The year 1993 in architecture involved some significant architectural events and new buildings.
Events
*
August 18
Events Pre-1600
* 684 – Battle of Marj Rahit: Umayyad partisans defeat the supporters of Ibn al-Zubayr and cement Umayyad control of Syria.
*707 – Princess Abe accedes to the imperial Japanese throne as Empress Genmei.
*1304 & ...
– The 14th century
Kapellbrücke
The Kapellbrücke (literally, Chapel Bridge) is a covered wooden footbridge spanning the river Reuss diagonally in the city of Lucerne in central Switzerland. Named after the nearby St. Peter's Chapel, the bridge is unique in containing a num ...
covered wooden
truss bridge
A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...
in
Lucerne
Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label= Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital o ...
(Switzerland) is largely destroyed by fire; rebuilding begins almost immediately.
*
Philip Dowson
Sir Philip Henry Manning Dowson (16 August 1924 – 22 August 2014) was a leading British architect. He served as President of the Royal Academy from 1993 to 1999.
Early life
Philip Dowson was born in South Africa. Having moved to England, he ...
becomes President of the
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purp ...
.
*
Architekturzentrum Wien
The Architekturzentrum Wien (Az W) is a museum in Vienna, in the Museumsquartier. It is conceived as a centre for exhibitions, events and research into architecture and related topics, particularly the architecture and urban design of the 20th a ...
founded in Austria.
*
van Heyningen and Haward Architects
van Heyningen and Haward is an architectural practice, founded in 1983 by Birkin Haward and Joanna van Heyningen, and now owned and managed by James McCosh and Meryl Townley. The London architects work primarily in education, and have also work ...
practice formed in London.
Buildings and structures
Buildings opened
*
February 23
Events Pre-1600
* 303 – Roman emperor Diocletian orders the destruction of the Christian church in Nicomedia, beginning eight years of Diocletianic Persecution.
* 532 – Byzantine emperor Justinian I lays the foundation stone of a ...
–
Guildford Spectrum
Guildford Spectrum is a leisure complex in Guildford, Surrey, England. Owned by Guildford Borough Council, it was opened on 23 February 1993 at a cost of £28 million. It is the home of ice hockey teams the Guildford Flames and the Guildford P ...
, UK
*
September 4
Events Pre-1600
* 476 – Romulus Augustulus is deposed when Odoacer proclaims himself "King of Italy", thus ending the Western Roman Empire.
* 626 – Li Shimin, posthumously known as Emperor Taizong of Tang, assumes the throne ove ...
–
Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Managua
The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of Mary (Spanish: ''Catedral Metropolitana de la Inmaculada Concepción de María''), referred to as the New Cathedral (''La Nueva Catedral''), is located in Managua, Nicaragua. It was dedica ...
, Nicaragua, designed by
Ricardo Legorreta
Ricardo Legorreta Vilchis (May 7, 1931 – December 30, 2011) was a Mexican architect. He was a prolific designer of private houses, public buildings and master plans in Mexico, the United States of America and some other countries.
He was awarde ...
*
Het Nieuwe Instituut
Het Nieuwe Instituut (HNI, English: The New Institute) is a cultural centre in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. It focuses on architecture, design, and digital culture. HNI is in a building designed by Jo Coenen at Museumpark 25 in the centre of Rott ...
,
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
, designed by
Jo Coenen
Jo Coenen (born 30 September 1949, in Heerlen) is a Dutch architect and urban planner. He studied architecture at the Eindhoven University of Technology (graduating in 1975), and later held professorships at TU Karlsruhe, Eindhoven University of ...
Buildings completed

* The
Landmark Tower
A landmark is a notable geographical feature or building.
Landmark, The Landmark, Landmark Building, or similar may also refer to:
Places
* Landmark, Manitoba, Canada
* Landmark, Arkansas, United States
*Landmark, Missouri, United States
Art, e ...
in
Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of ...
, Japan.
*
Hassan II Mosque
The Hassan II Mosque ( ar, مسجد الحسن الثاني, french: Grande Mosquée Hassan II) is a mosque in Casablanca, Morocco. It is the largest functioning mosque in Africa and is the 7th largest in the world. Its minaret is the world's ...
, Casablanca, Morocco, designed by
Michel Pinseau and built by
Bouygues
Bouygues S.A. () is a French industrial group headquartered in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Bouygues is listed on the Euronext Paris exchange and is a blue chip in the CAC 40 stock market index. The company was founded in 1952 by ...
.
*
Hämeenkylä Church,
Vantaa
Vantaa (; sv, Vanda, ) is a city and municipality in Finland. It is part of the inner core of the Finnish Capital Region along with Helsinki, Espoo, and Kauniainen. With a population of (), Vantaa is the fourth most populated city in Finland ...
, Finland, designed by Jokela & Kareoja.
* Inner shrine,
Ise, Mie
, formerly called Ujiyamada (宇治山田), is a city in central Mie Prefecture, on the island of Honshū, Japan. Ise is home to Ise Grand Shrine, the most sacred Shintō shrine in Japan. The city has a long-standing title – Shinto (神都 ...
,
Mie Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture and Kyoto Prefecture ...
, Japan.
*
Sanctuary of Divine Mercy (Sanktuarium Miłosierdzia Bożego),
Kalisz
(The oldest city of Poland)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = ''Top:'' Town Hall, Former "Calisia" Piano Factory''Middle:'' Courthouse, "Gołębnik" tenement''Bottom:'' Aerial view of the Kalisz Old Town
, image_flag = POL Kalisz flag.svg ...
, Poland (designed 1958; building commenced 1977).
*
Museum of Byzantine Culture, Thessaloniki, Greece.
* The
Umeda Sky Building
The is the nineteenth-tallest building in Osaka Prefecture, Japan, and one of the city's most recognizable landmarks. It consists of two 40-story towers that connect at their two uppermost stories, with bridges and an escalator crossing ...
in
Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...
City, Japan.
*
Governor Phillip Tower
The Governor Phillip Tower, the Governor Macquarie Tower, and the Museum of Sydney are the main elements of a large development in the central business district of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Completed in 1994, the property development ...
, Sydney, Australia, by architects
Denton Corker Marshall
Denton Corker Marshall is an international architecture practice based in Melbourne, Australia.
History
Denton Corker Marshall was established in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1972. It was founded by architects John Denton, Bill Corker, and Barrie ...
.
*
Cave of Niaux
The Cave of Niaux (French: ''Grotte de Niaux'') is located in the Niaux commune, Ariège '' département'' in south-western France as part of a wider geological system that includes the ''Sabart Cave'' and ''Lombrives Cave'' in the hill of ''C ...
visitor entrance in
Ariège (department)
Ariège (; oc, Arièja ) is a department in southwestern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It is named after the river Ariège and its capital is Foix. Ariège is known for its rural landscape, with a population of 153,287 as of 20 ...
, France, designed by
Massimiliano Fuksas
Massimiliano Fuksas (born January 9, 1944) is an Italian architect. He is the head of ''Studio Fuksas'' in partnership with his wife, Doriana Mandrelli Fuksas, with offices in Rome, Paris and Shenzhen.
Biography
Fuksas was born in Rome in 194 ...
.
Awards
*
AIA Gold Medal
The AIA Gold Medal is awarded by the American Institute of Architects conferred "by the national AIA Board of Directors in recognition of a significant body of work of lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture."
It is the Ins ...
–
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the nati ...
(posthumous).
*
Architecture Firm Award The Architecture Firm Award is the highest honor that The American Institute of Architects can bestow on an architecture firm for consistently producing distinguished architecture.
Prior recipients of the AIA Architecture Firm Award include:
*202 ...
–
Cambridge Seven Associates
Cambridge Seven Associates, Inc. (stylized as CambridgeSeven, and sometimes as C7A) is an American architecture firm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Buildings designed by the firm have included academic, museum, exhibit, hospitality, transpo ...
, Inc.
*
Grand Prix de l'urbanisme –
Bernard Huet
Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname.
The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "bra ...
.
*
Grand prix national de l'architecture The Grand prix national de l'architecture ("Grand National Prize of Architecture") is a French prize awarded by a jury of twenty persons under the chairmanship of the Ministry of Culture to an architect, or an architectural firm, for recognition of ...
–
Dominique Perrault
Dominique Perrault (born 9 April 1953 in Clermont-Ferrand) is a French architect and urban planner. He became world known for the design of the French National Library, distinguished with the Silver medal for town planning in 1992 and the Mies ...
.
*
Praemium Imperiale
Prince Takamatsu
The Praemium Imperiale ( ja, 高松宮殿下記念世界文化賞, Takamatsu-no-miya Denka Kinen Sekai Bunka-shō, World Culture Prize in Memory of His Imperial Highness Prince Takamatsu) is an international art prize inaugur ...
Architecture Laureate –
Kenzo Tange
is a common masculine Japanese given name.
Possible writings
Kenzō can be written using different kanji characters and can mean:
*賢三, "wise, three"
*健三, "healthy, three"
*謙三, "humble, three"
*健想, "healthy, concept"
*建造, "bu ...
.
*
Pritzker Prize
The Pritzker Architecture Prize is an international architecture award presented annually "to honor a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produ ...
–
Fumihiko Maki
is a Japanese architect who teaches at Keio University SFC. In 1993, he received the Pritzker Prize for his work, which often explores pioneering uses of new materials and fuses the cultures of east and west.
Early life
Maki was born in Tokyo. ...
.
*
RAIA Gold Medal –
Ken Woolley
Kenneth Frank Charles Woolley, AM B Arch, Hon DSc Arch Sydney LFRAIA, FTSE, Architect, (29 May 1933 – 25 November 2015) was an Australian architect. In a career spanning 60 years, he is best known for his contributions to project housing wit ...
.
*
RIBA
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...
Royal Gold Medal
The Royal Gold Medal for architecture is awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects on behalf of the British monarch, in recognition of an individual's or group's substantial contribution to international architecture. It is gi ...
–
Giancarlo de Carlo
Giancarlo De Carlo (12 December 1919 − 4 June 2005) was an Italian architect.
Biography
Giancarlo De Carlo was born in Genoa, Liguria, in 1919. In 1939, he enrolled at the Milan Polytechnic, where he graduated in engineering in 1943. Duri ...
.
*
Twenty-five Year Award
The Twenty-five Year Award is an architecture prize awarded each year by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) to "a building that has set a precedent for the last 25 to 35 years and continues to set standards of excellence for its architect ...
–
Deere & Company Administrative Center.
*
UIA Uia is a locality in the Marquesas Islands.
UIA can refer to:
* Argentine Industrial Union (''Unión Industrial Argentina'')
* International Islamic University Malaysia (''Universiti Islam Antarabangsa'')
* International Union of Architects (''U ...
Gold Medal –
Fumihiko Maki
is a Japanese architect who teaches at Keio University SFC. In 1993, he received the Pritzker Prize for his work, which often explores pioneering uses of new materials and fuses the cultures of east and west.
Early life
Maki was born in Tokyo. ...
.
Births
Deaths
*
March 27
Events Pre-1600
*1309 – Pope Clement V imposes excommunication and interdiction on Venice, and a general prohibition of all commercial intercourse with Venice, which had seized on Ferrara, a papal fiefdom.
* 1329 – Pope John XXII i ...
–
Paul László
Paul László or Paul Laszlo (6 February 1900 – 27 March 1993) was a Hungarian-born architect and interior designer whose work spanned eight decades and many countries. László built his reputation while designing interiors for houses, but in ...
, Hungarian American architect (born
1900
As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), ...
)
*
June 27
Events Pre-1600
* 1358 – The Republic of Ragusa is founded.
*1497 – Cornish rebels Michael An Gof and Thomas Flamank are executed at Tyburn, London, England.
*1499 – Americo Vespucci, on Spanish financed trip, sights coast ...
–
Paul Thiry, American architect (born
1904
Events
January
* January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''.
* January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system.
* ...
)
*
July 13
Events Pre-1600
* 1174 – William I of Scotland, a key rebel in the Revolt of 1173–74, is captured at Alnwick by forces loyal to Henry II of England.
* 1249 – Coronation of Alexander III as King of Scots.
*1260 – The Livo ...
–
Alan McCullough, American modernist architect (born c.
1909
Events
January–February
* January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes.
* January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama.
* J ...
)
*
August 16
Events Pre-1600
* 1 BC – Wang Mang consolidates his power in China and is declared marshal of state. Emperor Ai of Han, who died the previous day, had no heirs.
* 942 – Start of the four-day Battle of al-Mada'in, between the Ha ...
–
Alison Smithson
Alison Margaret Smithson (22 June 1928 – 14 August 1993) and Peter Denham Smithson (18 September 1923 – 3 March 2003) were English architects who together formed an architectural partnership, and are often associated with the New Brutalis ...
, English architect (born
1928
Events January
* January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA.
* January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhano ...
)
*
August 19
Events Pre-1600
*295 BC – The first temple to Venus, the Roman goddess of love, beauty and fertility, is dedicated by Quintus Fabius Maximus Gurges during the Third Samnite War.
*43 BC – Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, later kn ...
–
Norman Jaffe, American residential architect (born
1932)
*
September 23
Events Pre-1600
* 38 – Drusilla, Caligula's sister who died in June, with whom the emperor is said to have an incestuous relationship, is deified.
*1122 – Pope Callixtus II and Holy Roman Emperor Henry V agree to the Concordat ...
–
Moshe Mayer, Romanian Israeli architect (born
1909
Events
January–February
* January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes.
* January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama.
* J ...
)
*
October 24
Events Pre-1600
*AD 69 – In the Second Battle of Bedriacum, troops loyal to Vespasian defeat those of Emperor Vitellius.
*1260 – Chartres Cathedral is dedicated in the presence of King Louis IX of France.
*1360 – The Treaty o ...
–
Arthur T. Brown
Arthur Thomas Brown (April 20, 1900 – October 24, 1993) was an American architect who is remembered as “Tucson’s pioneer of solar design.”
Biography
Brown was born in Tarkio, Missouri, and studied at Ohio State University, graduating in ...
, American architect (born
1900
As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), ...
)
*
December 16
Events Pre-1600
* 714 – Pepin of Herstal, mayor of the Merovingian palace, dies at Jupille (modern Belgium). He is succeeded by his infant grandson Theudoald, while his widow Plectrude holds actual power in the Frankish Kingdom.
* 755 ...
–
Charles Moore, American architect (born
1925
Events January
* January 1
** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria.
* January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the It ...
)
References
{{reflist
20th-century architecture