César Pelli (October 12, 1926 – July 19, 2019) was an Argentine architect who designed some of the
world's tallest buildings
This is the History of the world's tallest structures.
Overall
Below is a list of the tallest structures supported by land. For most of the period from around 2650 BC to 1240 AD, the Egyptian pyramids (culminating in the Great Pyramid of Giz ...
and other major urban landmarks. Three of his most notable buildings are the
Petronas Towers
The Petronas Towers (), also known as the Petronas Twin Towers and colloquially the KLCC Twin Towers, are an interlinked pair of 88-storey supertall skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, standing at . From 1996 to 2004, they were the tall ...
in Kuala Lumpur, the
World Financial Center in New York City, and the
Salesforce Tower
Salesforce Tower, formerly known as Transbay Tower, is a 61-story supertall skyscraper at 415 Mission Street, between First and Fremont Street, in the South of Market, San Francisco, South of Market district of downtown San Francisco. Its main ...
in San Francisco.
The
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...
named him one of the ten most influential living American architects in 1991 and awarded him the
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 ...
in 1995. In 2008, the
Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) is an international body in the field of tall buildings, including skyscrapers, and Sustainable design, sustainable urban design. A non-profit organization based at the Monroe Building in ...
presented him with
The Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award.
Life and education
Pelli was born October 12, 1926, in
San Miguel de Tucumán
San Miguel de Tucumán (), usually called simply Tucumán, is the capital and largest city of Tucumán Province, located in northern Argentina from Buenos Aires. It is the fifth-largest city of Argentina after Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Argentin ...
, Argentina. His grandfather was an immigrant from Italy, while his mother's family was
criollo
Criollo or criolla (Spanish for creole) may refer to:
People
* Criollo people, a social class in the Spanish colonial system.
Animals
* Criollo duck, a species of duck native to Central and South America.
* Criollo cattle, a group of cattle bre ...
. His father was a civil servant, who had been reduced to doing odd jobs due to the
Depression, while his mother worked as a teacher. Pelli studied architecture at the
Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. He graduated in 1949, after which he designed low-cost housing projects.
In 1952, he attended the
University of Illinois School of Architecture in the United States for advanced study in architecture, and received his Master of Science in Architecture degree in 1954.
He married acclaimed landscape architect
Diana Balmori, who worked as a partner at his company. They had two children: Denis, a neurobiologist and Professor of Psychology and Neural Science at New York University and Rafael Pelli, like his father also a well-known architect. The couple resided in an apartment in
The San Remo on
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
's
Upper West Side
The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper We ...
.
Career
Early years

In 1952, Pelli moved to the United States with his wife,
Diana Balmori (1932–2016), and became a naturalized citizen in 1964. After his graduation from the
University of Illinois School of Architecture, Pelli worked for
Eero Saarinen
Eero Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer who created a wide array of innovative designs for buildings and monuments, including the General Motors Technical Center; the pa ...
in
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Bloomfield Hills is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northern Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit on the Woodward Corridor, Bloomfield Hills is located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit, and is ...
, for ten years. While with Eero, he worked on the
TWA terminal at
John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport is a major international airport serving New York City and its metropolitan area. JFK Airport is located on the southwestern shore of Long Island, in Queens, New York City, bordering Jamaica Bay. It is ...
and the
Morse and
Stiles colleges at
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
.
In 1964, he became director of design at
Daniel, Mann, Johnson and Mendenhall in Los Angeles. In 1965, Pelli designed the Sunset Mountain Park Urban Nucleus (an unbuilt project). In 1968 Pelli became partner for design at Gruen Associates in Los Angeles. In 1969, Pelli designed the
COMSAT research and development laboratories in
Clarksburg, Maryland
Clarksburg is a census-designated place and an unincorporated area in northern Montgomery County, Maryland, Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is located at the northern end of the Interstate 270 (Maryland), Interstate 270 technology c ...
. Pelli designed his first landmark building with the
Pacific Design Center in
West Hollywood, California
West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757.
History
Most historical writing ...
, which was completed 1975 and became known by the locals as the "Blue Whale". The United States Embassy in
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
, Japan, was designed by Pelli in 1972 and completed in 1975. While practicing in Los Angeles, Pelli taught in the architecture program at
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
.
1977–1989
In 1977, Pelli was selected to be the dean of the
Yale School of Architecture in
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...
, and served in that post until 1984. Shortly after Pelli arrived at Yale, he won the commission to design the expansion and renovation of the
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...
in New York, which resulted in the establishment of his own firm, Cesar Pelli & Associates. The museum's expansion/renovation and the Museum of Modern Art Residential Tower were completed 1984; the World Financial Center in New York, which includes the grand public space of the Winter Garden, was completed in 1988. Among other significant projects during this period are the Crile Clinic Building in Cleveland, Ohio, completed 1984; Herring Hall at Rice University in Houston, Texas (also completed 1984); completion in 1988 of the Green Building at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, California; completion of the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1989; and the construction of the
Wells Fargo Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1989.
1990–2005
Pelli was named one of the ten most influential living American Architects by the
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...
in 1991. In 1990, He completed the
Carnegie Hall Tower. In 1995, he was awarded the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal. In May 2004, Pelli was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the
University of Minnesota Duluth
The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) is a public university in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. It is part of the University of Minnesota System. UMD offers 17 bachelor's degrees in 87 majors, graduate programs in 24 different fields, a tw ...
where he designed Weber Music Hall. In 2005, Pelli was honored with the Connecticut Architecture Foundation's Distinguished Leadership Award.
Buildings designed by Pelli during this period are marked by further experimentation with a variety of materials (most prominently
stainless steel
Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...
) and his evolution of the skyscraper.
One Canada Square
One Canada Square is a skyscraper in Canary Wharf, London. It is the third tallest building in the United Kingdom at above ground level,Aviation charts issued by the Civil Aviation Authority and contains 50 storeys. It achieved the title of ...
at Canary Wharf in London (opened in 1991); Plaza Tower in Costa Mesa, California (completed 1991); and the NTT Headquarters in Tokyo (finished 1995) were preludes to a landmark project that Pelli designed for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The
Petronas Towers
The Petronas Towers (), also known as the Petronas Twin Towers and colloquially the KLCC Twin Towers, are an interlinked pair of 88-storey supertall skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, standing at . From 1996 to 2004, they were the tall ...
were completed in 1997, sheathed in stainless steel and reflecting Islamic design motifs. The dual towers were the world's tallest buildings until 2004. That year, Pelli received the
Aga Khan Award for Architecture
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) is an architectural prize established by Aga Khan IV in 1977. It aims to identify and reward architectural concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of Muslim societies in the fie ...
for the design of the Petronas Towers Pelli's design for the National Museum of Art in
Osaka
is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...
, Japan, was completed 2005, the same year that Pelli's firm changed its name to Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects to reflect the growing roles of senior principals Fred W. Clarke and Pelli's son Rafael.
2006–2019

The
Cira Centre
The Cira Centre is a 29- story, office high-rise in the University City neighborhood of West Philadelphia, directly connected to Amtrak's 30th Street Station. Developed by Brandywine Realty Trust and designed by César Pelli, it was built ...
on the
Schuylkill River
The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river in eastern Pennsylvania. It flows for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map(). accessed April 1, 2011. from Pottsville, Pennsylvania, Pottsville ...
, designed by Pelli, opened in January 2006. Pelli also designed the master plan for
Cira Centre South, near the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
which was completed in 2014. He was also architect of the 730-foot luxury mixed-use skyscraper FMC Tower as part of the Cira Centre South development.
This period saw the completion of several cultural/civic projects designed by Pelli. The
Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in
Miami, Florida
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
, opened in 2006, the same year that Pelli's design for the
Minneapolis Central Library completed construction, as well as the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall and Samueli Theater in
Costa Mesa, California
Costa Mesa (; Spanish language, Spanish for "coastal tableland") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including ...
. Pelli designs for office towers and developments throughout Asia and South America have been completed in the past decade. In 2012, the three-building
Pacific Design Center, which Pelli designed 40 years earlier while at Gruen Associates, was completed with the addition of the Red Building.
In May 2008, Pelli was given an honorary
Doctor of Arts
The Doctor of Arts (D.A.; occasionally D.Arts or Art.D. from the Latin language, Latin ''artium doctor'') is a List of academic disciplines, discipline-based terminal degree, terminal doctorate, doctoral academic degree, degree that was originall ...
degree by Yale University. That same year, he received the
Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award from the
Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) is an international body in the field of tall buildings, including skyscrapers, and Sustainable design, sustainable urban design. A non-profit organization based at the Monroe Building in ...
(CTBUH). In 2012, Pelli was honored with the platinum
Konex Award for architecture and the diamond Konex Award for visual arts.
Major projects completed in the 2010s included
The Landmark in
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...
,
Sevilla Tower in
Seville
Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...
, Spain and
Piazza Gae Aulenti and the
UniCredit Tower in
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
, Italy. In 2018, the
Salesforce Tower
Salesforce Tower, formerly known as Transbay Tower, is a 61-story supertall skyscraper at 415 Mission Street, between First and Fremont Street, in the South of Market, San Francisco, South of Market district of downtown San Francisco. Its main ...
and the first phase of the adjacent
Salesforce Transit Center in San Francisco were completed. The Salesforce Tower was named the world's best tall building by CTBUH in 2019 which is the year when Pelli died.
Death
Pelli died at the age of 92 at his home in
New Haven
New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...
, Connecticut. No cause was given.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad
Mahathir bin Mohamad (; ; born 10 July 1925) is a Malaysian politician, author and doctor who was respectively the fourth and seventh Prime Minister of Malaysia, prime minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003 and from 2018 to 2020. He was the ...
, whose tenure witnessed the designing and construction of the Twin Towers, praised him as a "great architect" while expressing his condolences to Pelli's surviving family members. Pelli's
Azabudai Hills
is a complex of three skyscrapers in the Azabudai business district in the ward of Minato, Tokyo, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Upon its completion in 2023, the Azabudai Hills Mori JP Tower in the development became the List of tallest structures in To ...
in Tokyo, Japan, was completed on June 30, 2023, making it the tallest building in Japan at the time of completion.
Works
Publications
* 1982: "Skyscrapers", ''Perspecta'' 18, pp. 134–151
* 1984: Introduction to ''The Second Generation'' by
Esther McCoy (Peregrine Smith Books)
* 1999: ''Observations for Young Architects'' (Monacelli Press)
* 2001: ''Petronas Towers: The Architecture of High Construction'' co-authored with Michael J. Crosbie (Wiley-Academy)
* 2002: Foreword to ''Ralph Rapson: Sketches and Drawings from Around the World'' by
Ralph Rapson
Ralph Rapson (September 13, 1914 – March 29, 2008) was Head of the School of Architecture at the University of Minnesota for 30 years. He was an interdisciplinary designer, one of the world's oldest practicing architects at his death at ag ...
(Afton Historical Society Press)
References
External links
Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pelli, Cesar
1926 births
2019 deaths
20th-century American architects
20th-century Argentine architects
People from San Miguel de Tucumán
Argentine people of Italian descent
National University of Tucumán alumni
Argentine emigrants to the United States
American people of Italian descent
Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters
Members of the Académie d'architecture
Postmodern architects
University of Illinois School of Architecture alumni
Grinnell College people
Yale School of Architecture faculty
UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture faculty
Naturalized citizens of the United States
Skyscraper architects
People from the Upper West Side
Fellows of the American Institute of Architects