Paul Lester Wiener (1895–1967) was an American architect and urban planner.

Education

He was educated in the

Royal Academy of Berlin The Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences (german: Königlich-Preußische Akademie der Wissenschaften) was an academy established in Berlin, Germany on 11 July 1700, four years after the Prussian Academy of Arts, or "Arts Academy," to which "Berlin ...

with post graduate study in Vienna and Paris. He came to the United States in 1913 and became a citizen in 1919. He returned to Europe for further study and work until 1927. In 1934, he designed the

Contempora House Contempora House is a historic home located at New City in Rockland County, New York. It is a Streamline Moderne style dwelling built in 1934–1935. The property consists of the main house with detached studio. The buildings are constructed o ...

and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.

Notable projects

Paul Lester Wiener collaborated with

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...

. Wiener and Sert originated a master plan for the city of Havana, Bogota and several other city units in

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

which were based on the principles of planning for expected population and organizing the growth of the city in an efficient manner, as well as reorganizing existing features to provide planned living and recreational space for residents with an eye to preventing the undesirable effects of random growth such as slum housing and inequitable distribution of land, etc. In 1958, Wiener accepted his most significant commission in the United States: to plan a neighborhood development in the Washington Square area of New York City, providing several thousand housing units within a six-block area. Combining his concepts of clean basic lines a functional form with bold color, he designed a series of high rise apartments which incorporated outdoor patio style living with the convenience of a central urban location and exciting visual environment.

Personal life

In 1935, he married Alma Morgenthau Wertheim, former wife of

Maurice Wertheim Maurice Wertheim (February 16, 1886 – May 27, 1950) was an American investment banker, chess player, chess patron, art collector, environmentalist, and philanthropist. Wertheim founded Wertheim & Co. in 1927. Biography Born to a Jewish family ...

and daughter of

Henry Morgenthau Sr. Henry Morgenthau (; April 26, 1856 – November 25, 1946) was a German-born American lawyer and businessman, best known for his role as the United States Ambassador to Turkey, ambassador to the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Morgenthau was on ...

References

Further biographical information
1895 births 1967 deaths Morgenthau family German emigrants to the United States {{US-architect-stub