spain, the Index
in Dubai and the Luxembourg Royal Hamilius.

mbourg Royal Hamilius, Foster + Partners

February 2011
 Architectural Design

RENZO PIANO The Sh

The recipient of several awards including
Kyoto Prize, the RIBA Royal Gold Medal for
Architecture and the Pritzker Architecture
Prize, Italian architect Renzo Piano has
earned a reputation for creating imaginative
yet functional buildings, both big and
small. The 55,000 square foot Nasher
Sculpture Center has become a vibrant art
hub in Dallas, Texas housing a collection of
contemporary sculptures by leading artists as
well as hosting monthly community events.
Currently, the 310 meter Shard Tower,
which promises to be the tallest building in
the European Union, is under construction
in London. The mixed-use tower is part of
Southwark’s urban revitalization. He opened
the Renzo Piano Building Workshop in 1981
in Genoa. Since then, he’s opened offices in
Paris and New York.

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 Five Architects page 53

hard, Renzo Piano

February 2011
 Architectural Design

Walkie Talkie Tower, Rafa

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 Five Architects page 55

RAFAEL VIÑOLY
Uruguayan-born, Argentinean-raised
Rafael Viñoly began his career as
a founding partner of Estudio de
Arquitectura, which would evolve into
one of the largest design firms in Latin
America. “My design philosophy is rooted
in the development of architectural
ideas that are powerful, distinctive, and
relevant to the specifics of both program
and context,” he is quoted as saying on
his website. Founded in 1983, Rafael
Viñoly Architects PC has offices in New
York, London and Los Angeles. Viñoly
has designed London’s 160 meter tall 20
Fenchurch Street, aka the Walkie Talkie
tower, as well as the exterior of the Vdara
Hotel and Spa, which is part of MGM
CityCenter in Las Vegas and the expansion
ael Viñoly of the Cleveland Museum of Art in Ohio. cd

February 2011