César Pelli
b. October 12, 1926 d. July 19, 2019
Building A New World
César Pelli was born on October 12, 1926 in San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina. His death July 19, 2019 was confirmed by his son Rafael. Pelli is survived by his sons professor Denis and architect Rafael.
Pelli received a degree in architecture from The National University of Tucumán. He married urban landscape designer Diana Balmori and had two children professor Denis and architect Rafael. Eventually he moved to America to get his master's degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
In 1977 Pelli and co-founder Fred Clarke set up their own firm. The same year Pelli was offered the deanship at Yale School of Architecture, a position he held from 1977-1984 in New Haven, where Pelli Clarke Pelli is still based.
He believed that buildings should be responsible citizens, and the aesthetic qualities of a building should grow from the specific characteristics of each project, such as its location, construction technology, and purpose.
Notable projects include-
Pacific Design Center, Los Angeles (1975)
World Financial Center, New York (1981–1987)
Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (1998)
Two International Finance Centre, Hong Kong (2003)
Aria Resort & Casino, Las Vegas (2009)
Gran Torre Santiago, Santiago, Chile (2010)
Salesforce Tower, San Francisco (2018)
The AIA awarded Cesar Pelli the 1995 Gold Medal, which recognizes a lifetime of distinguished achievement and outstanding contributions.
In 1991, Cesar Pelli was selected as one of the 10 most influential living American architects.
In 1989, Pelli Clarke Pelli was the recipient of the AIA's Firm Award.
In 2004, Mr. Pelli was awarded the Aga Khan Award for Architecture for the design of the Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.