Álvaro Siza
Born Álvaro Joaquim de Melo Siza Vieira on 25th June 1933, Álvaro Siza – as he is known internationally, is a Portuguese architect who also plays the role of an architectural tutor. His architectural education can be traced back to the former School of Fine Arts at the University of Porto where he completed his graduate studies in architecture in 1955. He began his architectural work even before he had fully completed his education when in 1954, he built four houses in Matosinhos. This was also the year that he started his own private practice in Porto. In the year 1992, Álvaro Siza was awarded the Pritzker Prize after he successfully coordinated the renovation of a project in the Chiado area of Lisbon – a historic commercial area that was almost completely gutted by fire in August 1998. According to Siza, architects do not invent anything, rather they focus on transforming the existing reality. His philosophy was quoted by the jury that awarded him the Pritzker Prize in 1992, and in the jury’s words, ‘Like the early Modernists, his shapes, moulded by light, have a deceptive simplicity about them; they are honest.’ See here for ‘construction cost estimator UK‘
Antoine Predock
Antoine Predock is an American architect who was born in the year 1936 in Lebanon Missouri. He is currently based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. At the moment he is the Head of Antoine Predock Architect PC – a firm that he established in 1967. Predock started his journey in architecture by first attending the University of New Mexico and later Columbia University where he was awarded a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture.
Predock first shot to the national limelight for his work in the La Luz community was found in Albuquerque, New Mexico and later at the National Fine Arts Centre at the Arizona State University where won his first national architectural design competition. Some of his most famous works include the Turtle Creek House which he built for bird watchers along a prehistoric trail in Texas in the year 1993; the Tang Teaching and Art Gallery which is found in Skidmore College and a new ballpark that the designed for the San Diego Padres. For his work, he won the AIA Gold Medal in 2006. The Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum also awarded him a Lifetime Achievement Award in the year 2007.
Ben Van Berkel
Ben Van Berkel is a Dutch architect who was born in 1957. He is a founding partner in the world-acclaimed architectural practice – Unstudied. His architectural education started at the Rietveld Academy located in Amsterdam. He later studied at the Architectural Association in London where he was awarded an AA Diploma (Honours) in the year 1987.
In 1988, Van Berkel and his wife – Caroline Bos started an architectural practice in Amsterdam and named it the Van Berkel & Bos Architectuurbureau. Some of the projects that can be accredited to their firm include the Karbouw Office Complex and the Erasmus Bridge found in Rotterdam. In 1988, they renamed their practice as UNStudio, where ‘UN’ stands for ‘United Net’ in a bid to acknowledge the collaboration that often comes in from different parties during the architectural design process.
Over the years, Ben Van Berkel has taught and lectured in many architectural schools all over the globe. For starters, he was first a Visiting Professor of Architecture at Columbia University, Princeton University and Harvard University. In the year 2001, he was appointed a Professor of Conceptual Design at the Städelschule which is located in Frankfurt. Later in 2011, he was appointed the Kenzo Tange Chair at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Throughout his teaching career, Van Berkel has continuously advocated for the inclusive approach when it comes to architectural work; the integration of virtual and material organization and engineering constructs. Some of his most famous works which have earned him a spot on this list include Theater Agora, W.I.N.D House and the Mercedes-Benz Museum.
Bernard Tschumi
Bernard Tschumi is an architect and educator who was born on 25th January 1944. He is mostly renowned for his strong association with deconstructivism. Bernard – who shares both French and Swiss roots, is the son of renowned architect Jean Tschumi. He currently resides in New York and Paris where he currently continues practising architecture. His architectural education can be traced back to Paris where he studied at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich where he was awarded a degree in architecture in 1969.