Top Ten Creative American Architects 1918 - 1927
1. Paul Rudolph 1918 – 1997
Paul Rudolph was an American architect and faculty member at the School of Architecture of Yale University. He was influenced by brutalist architecture. He is recognized for his complicated floor planning and usage of concrete in his buildings.
Early Life & Education
Paul Marvin Rudolph was born on 23rd October 1918 in Kentucky, US. He studied architecture at the Auburn University in 1940. Paul Rudolph further studied at the Harvard Graduate School of Design with Walter Gropius. He left the university to serve in the US Navy. When he returned after three years, he completed his master’s degree in 1947.
Career & Projects
After finishing his studies, he went to Sarasota Florida. He collaborated with architect Ralph Spencer Twitchell. He is among the founding members of the Sarasota School of Architecture. Paul Rudolph began his architectural studio in 1952.
His main projects are Yale Art and Architecture building; Healy Guest House (Cocoon House); Riverview High School; John and Alice Fullam House; Jewett Art Center, Wellesley College; Temple Street Parking Garage, New Haven; Tuskegee Institute, Alabama; Government Service Center, Boston and others. His works are remarkable examples of 20th-century architecture. He played a significant part in creating the architecture of American houses.
Paul Rudolph died on 8th August 1997 in New York, America.
2. Anne Tyng 1920 – 2011
Anne Tyng was a great architect and an influential professor. She worked with the famed modern architect Louis Kahn in Philadelphia, US for 29 years. She was the first female to be registered as an architect in Pennsylvania.
She taught the subject of morphology as a professor at one of the best universities in the world, the University of Pennsylvania, US, for 27 years.
Early Life & Education
Anne Griswold Tyng was born on 14th July 1920 in Lushan, Jiangxi, China. Her father was Walworth Tyng and her mother was Ethel Atkinson. She got her education from Radcliffe College in 1942. She studied architecture at Harvard University with Marcel Breuer and Walter Gropius, graduating in 1944. She earned her Ph. D from the University of Pennsylvania in 1975.
Career & Projects
Anne Tyng emphasized the complex geometrical patterns in architecture creating dramatic spaces and experiences. She developed her interest in organic architecture. She joined the office of Louis Kahn, Stonorov and Kahn, in Philadelphia in 1945. She later established her studio. She was one of the most influential female architects in America.
Her notable projects are the Salk Institute for Biological Studies; Trenton Bathhouse; Yale Art Gallery; Erdman Hall; Esherick Studio; Four-Poster House, Mount Desert Island and others.
Anne Tyng died on 27th December 2011 in Greenbrae, California, at the age of 91 years.
3. Euine Fay Jones 1921 – 2004
E. Fay Jones was a reputable American architect. He taught architecture at the School of Architecture of the University of Arkansas. He is known for his design for the Thorncrown Chapel building.
Early Life & Education
Euine Fay Jones was born on 31st January 1921 in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. He shifted to Little Rock and then to El Dorado, Arkansas and began working in the family’s restaurant. He developed his interest in the architectural field while designing treehouses in his school.
E. Fay Jones initially studied civil engineering at the University of Arkansas. During the Second World War, he served in the US Army. When he returned from the war, he joined an architectural and engineering company as a draftsman. In 1946, he enrolled at the University of Arkansas to study architecture and graduated in 1950. He achieved his post-graduation degree from Rice University, Houston, Texas in 1951.
Career & Projects
Euine Fay Jones taught at the University of Oklahoma from 1951 to 1953. E. Fay Jones also apprenticed with Frank Lloyd Wright and was influenced by his principles.
Euine Fay Jones founded his architectural studio in the Ozark Mountains, Arkansas. He emphasized the natural and organic appearance, with traditional forms on his projects using locally available materials. He worked mainly on the villas and chapels. He was a faculty member at the School of Architecture at the University of Kansas.
Some of his important projects are Thorncrown Chapel, Eureka Springs, Arkansas; Anthony Chapel, Garvan Woodland Gardens, Hot Springs; the Pinecote Pavilion, Mississippi; Marty Leonard Chapel, Texas; John Begley Chapel, Kentucky and others.
Recognition
E. Fay Jones won the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal in 1990.
Fay Jones died of lung and heart failure on 30th August 2004 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
4. Kevin Roche 1922 – 2019
Kevin Roche was an influential American architect, born in Ireland. He was honoured by the Pritzker Architecture Prize.
Early Life & Education
Eamonn Kevin Roche was born on 14th June 1922 in Dublin, Ireland. He studied at the University College Dublin and graduated in 1945. He joined the architect Michael Scott and worked with him for a year. In 1946, he travelled to London, UK and worked with the architect Maxwell Fry. Kevin Roche moved to the US in 1948 and enrolled at the Illinois Institute of Technology where he studied under the supervision of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
Career & Projects
Kevin Roche worked for the United Nations in 1949 in New York. He worked for the architect Eero Saarinen in America in 1950. He founded his architectural practice Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo & Associates in 1967 with his partner John Dinkeloo.
Some of his important projects are the Oakland Museum of California; Shiodome City Center; Ford Foundation Building, New York; the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Convention Centre Dublin; Lafayette Tower; the Gateway Arch; TWA Flight Center, JFK International Airport, New York; Dulles International Airport; Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) and many others.
Recognition
Kevin Roche was honoured with the Pritzker Prize for Architecture in 1982. He also won the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal in 1993.
Kevin Roche was 96 when he died on 1st March 2019 in Connecticut, America.
5. William Krisel 1924 – 2017
William Krisel was an American architect widely recognized for his distinct mid-century architectural style. He designed tract housing having multiple houses with a modernist approach. He contributed to the architecture of American homes.
Early Life & Education
William Krisel was born on 14th November 1924 in Shanghai, China. In 1937, his family shifted to Beverly Hills, California, America. He studied at the University of Southern California and finished his graduation in 1949.
Career & Projects
William Krisel established his architectural studio, Palmer & Krisel Architects partnered with Dan Palmer. He designed several housing projects in Southern California. Alexander Construction Company largely assisted in the implementation of these buildings.
He emphasized the provision of modular elements, roofing lines, site orientation, the relationship of interiors with the outdoors, flexibility of interior partition walls, covered patios and clerestory windows.
Some of his notable tract houses were built in Paradise Palms, Las Vegas, Nevada; Arizona and Florida. His projects include Del Prado apartment building, Balboa Park, San Diego; Butterfly Homes, Palm Springs; Marina Tower residential building, Vallejo; Coronado Shores apartments, Coronado; Canyon Lake Development, Riverside County; West Loma office building, San Diego; Kemp House, Palm Desert and many others.
William Krisel died on 5th June 2017 in Beverly Hills, California, America.
6. Pierre Koenig 1925 - 2004
Pierre Koenig was a famed American architect and an educationist. He taught at the School of Architecture of the University of Southern California as well as other universities.
Early Life & Education
Pierre Francis Koenig was born on 17th October 1925 in San Francisco, California, America. His father was a salesperson. He served in the US Army for four years during the Second World War. He studied architecture at the University of Southern California and graduated in 1952.
Career & Projects
Pierre Francis Koenig collaborated with architects Edward H. Ficket and Raphael Soriano. He founded his architecture studio in 1952. He was known for his spectacular designs for the Case Study Houses, the experimental residential designs. He designed the Case Study House no. 21, also known as the Bailey House and the Case Study House no. 22, also called the Stahl House on difficult terrains with a deep relationship with the outdoor landscapes.
Recognition
Pierre Koenig was honoured with the Gold Medal from the AIA Los Angeles chapter.
He died of leukaemia on 4th April 2004 in Brentwood, California at the age of 78 years.
7. Bruce Graham 1925 – 2010
Bruce Graham was an amazing Peruvian American designer and architect. He is widely recognized for his designs for Willis Tower (Sears Tower), Chicago; Inland Steel Building, Chicago and John Hancock Center, Chicago, US. He was also involved in the designing of Canary Wharf and Broadgate in London, UK.
Early Life & Education
Bruce John Graham was born on 1st December in La Cumbre, Valle del Cauca, Colombia in 1925. His father was a banker. He got his early education from the Colegio San Jose de Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. He continued his studies at the University of Dayton in Ohio. He studied Structural Engineering at the Case School of Applied Sciences, Ohio. He completed his graduation in architecture in 1948 from the University of Pennsylvania.
Career & Projects
Bruce Graham joined the architectural studio Holabird & Root and later Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) in 1951. He highly appreciated art and focused on the study of architectural theory.
Bruce Graham designed numerous global projects that include One Shell Plaza, Texas; Hotel Arts, Barcelona; First Wisconsin Plaza, Wisconsin and others.
Bruce Graham died on 6th March 2010 in Hobe Sound, Florida. He was buried in the Graceland Cemetery where Bangali-American architect and structural engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan is buried.
8. Donald Wexler 1926 – 2015
Donald Wexler was a notable architect influenced by modernist architecture. The mid-century modern movement largely inspired him. He designed remarkable projects largely in Palm Springs, California. He is well-recognized for using steel in houses and other residential projects.
Early Life & Education
Donald Allen Wexler was born on 23rd January 1926 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He studied at the University of Minnesota and completed his graduation in 1950.
Career & Projects
Donald Wexler joined the office of the architect Richard Neutra. In 1952, he went to Palm Springs and worked there for many years. He designed steel residences for George and Robert Alexander developers in collaboration with Bernard Perlin, the structural engineer. He used steel in the roofing, external surfaces and framing of the houses. A drywall was employed for the internal finishing material.
Donald Wexler worked on several projects such as residences, hotels, educational institutes, banks and airports.
Donald Wexler died on 26th June 2015 in Palm Desert, California, America.
9. Henry Cobb 1926 – 2020
Henry Cobb was an influential American architect. He was a founding member of the globally famed architectural practice Pei Cobb Freed & Partners along with I.M. Pei and Eason H. Leonard.
Early Life & Education
Henry Nichols Cobb was born on 8th April 1926 in Boston, Massachusetts, America. Henry Cobb initially studied at the Philips Exeter Academy. Later he got his education from Harvard College and then from the Graduate School of Design of Harvard University.
Career & Projects
Henry Cobb established the architectural firm, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, along with other founding members, Eason H. Leonard and I.M. Pei in New York City. In 1980, Henry Cobb served as the chairman of the School of Architecture at Harvard University till 1985.
His significant works are Place Ville Marie, Montreal; Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences; Palazzo Lombardia, Milan; Center for Government and International Studies, Harvard University; Hyatt Center, Chicago; World Trade Center, Barcelona; Library Tower, Los Angeles; Anderson School of Management, UCLA; National Constitution Center, Philadelphia; Pitney Bowes building, Stamford and others.
Recognition
Henry Cobb won the Lynn S. Beedle Award from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat in 2013. He also won the President’s Medal from the Architectural League of New York in 2015.
Henry Nichols Cobb died on 2nd March 2020 aged 93 in Manhattan, New York, America.
10. Ray Kappe 1927 – 2019
Ray Kappe was an American architect and an educationist. He is well recognized as the founding member of the private university Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), Los Angeles, California, established in 1972.
Early Life & Education
Ray Kappe was born on 4th August 1927 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He initially studied in Los Angeles. He enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles in 1945. He finished only one semester there and served in the US Army as an instructor of topographical surveying and levelling. Later he studied architecture at the University of California, Berkeley in 1951.
Career & Projects
Ray Kappe founded his practice in 1954. In 1968, he was among the partners of Kahn Kappe Lotery Boccato. In 1978, the studio was called Kappe Lotery Boccato. Later in 1985, its name was changed to Kappe Architects Planners. Ray Kappe worked on the designs of modular structures of houses in 2003. He designed Ray Kappe's house for himself in Los Angeles in 1967. He focused on the ideas of prefabrication and sustainable architecture.
Ray Kappe died of respiratory illness on 21st November 2019.
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