Famous Architects of the World

Today we cite examples such as the Imperial War Museum North in England and the Petronas Twin Towers in Malaysia as marvels of modern-day architecture. All these magnificent buildings reflect the efforts that were taken by the architects who designed them; the likes of Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright.

Better known as Le Corbusier, Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris was a famous architect of Swiss-French dual nationality. Born on October 6, 1887, he studied at La Chaux de Fonds before working with an architect of Austrian origin, Josef Hoffman.

His '5 points of Architecture' included open floor plan without supporters, roof garden, free standing pillar, vertical facade, and long horizontal sliding windows. Famous works by Le Corbusier include Palace for League of Nations in Geneva (1927-28) and The Secretariat at United Nations Headquarters in New York (1952). He passed away in 1965.

Considered America's most famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright was born on June 8, 1867 in Wisconsin. Frank joined University of Wisconsin in 1882 to study engineering, but left school after a few semesters. He started his individual practice after working with Louis Sullivan for six years.

He practiced styles such as Organic Architecture, Hemicycle Designs, and Prairie Style. Before his death at the age of 91 in April 1959, Wright had significant works including Fallingwater in Pennsylvania, Guggenheim Museum in New York, and Johnson Wax Headquarters in Wisconsin to his credit.

Alvar Aalto was a renowned Finnish architect, who lived between February 3, 1898, and May 11, 1976. He was called the Father of Modern Scandinavian Architecture and Father of Modernism. He graduated from Helsinki University of Technology with honors in architecture.

It's difficult to ignore the influence of Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque in Aalto's work. Finnish structures such as Paimio Sanatorium, Villa Mairea, and Finlandia Hall are Aalto's noted contributions to the world architecture. He was awarded a Gold Medal by the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1957.

Robert Stern is an American architect and the Dean of Yale University School of Architecture in Connecticut, United States. Born on May 23, 1939, Stern completed his Bachelor's Degree in 1960 from Columbia and got a Master's Degree in Architecture from Yale in 1965.

He has designed many projects for The Walt Disney Company, including the Disney Beach Club Resort and Disney Yacht Club Resort in Florida. Other notable works by R. Stern include Federal Courthouse for Richmond, Virginia, and Nashville Public Library in Nashville, Tennessee.

Christopher Wren was a famous architect from England, who lived between October 20, 1632, and February 25, 1723. After completing his education, he worked as a professor of Astronomy at Gresham College in London. In 1663, Wren started his career as an architect by designing a New Chapel for Pembroke College, Cambridge.

After the Great Fire of London, he designed over 50 churches in London, including the St Paul's Cathedral. Wren's works were influenced by works of Marcus Vitruvius, the 1st Century Roman architect. He also traveled to Paris to study Baroque architecture.

His notable works include the Christ Church College Bell Tower, Sheldonian Theater at Oxford, Greenwich Hospital in Greenwich, Royal Observatory, and the Library at Trinity College in Cambridge. His major contribution towards architecture was when he helped rebuild London after the 'Great Fire of London' gutted it down in September 1666.

Renowned Japanese architect, Kenzo Tange was born on September 4, 1913 in Osaka, Japan. His works have strong influences of Le Corbusier style of architecture.

He is credited with architectural works like the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima, Yoyogi National Gymnasium for 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Tokyo Cathedral, Central Area New Federal Capital City of Nigeria, and the University of Bahrain.

He won the Pritzker Prize for architecture awarded by the Hyatt Foundation in 1987. Other prominent awards Tange won include AIA Gold Medal (1966), Order of Culture (1980), and Order of Sacred Treasures (1994).

These were the great architects who laid the platform for an art which is continuously growing, with each person adding a bit of his own to come up with magnificent structures for us to feast our eyes upon.