Argentine-American seasoned architect, Cesar Pelli, died at the age of 92 in his home on July 19. The said architect is the mind behind the iconic Malaysian twin skyscrapers, the Petronas Towers.
Pelli grew up in the Tucuman province of Argentina, where Universidad Nacional de Tucuman awarded his diploma in architecture. While studying, he also worked for Eero Saarinen on projects such as New York's TWA Flight Center (now the TWA hotel) at the John F. Kennedy airport. His other work experiences included being Daniel, Mann, Johnson & Mendenhall (DMJM) director of design and later as a Gruen Associates partner.
In 1977, Pelli started his architectural firm in New Haven. He founded Cesar Pelli & Associates Architects together with Fred W. Clarke III. In 2005, the said firm was later known as Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, to reflect the names of the other principals, Clake and Pelli's son, Rafael Pelli. All the name partners are members of the Fellow American Institute of Architects (FAIA).
Pelli also spent his tenure as the dean of the School of Architecture at Yale University from 1977, at the same time that he opened his firm, to 1984.
In addition to their office in New Haven, the firm also has offices in New York, Shanghai, Abu Dhabi, Tokyo, San Francisco, and Shanghai.
The firm has several landmark projects, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York (1984), the Wells Fargo Center in Minneapolis (1988), World's Financial Center in New York which is currently known as the Brookfield Place (1988), and Rice University's Herring Hall in Houston (1984). Overseas, the firm completed the Petronas Towers, which was declared as the world's tallest building until 2004. The said twin skyscrapers rose to 1,483 feet in height. The most recent work of the Pelli Cesar Pelli Architects is San Franciso's Salesforce Tower and Transit Center which were completed in 2018.
Throughout his career, Pelli won over 300 design awards. These include the 1966 Progressive Architecture Award, the Aga Kahn Award for Architecture in 2004, and the AIA Gold Medal in 1995.
Robert Ivy, FAIA, the AIA executive vice president and chief executive officer, described Pelli as a consummate architect, teacher, and mentor who transformed skylines across the globe while influencing modern cities. Ivy added that Pelli has been the master of both individual detail and designs on an urban scale. There is no doubt that Pelli's legacy stands as tall as the buildings that he conceptualized. Pelli remains to be an inspiration that shaped many architectural careers as he generously shared his knowledge.
