The 2019 ELLE Decor Architecture A-List
Architecture is the manmade environment. It is not just the statement towers changing the city skylines of places like New York, Shanghai, and London or stadiums built for a single Olympics broadcast. It's also a hospital in Burkina Faso, a kindergarten in rural Spain, and a mosque in Bangladesh. Every region of the world produces geniuses of all colors and genders who define their own vernacular, changing our world one brick at a time. With that in mind, here, we present ELLE Decor's 2019 list of the world's greatest living architects, plus some beautiful renderings by Lego to honor these iconic structures.
RAFAEL ARANDA, CARME PIGEN & RAMON VILALTA
Firm: RCR Arquitectes Origin: Spain HQ: Olot Key Projects: El Petit Comte Kindergarten and Les Cols Restaurant Marquee, which are both in Olot, Spain; Bell-Lloc Winery in Palamós, Spain Laureates: Pritzker Prize
MARINA TABASSUM
Firm: Marina Tabassum Architects Origin: Bangladesh HQ: Dhaka Key Projects: Baitur Rauf Jame Mosque in Dhaka; A5 residence and Independence Monument of Bangladesh and Liberation War Museum both in Dhaka and built while Tabassum was with URBANA
NICOLE BLAIR
Firm: Studio 512 Origin: United States HQ: Austin, TX Key Projects: The Hive (pictured); Chicon Duplex, and West Mary residence, all of which are located in Austin
ALEJANDRO ARAVENA
Firm: Elemental Origin: Chile HQ: Santiago Key Projects: Quinta Monroy Housing in Iquique, Chile; Innovation Center UC in Santiago, Chile; Monterrey Housing in Monterrey, Mexico Laureate: Pritzker Prize
CRAIG DYKERS AND KJETIL TRÆDAL THORSEN
Firm: Snøhetta Origin: Norway HQ: Oslo Key Projects: Oslo Opera House; Biblioteca Alexandrina in Alexandria, Egypt; 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York City
DAVID CHIPPERFIELD
Firm: David Chipperfield Architects Origin: United Kingdom HQ: London Key Projects: Museo Jumex in Mexico City; Kunsthaus in Zurich, Switzerland; The Bryant in New York City
ADRIAN SMITH & GORDON GILL
Firm: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture Origin: United States HQ: Chicago Key Projects: Dancing Dragons in Seoul, South Korea (pictured); Jeddah Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Burj Khalifa in Dubai, UAE, which Smith designed while on staff at SOM
DIÉBÉDO FRANCIS KÉRÉ
Firm: Kéré Architecture Origin: Burkina Faso HQ: Berlin Key Projects: Gando Primary School in Gando, Burkina Faso; Opera Village and Centre de Santé et de Promotion Sociale, which are both in Laongo, Burkina Faso
MARIAM KAMARA
Firm: Atelier Masomi Origin: Niger HQ: Niamey Key Projects: Niamey 2000 in Niamey, Niger; Regional Market and Hikma Religious and Secular Complex, which are both in Dandaji, Niger Adjunct Professor: Brown University
DEBORAH BERKE
Firm: Deborah Berke Partners Origin: United States HQ: New York City Key Projects: 48 Bond Street, 509 West 24th Street, and 40 East End Avenue, all of which are in New York City Side Hustle: Dean of Yale School of Architecture
DENISE SCOTT BROWN
Firm: Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates Origin: Zambia HQ: Philadelphia
Key Projects: Seattle Art Museum; Addition to the National Gallery in London; Franklin Park in Philadelphia Important Text: Co-wrote Learning From Las Vegas with her late husband Robert Venturi and Steven Izenour Controversy: While Robert Venturi, her late husband and business partner was awarded a Pritzker Prize in 1991, she was denied one.
ODILE DECQ
Firm: Studio Odile Decq Origin: France HQ: Paris Key Projects: La Banque Populaire de l’Ouest in Rennes, France; Le Cargo in Paris; New Cyprus Museum in Nicosia, Cyprus
BALKRISHNA DOSHI
Firm: Vastu Shilpa Consultants Origin: India HQ: Ahmedabad Key Projects: Sangath, Amdavad ni Gufa, and Life Insurance Corporation Housing, all of which are located in Ahmedabad, India Laureate: Pritzker Prize
DORTE MANDRUP
Firm: Dorte Mandrup Origin: Denmark HQ: Copenhagen Key Projects: Råå Preschool in Helsingborg, Sweden; Amager Children's Culture House in Copenhagen; Salling Tower in Aarhus, Denmark
RYUE NISHIZAWA & KAZUYO SEJIMA
Firm: SANAA Origin: Japan HQ: Tokyo Key Projects: The New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City; Rolex Learning Center in Lausanne, Switzerland; Louvre-Lens in Lens, France. Laureates: Pritzker Prize
MOSHE SAFDIE
Firm: Safdie Architects Origin: Israel & Canada HQ: Boston, MA Key Projects: Habitat 67 in Montreal (pictured); Marina Bay Sands in Singapore; Altair in Colombo, Sri Lanka
CAZÚ ZEGERS
Firm: Cazú Zegers Origin: Chile HQ: Santiago Key Projects: LLU House in Lago Ranco, Chile; Hotel Tierra Patagonia in Lago Sarmiento, Chile; Capilla del Espíritu Santo in Puente Alto, Chile (pictured)
PETER ZUMTHOR
Firm: Atelier Peter Zumthor Origin: Switzerland HQ: Haldenstein Key Projects: Therme Vals in Vals, Switzerland (pictured); Kunsthaus Bregenz in Bregenz Austria; Bruder Klaus Field Chapel in Mechernich, Germany Laureate: Pritzker Prize
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