Architects (A-K) who inspire 21st Century buildings

Here are many of the brilliant architects who contributed to the emerging 21st Century styles in architecture. Credit to Jackie Craven, About.com Guide to Architecture, for much of the research presented here.


Alvar Aalto - Father of Modern Scandinavian Architecture

Creator of truly gorgeous buildings!!!

J. Max Bond Jr, pioneering African-American architect

The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, in Alabama, is one of Bond’s many notable projects.



Daniel H. Burnham, Chicago Planner

Daniel Burnham designed some of the world's earliest skyscrapers and helped create the first complete plan for controlling urban growth. Drawing upon the City Beautiful movement, Daniel Burnham proposed a plan for Chicago that included extensive parkland and laid the foundation for modern theories of urban design. A predecessor of Jane Jacobs in being an advocate for livable cities



Santiago Calatrava, Architect, Artist and Engineer

Famous for his bridges and train stations, Spanish modernist Santiago Calatrava combines artistry with engineering. His graceful, organic structures have been compared to the works of Antonio Gaudí. In my mind he is the first true 21st century Architect, an artist whose forms are not limited by materials or imagination.




Le Corbusier

Leader of the International Style - Born Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris, Le Corbusier adopted his mother's maiden name in 1922 when he set up a partnership with his cousin, engineer Pierre Jeanneret.




Peter Eisenman, Bold, visionary architect

Peter Eisenman currently teaches at Yale University, offering studio courses and courses in design, visual analysis, and architecture theory. Eisenman has also taught at Cambridge University, Harvard University, Princeton University, Ohio State University, and The Cooper Union.

Peter Eisenman headed an informal group of five New York architects who wanted to establish a rigorous theory of architecture independent of context. Called the New York Five, they were featured in a controversial 1967 exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art and in a later book titled Five Architects (compare prices). In addition to Peter Eisenman, the New York Five included:

Charles Gwathmey
Michael Graves
John Hejduk
Richard Meier



Sverre Fehn, Norwegian Architect

1958: Norwegian Pavilion at the Brussels World Exhibition
1962: Nordic Pavilion at the Venice Biennale
1963: Schreiner House in Oslo, Norway
1967–1979: Hedmark Museum in Hamar, Norway
1990: Busk House at Bamble, Norway
1991: Glacier Museum in Fjaerland, Norway
1991: Aukrust Museum



Sir Norman Foster and High-Tech Architecture

Pritzker Prize-winning British architect Norman Foster is famous for "High Tech" design that explores technological shapes and ideas. In addition to winning the world's most prestigious awards for architecture, he has been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. Born in a working class family, Norman Foster did not seem likely to become a famous architect. Although he was a good student in high school and showed an early interest in architecture, he did not enroll in college until he was 21 years old. Foster won numerous scholarships during his years at Manchester University, including one to attend Yale University in the United States.



Richard Buckminster Fuller (Bucky): Architect, Philosopher, and Poet

Famous for his design of the geodesic dome, Buckminster Fuller spent his life exploring "what the little, penniless, unknown individual might be able to do effectively on behalf of all humanity."



Antoni Gaudí, Spanish Modernist Architect

Leading the Spanish Modernist movement, Antoni Gaudí has been classified with Gothicism (sometimes called warped Gothicism), Art Nouveau, and Surrealism. He was also influenced by Oriental styles, nature, sculpture, and a desire to go beyond anything that had ever been done before. Defying labels, Antoni Gaudí's work might be simple called, Gaudí-ism. One of the most crucial architects of the 20th century, together with Frank Lloyd Wright and Frank Gehry.



Frank Gehry, "Deconstructivist" Architect

Inventive and irreverent, Frank Gehry has been surrounded by controversy for most of his career. Using unorthodox materials like corrugated metal and chain link, Gehry creates unexpected, twisted forms that break conventions of building design. His work has been called radical, playful, organic, and sensual.








Bruce Goff, 20th Century Catalytic Architect

Bruce Goff designed expressive buildings from throw-away materials such as cake pans, steel pipe, rope, cellophane, and ash trays. Amazingly creative and ultra-original residences!!!



Michael Graves, Architect and Product Designer

Borrowing heavily from the past, architect Michael Graves combines whimsy and sophistication. His buildings often incorporate columns, pediments, arches, and other historic details. Innovative, “outside the box” structures!



Charles Gwathmey, Modern Architect

With Robert Siegel, Charles Gwathmey is a partner in the New York firm Gwathmey Siegel & Associates. The partnership was formed in 1968. FANTASTIC imagery!!!





In addition to Gwathmey, the "New York Five" included:

Peter Eisenman
Michael Graves
John Hejduk
Richard Meier



Zaha Hadid, First Woman to Win a Pritzker

Born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1950, Zaha Hadid was the first woman to win a Pritzker Architecture Prize. Her work experiments with new spatial concepts and encompasses all fields of design, ranging from urban spaces to products and furniture. brilliant, spaceship-like building designs







Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, Modern Architects

Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron are two important Swiss architects known for innovative construction using new materials and techniques. The two architects have nearly parallel careers. Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron were born the same year, attended the same school, and in 1978 they formed the architectural partnership, Herzog & de Meuron. In 2001, Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron were chosen to share the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize. Worked with Ai Wei Wei on Olymic “Bird's Nest” Stadium in Beijing







Arata Isozaki, Japanese Architect

Japanese architect Arata Isozaki is known for using bold, exaggerated forms and inventive detailing. He often integrates Eastern ideas into his designs. brilliant, innovative, flowing buildings




Philip Johnson, Glass House Architect

Philip Johnson was a museum director, writer, and, most notably, an architect known for his unconventional designs. His work incorporated diverse influences such as the neoclassicism of Karl Friedrich Schinkel and the modernism of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Iconic buildings, gorgeous innovative lines in idyllic settings. he was one of the Harvard Five. (John M. Johansen, Marcel Breuer, Landis Gores, Philip Johnson and Eliot Noyes) who worked out of New Canaan, CT.

"Lipstick" building by Philip Johnson and John Burgee (photo by Arnd Otto Dewald)


Louis Kahn, Modernist Architect

Louis I. Kahn competed only a few buildings, yet he is widely considered one of the great architects of the twentieth century. Incredibly beautiful, inspiring buildings, a true artist!




Rem Koolhaas, Modern Dutch Architect

Ultra-creative and innovative, a true master!