Famous 20th Century Architects

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 1 
Frank Lloyd Wright
9
Birthdate: June 8, 1867
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Richland Center, Wisconsin, United States
Died: April 9, 1959

Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect who designed over 1,000 structures in a career spanning 70 years. A pioneer of organic architecture, Wright influenced three generations of architects by playing a critical role in the 20th century's architectural movements. His structure Fallingwater is called America's best architectural work and Wright is considered the greatest architect America has ever produced.

 2 
Zaha Hadid
(Architect)
Zaha Hadid
11
Birthdate: October 31, 1950
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Baghdad
Died: March 31, 2016
Baghdad-born British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid is best remembered for her revolutionary and modern architectural designs, that involved abstraction and relied on curves. She won the Stirling Prize and was the first woman to receive the Pritzker Prize. She designed the Guangzhou Opera House and Rome's MAXXI Museum, among other marvels.
 3 
Antoni Gaudí
(Architect)
Antoni Gaudí
8
Birthdate: June 25, 1852
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Reus
Died: June 10, 1926
Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí is remembered as a prominent figure of Catalan Modernism. Most of his works, including the incomplete church of the Sagrada Família, are in Barcelona. His innovative methods included the use of trencadís. By 2005, seven of his creations had been named UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
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 4 
Le Corbusier
(Architect)
Le Corbusier
6
Birthdate: October 6, 1887
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland
Died: August 27, 1965

Le Corbusier was a Swiss-French designer, painter, architect, writer, and urban planner. He was one of the pioneers of modern architecture. During his illustrious career, which spanned 50 years, Le Corbusier designed buildings in India, Japan, Europe, and North and South America. He is also credited with revolutionizing urban planning.  

 5 
Buckminster Fuller
7
Birthdate: July 12, 1895
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Milton, Massachusetts, United States
Died: July 1, 1983

Buckminster Fuller was an American systems theorist, architect, designer, inventor, author, and futurist. He is credited with popularizing the geodesic dome, which resembles carbon molecules known as fullerenes. Fullerenes were named after Fuller for their resemblance to geodesic spheres. Fuller's work has influenced several personalities from different walks of life. His work has also inspired a couple of documentary films.

 6 
I. M. Pei
(Architect)
I. M. Pei
8
Birthdate: April 26, 1917
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Guangzhou, China
Died: May 16, 2019

I. M. Pei was a Chinese-American architect who drew inspiration from the garden villas at Suzhou when he was young. He is credited with founding I. M. Pei & Associates, an independent design firm, in 1955. Today, the award-winning firm is known by the name, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners. Pei is known for designing structures like the Mesa Laboratory.

 7 
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
7
Birthdate: March 27, 1886
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Aachen, Germany
Died: August 17, 1969

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was a German-American architect. He is widely considered one of the many pioneers of modernist architecture. After emigrating to the United States, Mies worked on structures like the Promontory Apartments. He is best remembered for serving as the director of a popular German art school named the Bauhaus before its closure in 1933.

 8 
Eero Saarinen
(Architect)
Eero Saarinen
5
Birthdate: August 20, 1910
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Kirkkonummi, Finland
Died: September 1, 1961

Eero Saarinen was a Finnish-American industrial designer and architect best remembered for his impressive designs for monuments and buildings. He is credited with designing important structures, such as the Washington Dulles International Airport, the TWA Flight Center, and the Gateway Arch. He is widely regarded as one of the 20th-century's most prominent American architectures.

 9 
Norman Foster
(Architect)
Norman Foster
4
Birthdate: June 1, 1935
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Stockport, Cheshire, England

Norman Foster is an English designer and architect best known for his association with the progression of high-tech architecture. Regarded as an important personality in British modernist architecture, Foster has been granted several prestigious honors like The Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award. He also serves as the president of the Norman Foster Foundation which aims at helping young architects.

 10 
Walter Gropius
(Architect)
Walter Gropius
6
Birthdate: May 18, 1883
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Berlin, Germany
Died: July 5, 1969

Walter Gropius was a German architect. Along with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Alvar Aalto, and Frank Lloyd Wright, he is regarded as a pioneer in modernist architecture. Gropius founded the Bauhaus School. The large-scale housing projects he designed in Berlin, Karlsruhe, and Dessau in the late 1920s and early 1930s became major contributions to the New Objectivity movement.  

 11 
Louis Kahn
(Architect)
Louis Kahn
4
Birthdate: February 20, 1901
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Kuressaare, Governorate of Estonia, Russian Empire
Died: March 17, 1974

Louis Kahn was an American architect who is credited with creating a style that was monolithic and monumental. Regarded as one of the 20th century's most influential architects, Kahn served as a professor at Yale School of Architecture and at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Design. His life and career inspired a documentary titled My Architect: A Son's Journey.

 12 
Philip Johnson
(Architect)
Philip Johnson
4
Birthdate: July 8, 1906
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Cleveland
Died: January 25, 2005

Philip Johnson was an American architect who organized the Modern architecture's first exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in 1932. A highly influential and respected architect, Johnson was honored with the prestigious AIA Gold Medal in 1978. The following year, he was honored with the first Pritzker Architecture Prize.

 13 
Renzo Piano
(Architect, Politician)
Renzo Piano
4
Birthdate: September 14, 1937
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Genoa

Pritzker Prize-winning Italian architect Renzo Piano was born into a family of builders from Genoa. His firm Piano and Rogers, was co-established with British architect Richard Rogers. The Renzo Piano Building Workshop worked on a number of museum commissions, most notably those of Menil Collection.

 14 
Oscar Niemeyer
(Architect)
Oscar Niemeyer
5
Birthdate: December 15, 1907
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Rio de Janeiro, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Died: December 5, 2012
Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer is remembered as a pioneer of modern architecture. He is known for designing major buildings such as the President’s Palace and the Brasília Palace Hotel in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil. He publicly spoke about his love for free-flowing designs and his dislike for straight lines.
 15 
Bjarke Ingels
(Architect)
Bjarke Ingels
4
Birthdate: October 2, 1974
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Copenhagen, Denmark
 16 
Tadao Ando
(Architect)
Tadao Ando
4
Birthdate: September 13, 1941
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Minato Ward, Osaka, Japan
 17 
Santiago Calatrava
(Spanish Architect, Structural Engineer and Sculptor)
Santiago Calatrava
4
Birthdate: July 28, 1951
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Valencia, Spain

Santiago Calatrava Valls is a Spanish architect and a structural engineer, internationally known for his sculptural bridges and buildings. Beginning his career in Zurich, building industrial and transportation structures, he soon became famed for his extraordinary designs and began to receive commissions from abroad, designing and building marvelous bridges, stadiums, museums, railway stations, airports, office buildings all over the world.

 18 
Marcel Breuer
(Architect & Furniture Designer)
Marcel Breuer
4
Birthdate: May 21, 1902
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Pécs, Austria-Hungary
Died: July 1, 1981
Hungarian architect and furniture designer Marcel Breuer was a major figure of the International Style of design. His innovative designs made use of new technology and materials, such as steel furniture resembling the designs of bicycle handle bars, also known as the Wassily chair. He inspired the documentary Breuer's Bohemia.
 19 
Moshe Safdie
(Architect, urban designer, educator, theorist, and author who designed Habitat 67, a model housing complex and landmark in Montreal)
Moshe Safdie
4
Birthdate: July 14, 1938
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Haifa, Israel

Moshe Safdie is an architect, educator, urban planner, author, and theorist. He is best known for designing Jewel Changi Airport, Marina Bay Sands, and Habitat 67. Widely regarded as a thought leader, Safdie's work has inspired generations of architects all around the world. 

 20 
Sebastián Marroquín
(Son of Pablo Escobar)
Sebastián Marroquín
4
Birthdate: February 24, 1977
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Medellín, Colombia
Sebastián Marroquín is the son of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. He and his family fled to Mozambique after Pablo’s death, and then to Argentina, where he dropped “Escobar” from his name. He owns an organic clothing line and has written a book and contributed to a documentary about Pablo.
 21 
Robert Venturi
(American Architect)
Robert Venturi
3
Birthdate: June 25, 1925
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: September 18, 2018

Robert Venturi was an American architect who founded the successful architectural firm, Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates. One of the 20th century's leading architectural figures, Venturi helped shape the way that students, planners, and architects think about architecture. Renowned for designing buildings like the Vanna Venturi House, Robert Venturi was honored with the prestigious National Medal of Arts in 1992.

 22 
Richard Rogers
(British-Italian Architect Known for His Modernist and Constructivist Designs)
Richard Rogers
4
Birthdate: July 23, 1933
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Florence, Italy
Died: December 18, 2021

Richard Rogers is an Italian-British architect best known for his functionalist and modernist designs in high-tech architecture. Rogers is recognized for his work on popular buildings like Lloyd's building in London, the Pompidou Centre in Paris, and the building of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. He is the recipient of many awards, including the Thomas Jefferson Medal. 

 23 
Richard Meier
(Architect & Abstract Artist)
Richard Meier
3
Birthdate: October 12, 1934
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Newark, New Jersey, U.S.

Richard Meier is an American architect and abstract artist who is credited with designing many iconic buildings, such as the San Jose City Hall, the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Getty Center, Los Angeles. Over the years Richard Meier has won several prestigious awards like the Pritzker Prize and the American Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award.

 24 
Jean Nouvel
(Architect)
Jean Nouvel
3
Birthdate: August 12, 1945
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Fumel, France

Jean Nouvel is a French architect who was a founding member of Syndicat de l'Architecture, a labor union for architects. He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts and entered into a partnership with François Seigneur. He built a brilliant career and is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Pritzker Prize, architecture's highest honor. 

 25 
Frank Gehry
(Architect and Designer Whose Works are Considered Among the Most Important of Contemporary Architecture)
Frank Gehry
2
Birthdate: February 28, 1929
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Toronto, Canada
Canadian-born American architect and designer Frank Gehry is best known for designing the Guggenheim Museum in Spain, the Louis Vuitton Foundation in France, and the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, U.S. He has won countless awards, such as the Pritzker Architecture Prize and the Praemium Imperiale.
 26 
Fazlur Rahman Khan
(Structural Engineer and Architect Known for His Innovations in High-Rise Building Construction)
Fazlur Rahman Khan
4
Birthdate: April 3, 1929
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Dhaka, Bangladesh
Died: March 27, 1982

Fazlur Rahman Khan was a Bangladeshi-American architect and structural engineer. Regarded as the father of tubular designs, Khan is credited with designing several skyscrapers, including the Willis Tower and the John Hancock Center. Thanks to his ingenious use of structural systems, Khan is often referred to as the 20th century's greatest structural engineer and the Einstein of structural engineering.

 27 
Thomas Andrews
(Businessperson, Naval Architect)
Thomas Andrews
5
Birthdate: February 7, 1873
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Comber, County Down, Ireland
Died: April 15, 1912
 28 
Maya Lin
(Designer)
Maya Lin
7
Birthdate: October 5, 1959
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Athens

Maya Lin is an American sculptor and designer whose competition-winning design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial earned her national recognition when she was still an undergraduate. Her life and career inspired an Oscar-winning documentary titled Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision. Maya Lin has won prestigious awards, such as the National Medal of Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

 29 
Charles Rennie Mackintosh
6
Birthdate: June 7, 1868
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Townhead, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Died: December 10, 1928

Charles Rennie Mackintosh was a Scottish architect, designer, and artist. He was married to fellow artist Margaret Macdonald, and they both were influential on the European design movements Art Nouveau and Secessionism. Mackintosh is considered one of the most important figures of Modern Style (British Art Nouveau style). In his later years, he worked largely as a watercolorist. 

 30 
César Pelli
(Architect, Entrepreneur)
César Pelli
4
Birthdate: October 12, 1926
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: San Miguel de Tucumán
 31 
Friedensreich Hundertwasser
(Austrian Visual Artist and Architect)
Friedensreich Hundertwasser
5
Birthdate: December 15, 1928
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Vienna
Died: February 19, 2000

Austrian visual artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser is remembered for his imagination, his love for bold colors and uneven forms, and his dislike for “straight lines.” He and his Jewish mother escaped the Nazis by posing as Christians. His architectural projects are focused on environment-friendly buildings, such as the Hundertwasserhaus apartment block.

 32 
Isamu Noguchi
(American Landscape Architect and Artist Who Designed the Modern Piece of Furniture Known as the 'Noguchi Table')
Isamu Noguchi
4
Birthdate: November 17, 1904
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, United States
Died: December 30, 1988

Isamu Noguchi was an American landscape architect and artist best remembered for designing the iconic Noguchi table. His sculptures are credited with bridging East and West and some of his works are considered landmarks of 20th-century art. In 1982, he won the Edward MacDowell Medal. In 1987, he received the National Medal of Arts for his contribution to the arts. 

 33 
Peter Zumthor
(Swiss Architect)
Peter Zumthor
3
Birthdate: April 26, 1943
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Basel
 34 
David Childs
(architect)
David Childs
3
Birthdate: April 1, 1941
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Princeton

Architect and chairman of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, David Childs is best known as the designer of the One World Trade Center in New York. While he initially studied zoology, he later deviated to architecture. His projects also include the Changi Airport in Singapore and the National Geographic headquarters.

 35 
Jed Johnson
(film director, film editor, cinematographer, interior designer)
Jed Johnson
5
Birthdate: December 30, 1948
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Alexandria
Died: July 17, 1996

Initially a sweeper at Andy Warhol's Factory, Jed Johnson later also edited some of Warhol’s films. He later drifted to interior designing and partnered with fellow architect Alan Wanzenberg on many designs. He died at 47, when a Trans World Airlines flight he was traveling in, crashed.

 36 
Minoru Yamasaki
(Architect, best known for designing the original World Trade Center in New York City)
Minoru Yamasaki
4
Birthdate: December 1, 1912
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Seattle, Washington, United States
Died: February 7, 1986

Architect Minoru Yamasaki was known for his signature style that was far removed from austerity of modern architecture. He is best remembered for designing New York’s famed World Trade Center, or the Twin Towers, destroyed later in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He had previously worked as a draftsman and an engineer.

 37 
Arne Jacobsen
(Danish Architect and Furniture Designer)
Arne Jacobsen
3
Birthdate: February 11, 1902
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Copenhagen, Denmark
Died: March 23, 1971
 38 
Jeanne Gang
(architect)
Jeanne Gang
3
Birthdate: March 19, 1964
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Belvidere

American architect and the founder of Studio Gang Architects, Jeanne Gang is best known for her sustainable designs. The Aqua Tower in Chicago was designed by her and thus became the tallest building ever designed by a woman. She has also penned books such as Reverse Effect.

 39 
Daniel Libeskind
(Architect, Musician, University teacher)
Daniel Libeskind
4
Birthdate: May 12, 1946
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Łódź

Daniel Libeskind had initially moved to New York on a music scholarship. However, he later deviated to architecture and also taught for a while. One of his most celebrated designs is the Jewish Museum in Berlin. He also won a contest for a proposed design for rebuilding the World Trade Center.

 40 
Philippe Starck
(French Industrial Architect and Designer)
Philippe Starck
5
Birthdate: January 18, 1949
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Paris, France
 41 
Shigeru Ban
(Architect, Restorer)
Shigeru Ban
3
Birthdate: August 5, 1957
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Tokyo
 42 
Barnett Newman
(Painter, Sculptor, Visual artist, Architect)
Barnett Newman
4
Birthdate: January 29, 1905
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: New York City
Died: July 4, 1970

Barnett Newman was an American artist widely regarded as one of the most prominent figures in abstract expressionism. Although his work was unappreciated for much of his life, it served as a major influence on several younger artists like Bob Law, Frank Stella, and Donald Judd.

 43 
Rem Koolhaas
(Architect)
Rem Koolhaas
4
Birthdate: November 17, 1944
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Rotterdam, Netherlands
Height: 6'5" (196 cm)
 44 
Donald Judd
(American Artist, Architect and Sculptor)
Donald Judd
7
Birthdate: June 3, 1928
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Excelsior Springs, Missouri, United States
Died: February 12, 1994

Donald Judd was an American artist widely regarded as one of the most prominent international exponents of minimalism. He is credited with founding a contemporary art museum named Chinati Foundation which houses the collection of popular artists like Carl Andre, Ilya Kabakov, Richard Long, and John Wesley. Judd also contributed as a teacher at many academic institutions in the USA.

 45 
Steven Holl
(Architect, University teacher)
Steven Holl
4
Birthdate: December 9, 1947
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Bremerton

Steven Holl drew on phenomenology for his architectural designs. The Alvar Aalto Medal-winning architect has built museums, commercial buildings, and residential complexes across the world, most notably the Linked Hybrid in China, the renovated American Memorial Library in Berlin, and a horizontal skyscraper in Shenzhen, named the Vanke Centre.

 46 
Charles Correa
(Architect)
Charles Correa
4
Birthdate: September 1, 1930
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Secunderābād, India
Died: June 16, 2015
 47 
Michael Graves
(Architect)
Michael Graves
3
Birthdate: July 9, 1934
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Died: March 12, 2015

Michael Graves was an American architect, educator, and designer. He is credited with influencing many architectural movements, such as Postmodernism, New Classicism, and New Urbanism. Recognized as one of America's most prolific and prominent architects of the 20th century, Michael Graves was honored with several prestigious awards including the National Medal of Arts and the AIA Gold Medal.

 48 
Rachel Lambert Mellon
(Art collector)
Rachel Lambert Mellon
3
Birthdate: August 9, 1910
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Princeton
Died: March 17, 2014

Horticulturalist Rachel Lambert Mellon, or Bunny Mellon, is best remembered for designing the White House Rose Garden. She was the wife of banking heir and philanthropist Paul Mellon. Apart from several apartments, she also owned a huge collection of paintings and artifacts, which fetched $158.7 million at a Sotheby's auction.

 49 
Álvaro Siza Vieira
(Portuguese Architect and Architectural Educator)
Álvaro Siza Vieira
3
Birthdate: June 25, 1933
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Matosinhos, Portugal
 50 
Christopher Alexander
3
Birthdate: October 4, 1936
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Vienna, Austria

Christopher Alexander is a British-American design theorist and architect whose theories have had influences on several fields, such as sociology, software, and urban design among others. An influential personality, Christopher Alexander's works have contributed immensely to the development of the technology behind Wikipedia and agile software development. He is also known for his 1977 influential book A Pattern Language.