Architecture is one of humanity's most visible and long-lasting forms of expression, spanning the

entire length of humanity. Most historic civilizations are even identified by their surviving
architectural relics: the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, the Golden Pavilion in Japan, or the Taj
Mahal in India. Here, our list focuses on a few of the icons of modern architecture (the last 150
years), the true masters of their craft. If you ever wanted a crash course in the icons of modern
architecture here it is.

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Daniel Libeskind

Images via Studio Libeskind

Daniel Libeskind was born in 1946 in Poland. In 1959 Libeskind and his family moved to New
York City, where Libeskind attended Bronx High School of Science and later Cooper Union for
architecture. In 1972 Libeskind briefly worked for another architect on our list, Richard Meier.
He and his wife Nina Lewis founded Studio Daniel Libeskind in 1989. The Jewish Museum in
Berlin was Libeskind’s first major international success. Some other notable works include the
Grand Canal Theatre in Dublin and the Imperial War Museum North in England.

Richard Meier
Images via Richard Meier

A graduate of Cornell University, Richard Meier worked with a number of notable architects,
like SOM and Marcel Breuer (whose name you might recognize from our 25 Furniture Designers
You Need to Know). In 1963, Meier established his own practice. Among his most well-known
projects are the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art,
and The Hague City Hall and Central Library in the Netherlands. He has won the Pritzker Prize,
the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal, and the Royal Gold Medal from the Royal
Institute of British Architects.

Sir Norman Foster

Images via Foster + Partners

Manchester, England-born Sir Norman Foster was both a graduate of Manchester University
School of Architecture and Yale University’s Masters in Architecture program. He founded
Foster + Partners in 1967, and in 1999, he became a Pritzker Prize winner. Foster + Partners has
received over 470 awards and citations for excellence in their 45 years in business, including
Gold Medals from the RIBA and the AIA. Some of Foster’s most notable works are the 30 St
Mary Axe in London, Willis Faber and Dumas Headquarters in Ipswich, and Wembley Stadium
in London.

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Renzo Piano
Images via RPBW

Born in Genoa, Italy in 1937, Renzo Piano was destined to be an architect—or at least a
contractor. His father, four uncles, and brother were all contractors, so it seems natural that Piano
would go into another adjacent field of construction. After graduating from Politecnico di Milano
School of Architecture, Piano worked in the offices of Louis Khan in Philadelphia. Some of his
most famous building are the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, The New York Times building
in New York City, and the Shard London Bridge. Piano won the Pritzker Prize in 1998 and the
AIA Gold Medal in 2008.

Santiago Calatrava
Images via Santiago Calatrava

Spanish architect, artist, and engineer Santiago Calatrava was born in 1957 near Valencia, Spain.
After completing high school, Calatrava moved to Paris with the intention of studying at École
des Beaux-Arts, but realized after arriving that his plan was unworkable. Calatrava moved back
to Valencia and enrolled in Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura. Still unsatisfied with his
education, he set his sights on the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) to study civil
engineering. After graduation, Calatrava took a position assisting the ETH and began taking on
small engineering commissions, like roofs and balconies. His big break came when he won a
competition proposal in 1984 to design and build the Bach De Roda Bridge in Barcelona. This
competition led to international recognition. Calatrava was not only know for building bridges,
but for his large-scale public works as well, such as the Athens Olympic Sports Complex,
Auditorio de Tenerife, and the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències. He has won the AIA Gold Medal
and the Prince of Asturias Award.

Rem Koolhaas
Images via Nobel in Design

Popular architectural figure Rem Koolhaas has a large following due to his unconventional and
sometimes provocative buildings. In 1975, Koolhaas, his wife Madelon Vriesendorp, and Elia
and Zoe Zenghelis opened OMA, a collective “hothouse research lab,” as described by Icon. In
addition to architecture, Koolhaas is also an author (S, M, L, XL and Content), a theorist, an
urban planner, a cultural researcher, and a professor at Harvard. Among his numerous projects,
he has designed the Seattle Central Library, the Netherlands Embassy in Berlin, and the CCTV
Headquarters in Beijing (his largest work to date).

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Zaha Hadid
Images via Zaha Hadid

A student of Rem Koolhaas, Zaha Hadid is seen as a singular, unwavering force in the world of
architecture. She has struggled through her career with both clients and collaborators because of
her drive, tenacity, and her being a female in a male-dominated field. But despite these setbacks,
she has become the most well-known woman architect in the world. In 2004, Hadid was the first
(and, at the moment, the only individual) woman to win the prestigious Pritzker Prize award.
Hadid’s big break came from an unexpected place, when she was commissioned to design
Cincinnati’s Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art. The New York Times describes the building
as “the most important new building in America since the Cold War.” Once her talent was
realized, commissions started coming in to design a variety of projects in public transportation,
libraries, archives, and opera houses, including Abu Dhabi Performing Art Center and Bee'ah
Headquarters, both in the UAE.

Cesar Pelli
Images via SABF

Argentine architect Cesar Pelli was born in 1926. He studied architecture at the University of
Tucmán, before a scholarship led him to the University of Illinois School of Architecture. After
school, Pelli worked at the firm of Eero Saarinen and Associates. Pelli was with the firm for 10
years, later citing Saarinen and Corbusier as major influences in his work. In this position, he
worked as project designer for the famous TWA terminal at JFK Airport. In 1977, Pelli and his
wife opened Cesar Pelli and Associates with Fred W. Clarke. In 1995, he won the AIA Gold
Medal for his architectural work. Some of Pelli’s most notable work includes the World
Financial Center in NYC, Circa Center in Philadelphia, and the Petronas Twin Towers (with
Mahathir Mohamad).

Walter Gropius
Images via Walter Groupies

Walter Gropius is best known as the first director of the prestigious design school Bauhaus.
Gropius actually designed the school’s second location in Dessau, Germany. After leaving the
Bauhaus in 1927, Gropius moved to England. In 1937, he was invited to teach at Harvard. While
at the Ivy League school, Gropius and former Bauhaus teacher Marcel Breuer founded a joint
architectural firm together. Together they designed many notable works including the
Pennsylvania Pavilion for the 1939 World’s Fair and Gropius’ private residence in Lincoln,
Massachusetts. He has been awarded gold medals from The Royal Institute of British Architects
and The American Institute of Architects.

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Frank Lloyd Wright

Image via Time

Frank Lloyd Wright was born in Wisconsin in 1867, just two years after the end of the Civil
War. His rural upbringing set the stage for his lifelong love and appreciation of nature. Wright is
arguably the most famous architect in the U.S. In his lifetime, he designed 141 works—including
houses, offices, churches, schools, libraries, and museums, and he received awards from The
Royal Institute of British Architects and the American Institute of Architects. His buildings have
been considered among the most significant architectural works to be designed in the last 100
years; 409 of his completed works are still standing today. Wright also helped create the open
floor plan—designing rooms that flow and open out into each other. His appreciation of nature is
apparent in his work and its arguable that no other architect took greater advantage of setting and
environment than Wright. An example of this careful consideration can be seen in
“Fallingwater,” one of his most famous designs, as well as the Solomon R. Guggenheim
Museum in New York City and his personal homes, Taliesin and Taliesin West.

Eero Saarinen
Images via United Way

Eero Saarinen was born in Finland in 1910 to an already established architect father, Eliel
Saarinen. The family moved to the U.S. in 1929. Saarinen studied at Yale, and in 1936, he began
working at his father’s architecture practice and also taught at Cranbrook, where his father had
been president since it was founded in 1932. At Cranbrook, he met Charles Eames and the two
collaborated on new furniture forms (specifically molded plywood). In the 1940s, Saarinen and
Eames took part in the “Organic Design in Home Furnishings” at MoMA. Unlike Eames,
Saarinen decided to focus mainly on architecture more so than furniture, designing the iconic
Gateway Arch in St. Louis, the TWA terminal at JFK Airport, and Dulles International Airport
near Washington, D.C. He was posthumously awarded the AIA Gold Medal in 1962.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Images via Weebley

German-born Ludwig Mies van der Rohe is considered to be a father of modern architecture.
One of Mies’ most famous works was his Barcelona Pavilion at the International Exposition in
Barcelona (where he also designed the Barcelona chair). Mies came to America in 1937, after the
Bauhaus school (where he was the director) was shut down due to pressure from the Nazi
government. In 1944, he became a U.S. citizen and began one of the most successful periods in
his career. During this time, he designed and built The Farnsworth House (a minimalist house
with only one interior room that was completely enclosed in glass—similar to his friend Philip
Johnson’s Glass House in New Canaan, Conn.). In 1954, he completed the Seagram Building in
NYC (with Philip Johnson), and in 1957 he completed the twin towers in Chicago—two of his
most famous works. He was awarded the AIA Gold Medal and the Royal Gold Medal for his
architectural work.

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Michael Graves
Images via Michael Graves

Michael Graves is one of the few post-modernists on our list. Born in Indianapolis, Ind., he had a
long-standing interest in drawing and painting, which influenced his architecture later in life.
Graves worked with Carl Strauss, Ray Rousen, and George Nelson. Some of his most notable
works are the Portland Building in Oregon, the Steigenberger Hotel in Egypt, and the Walt
Disney World Swan at Walt Disney World. He won the AIA Gold Medal in 2001.

Le Corbusier
Images via Nick Jenkins

A pioneer of modern architecture, Le Corbusier’s career spanned five decades and numerous
continents. Corbusier theorized five points that supported his modernist style of architecture:
pilotis, free façade, open floor plan, unencumbered views, and roof garden. Many of Corbusier’s
designs were airy and open, connecting the visitor to nature and creating a bridge between the
structure and the outside world. A few that embody his style are the Esprit Nouveau Pavilion in
Paris, chapel of Notre Dame du Haut in Ronchamp, and Villa Savoye near Paris. He was
honored as an AIA Gold Medalist in 1961.

SOM
Images via SOM

SOM, founded by Louis Skidmore, Nathaniel Owings, and John O. Merill, opened their NYC
office in 1937. SOM is one of the largest architectural firms in the world, offering services in
architecture, engineering, graphic design, interior design, and urban design, among others. The
company’s primary expertise is in high-end commercial high-rises. The firm has designed some
of the most famous (and tallest) buildings in the world, such as 7 World Trade Center, the Sears
Tower, and Lever House. Skidmore and Owings both won the AIA Gold Medal for their
architectural achievements.

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Alvar Aalto
Images via Swank Lighting

Alvar Aalto was a Finnish architect and designer working in furniture, textiles, and glassware.
Unlike most architects, his style was very transitional, from Nordic Classicism to pure
modernism to organic modernism. His move to modernism may have been influenced by close
relationships with individuals like Lazlo Maholy-Nagy and Le Corbusier. Aalto liked to take
control of all aspects of a design project, not only designing the building, but the furniture,
textiles, and furnishings as well. It wasn’t until the mid-1930s that Aalto received world
recognition. In the U.S., his reputation grew following the positive reception of his Finnish
pavilion for the 1939 World’s Fair, which another architect on our list, Frank Lloyd Wright,
called “a work of genius.” Throughout his career, Aalto designed a wide range of work from
civic planning to painting—designing over 500 buildings (including Finlandia Hall and the
Paimio Sanatorium, both in Finland) spanning five countries, and won the AIA Gold Medal for
architecture.

Louis Sullivan
Images via Missouri.org

Louis Sullivan is considered to be the creator of the modern skyscraper and the father of
modernism. He was the mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright and an influential figure to the Chicago
group of architects that came to be known as the Prairie School. Born in Boston in 1856,
Sullivan studied architecture for a year at MIT before leaving for the École des Beaux-Arts.
Sullivan’s most famous works were the National Farmers Bank of Owatonna, Merchants
National Bank, and Peoples Federal Savings and Loan. In 1944, he won the AIA Gold Medal.

Charles & Ray Eames

Images via Eames Office

Next to Frank Lloyd Wright, Charles and Ray Eames may be the most well-known and well-
documented architects on our list, though not specifically for their architecture. In collaboration
with his wife Ray, Eames created a creative collective, working on furniture, industrial design,
manufacturing, photography, and film in addition to architecture. Their most famous
architectural work is their home in Pacific Palisades, Calif., created as part of the Case Study
House program, sponsored by Art & Architecture magazine. Eames also designed the Entenza
house in the Pacific Palisades and Max and Esther de Pree house in Michigan.

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Ieoh Ming Pei

Images via NYR

Ieoh Ming (or IM) Pei is often called the master of modern architecture. He was born in China in
1917 and raised in Hong Kong and Shanghai. In 1935, Pei moved to the U.S. to go to school at
Pennsylvania University School of Architecture, ended up transferring to MIT. After graduating,
he began studying at Harvard School of Design, where he became friends with Walter
Gropius and Marcel Breuer. Pei’s notable projects include Jacob Javits Center, the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame, and the Bank of China Tower, among others. Pei won the Pritzker Prize in 1983
and the AIA Gold Medal in 1979.

Philip Johnson
Images via Luca Vignelli

Born in Cleveland in 1906, Philip Johnson was one of the most notable and influence, modernist
architects of his era, designing some of America’s greatest modern landmarks. In 1943, he
graduated Harvard Graduate School of Design, after which he worked with Ludwig Mies van der
Rohe. Before becoming an architect, Philip Johnson was the founding director of MoMA’s
department of architecture, where he produced his landmark exhibition, “The International
Style,” in 1932. In 1978, Johnson won the AIA Gold Medal for his architectural work. In
addition to his most notable work, his private residence in New Canaan, Conn., The Glass
House, Johnson also designed the Lipstick Building and the Seagram Suilding, both in New
York City.

Oscar Niemeyer
Images via Goncalo Afonso Dias

Oscar Niemeyer is a Brazilian architect specializing in modern architecture. He was instrumental

in reshaping Brazil’s identity in popular culture and in the field of architecture. In addition to
making important contributions to his country, he was also a pioneer in the use of reinforced
concrete used solely for aesthetic impact. Some of Niemeyer’s most famous works include the
Contemporary Art Museum in Rio de Janerio, Natal City Park, and the Ravello Auditorium.

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Robert Venturi & Denise Scott Brown

Images via Architecture + Urbanism

Best known for his contributions to post-modern architecture, Robert Venturi, in collaboration
with his wife Denise Scott Brown, has worked on a number of notable projects, including the
Seattle Museum of Art and the Sainsbury addition to the National Gallery in London. Born in
Philadelphia in 1925, Venturi attended Princeton University, graduating Summa Cum Laude in
1950. He studied under Eero Saarinen (another architect on our list). In addition to his
architectural work, Venturi is also known for his theoretical work, including his 1966 book,
Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture, and has won the Pritzker Prize.

Buckminster Fuller
Images via PBS

Buckminster Fuller (or “Bucky”) was a theorist, architect, engineer, inventor, and futurist. Fuller
taught at Black Mountain Collage in North Carolina, where he reinvented his most notable
contribution to architecture, the Geodesic Dome. This lattice shell structure has been used as
parts of military radar stations, civic buildings, environmental protest camps, and exhibition
attractions. Fuller also designed the Dymaxion House, an energy efficient and inexpensive house
that was never produced. In 1970, Fuller won the AIA Gold Medal for architecture.

Jean Nouvel
Images via Direct Martin

French architect Jean Nouvel attended the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. At 25, Novel started a
firm with François Seigneur. In addition to his physical contributions to architecture, Nouvel also
contributed to the intellectual advancement of the discipline, he co-founded Mars 1976 and the
Syndicat de l'Architecture. He also organized the competition to rejuvenate the Les
Halles district and founded the first Paris architecture biennale in 1980. In 2008, he received the
Pritzker Prize for his work on over 200 projects, including Doha Office Tower in Qatar and the
new 53 East 53rd in New York City.

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Frank Gehry
Images via All Star Pics

Pritzker Prize and AIA Gold Medal-winning Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry is one of
the most famous contemporary architects practicing today. The Simpson’s fans might recognize
his name from various episodes—the creators seem to be big fans of his architect, and not
without merit. Gehry is one of the few architects to be dubbed a “Starchitect.” Gehry opened his
architectural firm in L.A. in 1962. The firm now employs 120 architects, including nine partners
in addition to Gehry. Some of the architect’s most notable works include the Guggenheim in
Bilbao, the Louis Vuitton Foundation, and Biomuseo Panama.