- For the American urban planner, see Richard L. Meier
Richard Louis Meier, is an US regional planner, systems theorist, scientist, urban scholar, and futurist, who was Professor in the College of Environmental Design at University of California at Berkeley. He was an early thinker on sustainability in planning, and recognized as a leading figure in...
Richard Meier (born October 12, 1934) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
architectAn architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
, whose
rationalistThe intellectual principles of rationalism are based on architectural theory. Vitruvius had already established in his work De Architectura that architecture is a science that can be comprehended rationally. This formulation was taken up and further developed in the architectural treatises of the...
buildings make prominent use of the color white.
Biography
Meier is Jewish and was born in
Newark, New JerseyNewark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
. He earned a
Bachelor of ArchitectureThe Bachelor of Architecture is an undergraduate academic degree designed to satisfy the academic component of professional accreditation bodies, to be followed by a period of practical training prior to professional examination and registration. It is awarded for a course of study that lasts up...
degree from
Cornell UniversityCornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in 1957, worked for
Skidmore, Owings and MerrillSkidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP is an American architectural and engineering firm that was formed in Chicago in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings; in 1939 they were joined by John O. Merrill. They opened their first branch in New York City, New York in 1937. SOM is one of the largest...
briefly in 1959, and then for
Marcel BreuerMarcel Lajos Breuer , was a Hungarian-born modernist, architect and furniture designer of Jewish descent. One of the masters of Modernism, Breuer displayed interest in modular construction and simple forms.- Life and work :Known to his friends and associates as Lajkó, Breuer studied and taught at...
for three years, prior to starting his own practice in
New YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in 1963. Identified as one of
The New York FiveThe New York Five refers to a group of five New York City architects whose work appeared in a Museum of Modern Art exhibition organized by Arthur Drexler in 1967, and the subsequent book Five Architects in 1972.These five had a common allegiance to a pure form of architectural modernism, harkening...
in 1972, his commission of the
Getty CenterThe Getty Center, in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, is a campus for cultural institutions founded by oilman J. Paul Getty. The $1.3 billion center, which opened on December 16, 1997, is also well known for its architecture, gardens, and views overlooking Los Angeles...
in
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California catapulted his popularity into the mainstream. Richard Meier & Partners Architects has offices in New York and Los Angeles with current projects ranging from China and Tel Aviv to Paris and Hamburg.
Much of Meier's work builds on the work of architects of the early to mid-20th century, especially that of
Le CorbusierCharles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
and, in particular, Le Corbusier's early phase. Meier has built more using Corbusier's ideas than anyone, including Le Corbusier himself. Meier expanded many ideas evident in Le Corbusier's work, particularly the
Villa SavoyeVilla Savoye is a modernist villa in Poissy, in the outskirts of Paris, France. It was designed by Swiss architects Le Corbusier and his cousin, Pierre Jeanneret, and built between 1928 and 1931....
and the Swiss Pavilion.
His work also reflects the influences of other designers such as
Mies Van der RoheLudwig Mies van der Rohe was a German architect. He is commonly referred to and addressed as Mies, his surname....
and, in some instances,
Frank Lloyd WrightFrank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
and
Luis BarragánLuis Barragán Morfin was a Mexican architect. He was self-trained.-Early life:Educated as an engineer, he graduated from the Escuela Libre de Ingenieros in Guadalajara in 1923 and was self-trained as an architect.After graduation, he travelled through Spain, France , and...
(without the colour). White has been used in many architectural landmark buildings throughout history, including cathedrals and the white-washed villages of the Mediterranean region, in Spain, southern Italy and Greece.
In 1984, Meier was awarded the
Pritzker PrizeThe Pritzker Architecture Prize is awarded annually by the Hyatt Foundation to honour "a living architect whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built...
. In 2008, he won the gold medal in architecture from the Academy of Arts and Letters and his work Jesolo Lido Village was awarded the
Dedalo Minosse International Prize for commissioning a buildingThe Dedalo Minosse International Prize for commissioning a building is promoted by ALA-Assoarchitetti, Italian association for professional Architects....
. Meier is a Senior Fellow of the
Design Futures CouncilThe Design Futures Council is an interdisciplinary network of design, product, and construction leaders exploring global trends, challenges, and opportunities to advance innovation and shape the future of the industry and environment...
.
The Mayor of Rome
Gianni Alemanno included in his campaign platform a promise to tear down the big travertine wall of Meier's
Ara PacisThe Ara Pacis Augustae is an altar to Peace, envisioned as a Roman goddess...
. Mayor Alemmano has since changed his stance on the building and has agreed with Mr. Meier to modifications including drastically reducing the height of the wall between an open-air space outside the museum and a busy road along the Tiber river. The city plans to build a wide pedestrian area along the river and run the road underneath it. "It's an improvement," says Meier, adding that "the reason that wall was there has to do with traffic and noise. Once that is eliminated, the idea of opening the piazza to the river is a good one." The mayor’s office said Alemanno hopes to complete the project before the end of his term in 2013.
Meier is also the second cousin of the architect, theorist, and fellow member of
The New York FiveThe New York Five refers to a group of five New York City architects whose work appeared in a Museum of Modern Art exhibition organized by Arthur Drexler in 1967, and the subsequent book Five Architects in 1972.These five had a common allegiance to a pure form of architectural modernism, harkening...
,
Peter EisenmanPeter Eisenman is an American architect. Eisenman's professional work is often referred to as formalist, deconstructive, late avant-garde, late or high modernist, etc...
.
Works
.jpg)
- Westbeth Artists Community
Westbeth Artists Housing, located at 463 West Street in the West Village neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan, is the largest such community in the world. This low- to middle-income rental housing project was developed with the assistance of the J.M...
, New York City, 1970
- Condominium of the Olivetti Training Center in Tarrytown, New York, 1971
- Meier House, Essex Fells, New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, 1965
- Smith House
The Frederick J. Smith House is a work of modern architecture designed by Richard Meier. The house was planned starting in 1965 and completed in 1967 in Darien, Connecticut. The home has been featured in numerous books...
, Darien, ConnecticutDarien is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. A relatively small community on Connecticut's "Gold Coast", the population was 20,732 at the 2010 census. Darien was listed at #9 at CNN Money's list of "top-earning towns" in the United States as of 2011...
, 1965–1967
- Douglas House, Harbor Springs, Michigan
Harbor Springs is a city and resort community in Emmet County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,567 at the 2000 census.Harbor Springs is in a sheltered bay on the north shore of the Little Traverse Bay on Lake Michigan. The Little Traverse Lighthouse is a historic lighthouse on...
, 1973 http://www.archdaily.com/61276/ad-classics-douglas-house-richard-meier/
- Bronx Developmental Center, The Bronx, New York, 1976
- The Atheneum
New Harmony's Atheneum is the visitor center for New Harmony, Indiana. It is named for the Greek Athenaion, which was a temple dedicated to Athena in ancient Greece...
, New Harmony, IndianaNew Harmony is a historic town on the Wabash River in Harmony Township, Posey County, Indiana, United States. It lies north of Mount Vernon, the county seat. The population was 916 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Evansville metropolitan area. Many of the old Harmonist buildings still stand...
, 1979
- High Museum of Art
The High Museum of Art , located in Atlanta, is the leading art museum in the Southeastern United States and one of the most-visited art museums in the world. Located on Peachtree Street in Midtown, the city's arts district, the High is a division of the Woodruff Arts Center.-History:The Museum was...
, Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, 1983
- Modern Art Wing Des Moines Art Center
The Des Moines Art Center is an art museum with an extensive collection of paintings, sculpture, modern art and mixed media. It was established in 1948 in Des Moines, Iowa.-Description:...
, Des Moines, IowaDes Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
, 1984
- Daimler-Benz Forschungszentrum, today: Daimler Forschungszentrum, Ulm
Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and...
, Germany, 1992
- Stadthaus Ulm
The Stadthaus Ulm is an assembly hall and art exhibition centre in the city centre of Ulm .As an international landmark of modern architecture it is a building that encourages encounters with art, people and culture...
, UlmUlm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and...
, Germany, 1994
- Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art
The Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art is situated in the Plaça dels Àngels, in El Raval, Ciutat Vella, Barcelona, Spain. The museum opened to the public on November 28, 1995. Its current director is Bartomeu Marí . Previous directors were Daniel Giralt-Miracle , Miguel Molins , Manuel J...
, BarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Spain, 1995
- City Hall and Central Library, The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, Netherlands, 1995
- Edinburgh Park
Edinburgh Park is a business park located in South Gyle, Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located to the west of the city, near Edinburgh Airport and the Edinburgh City Bypass. The layout of the park was masterplanned by American architect Richard Meier, and it opened in 1995...
Masterplan, 1995
- Rachofsky House, Dallas, Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, 1996
- Neugebauer House, Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, FloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, 1998 http://www.archdaily.com/103989/ad-classics-neugebauer-house-richard-meier-partners-architects/
- The Paley Center for Media, formerly The Museum of Television & Radio, Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
, 1996
- Getty Center
The Getty Center, in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, is a campus for cultural institutions founded by oilman J. Paul Getty. The $1.3 billion center, which opened on December 16, 1997, is also well known for its architecture, gardens, and views overlooking Los Angeles...
, Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, 1997 http://www.archdaily.com/103964/ad-classics-getty-center-richard-meier-partners-architects/
- Camden Medical Centre
Camden Medical Centre is a private hospital in Singapore.-External links:*...
, SingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, 1998
- White Plaza, Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
, Switzerland, 1998
- 173/176 Perry Street
173 and 176 Perry Street are a pair of notable apartment towers by architect Richard Meier in Manhattan's West Village, at West Street. Constructed in 1999-2002 by Richard Meier & Partners, they are the first new construction ever undertaken by Meier in Manhattan, although they stand a short walk...
, Manhattan, 1999–2002
- Sandra Day O'Connor United States Courthouse
The Sandra Day O'Connor United States Courthouse is a United States courthouse at 401 West Washington Street in Phoenix, Arizona. Pursuant to , enacted by the United States Congress, it is named after the former Supreme Court justice....
, Phoenix, ArizonaPhoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, 2000
- Peek & Cloppenburg
Peek & Cloppenburg is an international chain of fashion department stores. The chain is made up of two separate groups, Peek & Cloppenburg KG Düsseldorf and Peek & Cloppenburg KG Hamburg which operate independently from each other.-History:In 1869, Johann Theodor Peek and Heinrich Anton Adolph...
flagship store, DüsseldorfDüsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, 2001
- Centre for Possibility thinking, Garden Grove, California
Garden Grove is a city located in northern Orange County, California. The population was 170,883 at the 2010 census. State Route 22, also known as the Garden Grove Freeway, passes through the city running east-west. The city is known outside the Southern California area for being the home of Robert H...
, 2003
- Jubilee Church
The Jubilee Church, formally known as Dio Padre Misericordioso, is a church and community center in Tor Tre Teste in Rome. According to Richard Meier, its architect, it is "the crown jewel of the Vicariato di Roma's Millennium project"...
, RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Italy 2003 http://www.archdaily.com/20105/church-of-2000-richard-meier/
- Museum Frieder Burda, Baden Baden, Germany, 2004
- Ara Pacis
The Ara Pacis Augustae is an altar to Peace, envisioned as a Roman goddess...
Museum, RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Italy, 2006 http://www.archdaily.com/104187/ara-pacis-museum-richard-meier-partners/ (There has been talk of dismantling and relocating the museum since the election of Gianni Alemanno in 2008)
- City Tower
City Tower is a skyscraper in Prague , the tallest one in the Czech Republic with 109 m in height.Construction started in 1985 and the building was designated as a headquarters of Československý rozhlas...
, PraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Czech Republic, 2004–2007
- Arp Museum, Remagen-Rolandseck, Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
2008 http://www.archdaily.com/104188/arp-museum-richard-meier-partners/
- San Jose City Hall
The current City Hall of San José California was opened to the public on October 15, 2005, and is located at 200 East Santa Clara Street, San José, California. It was designed by Richard Meier.- History :...
, San Jose, CaliforniaSan Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, 2004–2007
- University of Scranton
The University of Scranton is a private, co-educational Catholic and Jesuit university, located in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in the northeast region of the state. The school was founded in 1888 by Most Rev. William O'Hara, the first Bishop of Scranton, as St. Thomas College. It was elevated to a...
, Connolly Hall, 2007
- Weill Hall, Ithaca, New York
The city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...
, 2008
- Meier Tower, Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, Israel (2008–present)
- On Prospect Park
On Prospect Park is a Brooklyn, New York condominium designed by the noted architect Richard Meier.The building is an all-glass, modernist, luxury high-rise overlooking Prospect Park and the Grand Army Plaza....
, Brooklyn, NY, 2003-2008
- International Coffee Plaza, Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, 2010 http://www.archdaily.com/84965/international-coffee-plaza-richard-meier-partners/
External links