Richard Meier (born October 12, 1934) is an American

abstract art Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th ...

ist and architect, whose geometric designs make prominent use of the color white. A winner of the

Pritzker Architecture Prize The Pritzker Architecture Prize is an international architecture award presented annually "to honor a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produ ...

in 1984, Meier has designed several iconic buildings including the

Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art The Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art ( ca, Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona, , MACBA) is a contemporary art museum situated in the Plaça dels Àngels, in El Raval, Ciutat Vella, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The museum opened to the publi ...

, the

Getty Center The Getty Center, in Los Angeles, California, is a campus of the Getty Museum and other programs of the Getty Trust. The $1.3 billion center opened to the public on December 16, 1997 and is well known for its architecture, gardens, and views over ...

in Los Angeles, the

High Museum of Art The High Museum of Art (colloquially the High) is the largest museum for visual art in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta, Georgia (on Peachtree Street in Midtown, the city's arts district), the High is 312,000 square feet (28, ...

in Atlanta, and

San Jose City Hall San José City Hall is the seat of the municipal government of San Jose, California. Located in Downtown San Jose, it was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Meier in a Postmodern style. It consists of an 18-story tower, an ic ...

. In 2018, all of Meier's employees accused him of sexual assault, which led to his resignation in 2021.

Early life

Meier was born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family, the oldest of three sons of Carolyn (Kaltenbacher) and Jerome Meier, a wholesale wine and liquor salesman,Pranay Gupte (November 17, 2005)
Lunch at The Four Seasons with: Richard Meier
''

New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...

''. in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Maplewood,Hilarie M. Sheets (January 24, 2014)
Architect Goes Home, to Recall and to Work
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. where he attended

Columbia High School Columbia High School may refer to: *Columbia High School (Huntsville, Alabama) *Columbia High School (Georgia) *Columbia High School (Florida) *Columbia High School (Idaho) *Columbia High School (Illinois) *Columbia High School (Mississippi), a Mis ...

. He earned a

Bachelor of Architecture The Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.) is a bachelor's degree designed to satisfy the academic requirement of practising architecture around the world. Australia Architectural education in Australia varies depending on the university offering th ...

degree from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

in 1957. After graduating, Meier traveled to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, Germany, France,

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, and Italy, among other places, to network with architects. Meier is also the second cousin of

Peter Eisenman Peter Eisenman (born August 11, 1932) is an American architect. Considered one of the New York Five, Eisenman is known for his writing and speaking about architecture as well as his designs, which have been called high modernist or deconstructiv ...

, an architect, theorist, and fellow member of

The New York Five The New York Five was a group of architects based in New York City whose work was featured in the 1972 book ''Five Architects''. The architects, Peter Eisenman, Michael Graves, Charles Gwathmey, John Hejduk and Richard Meier, are also often referr ...

Career

In New York City, Meier worked for

Skidmore, Owings and Merrill Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is an American architectural, urban planning and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel A. Owings, Nathaniel Owings in Chicago, Illinois. In 1939, they were joined by engineer Jo ...

briefly in 1959, and then for

Marcel Breuer Marcel Lajos Breuer ( ; 21 May 1902 – 1 July 1981), was a Hungarian-born modernist architect and furniture designer. At the Bauhaus he designed the Wassily Chair and the Cesca Chair, which ''The New York Times'' have called some of the most im ...

for three years, prior to starting his own practice in 1963. In 1972, he was identified as one of

, a group of modernist architects: Meier,

Michael Graves Michael Graves (July 9, 1934 – March 12, 2015) was an American architect, designer, and educator, as well as principal of Michael Graves and Associates and Michael Graves Design Group. He was a member of The New York Five and the Memphis Grou ...

Charles Gwathmey Charles Gwathmey (June 19, 1938 – August 3, 2009) was an American architect. He was a principal at Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects, as well as one of the five architects identified as The New York Five in 1969. Gwathmey was perhaps bes ...

, and

John Hejduk John Quentin Hejduk (July 19, 1929 – July 3, 2000) was an American architect, artist and educator of Czech origin who spent much of his life in New York City. Hejduk is noted for having had a profound interest in the fundamental issues of shap ...

. Early in his career, Meier worked with artists such as painter

Frank Stella Frank Philip Stella (born May 12, 1936) is an American painter, sculptor and printmaker, noted for his work in the areas of minimalism and post-painterly abstraction. Stella lives and works in New York City. Biography Frank Stella was born in M ...

and favored structures that were white and geometric. Meier first gained significant recognition for his designs of various residences, in addition to The Atheneum in

New Harmony, Indiana New Harmony is a historic town on the Wabash River in Harmony Township, Posey County, Indiana. It lies north of Mount Vernon, the county seat, and is part of the Evansville metropolitan area. The town's population was 789 at the 2010 census. Es ...

(1979) and the

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Georgia (1983). One of his favourite workers was Indian architect

Bijoy Jain Bijoy Jain (born 1965) is an Indian people, Indian architect and Norman R. Foster Visiting Professor of architecture at Yale University. He received his M. Arch from Washington University in St Louis, USA in 1990. He then worked in Richard Meie ...

Although Meier was an acclaimed architect for many years, his design of the

, a massive museum complex in Los Angeles, California, which opened in 1997, catapulted him into mainstream recognition. Some of his other notable commissions include museums such as the

in Spain (1995) and the

Paley Center for Media The Paley Center for Media, formerly the Museum of Television & Radio (MT&R) and the Museum of Broadcasting, founded in 1975 by William S. Paley, is an American cultural institution in New York City, New York with a branch office in Los Angeles, ...

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...

(1996); The Hague, The Netherlands City Hall (1995) and

(2005); commercial buildings such as the reconstruction of City Tower in

Prague, Czech Republic Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate oc ...

(2008); and residential buildings such as 173 and 176 Perry Street in the

West Village The West Village is a neighborhood in the western section of the larger Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. The traditional boundaries of the West Village are the Hudson River to the west, 14th Street (Manhattan ...

of Manhattan (2002) and

Meier on Rothschild Meier on Rothschild is a skyscraper on Allenby Street in Tel Aviv, Israel. The tower is 158 meters (520 ft) and It is the second highest residential building in Israel after Nevve Nof Tower. Location It is located on Rothschild Boulevard, with en ...

Tel Aviv, Israel Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

(2015). Today, Richard Meier & Partners Architects has offices in New York and Los Angeles, with projects ranging from China and Tel Aviv to Paris and Hamburg. Much of Meier's work builds on the work of architects of the early to mid-20th century, especially that of

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 ...

, particularly his early work. Meier is considered to have built more using Corbusier's ideas than anyone, including Le Corbusier himself. Meier expanded many ideas evident in Le Corbusier's work, particularly the

Villa Savoye Villa Savoye () is a modernist villa and gatelodge in Poissy, on the outskirts of Paris. It was designed by the Swiss- French architect Le Corbusier and his cousin Pierre Jeanneret, and built between 1928 and 1931 using reinforced concrete.Courla ...

and the Swiss Pavilion. His work also reflects the influences of other designers such as

Mies Van der Rohe Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. Along with Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Frank Lloyd ...

and, in some instances,

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

and

Luis Barragán Luis Ramiro Barragán Morfín (March 9, 1902 – November 22, 1988) was a Mexican architect and engineer. His work has influenced contemporary architects visually and conceptually. Barragán's buildings are frequently visited by international ...

(without the colour). White has been used in many architectural landmark buildings throughout history, including cathedrals and the white-washed villages of the Mediterranean region, in Spain, southern Italy and Greece. The Mayor of Rome,

Gianni Alemanno Giovanni "Gianni" Alemanno (born 3 March 1958) is an Italian politician who from April 2008 until June 2013 was Mayor of Rome for the centre-right People of Freedom. He was the Secretary of the National Movement for Sovereignty from 2017 to 201 ...

, included in his campaign platform a promise to tear down the large travertine wall of Meier's

Museum of the Ara Pacis The Museum of the Ara Pacis (Italian: Museo dell'Ara Pacis) belongs to the ''Sistema dei Musei in Comune'' of Rome (Italy); it houses the ''Ara Pacis'' of Augustus, an ancient monument that was initially inaugurated on 30 January 9 B.C. Structur ...

. Alemmano has since changed his stance on the building and has agreed with Meier to modifications including drastically reducing the height of the wall between an open-air space outside the museum and a busy road along the Tiber river. The city plans to build a wide pedestrian area along the river and run the road underneath it. "It's an improvement," says Meier, adding that "the reason that wall was there has to do with traffic and noise. Once that is eliminated, the idea of opening the piazza to the river is a good one." The mayor's office said Alemanno hopes to complete the project before the end of his term in 2013.

Recognition

In 1984, Meier was awarded the

Pritzker Prize The Pritzker Architecture Prize is an international architecture award presented annually "to honor a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produ ...

. The jury citation declared that Meier has "created structures which are personal, vigorous, original." In 2008, he won the gold medal in architecture from the Academy of Arts and Letters and his work Jesolo Lido Village was awarded the Dedalo Minosse International Prize for commissioning a building. Meier is a Senior Fellow of the

Design Futures Council The Design Futures Council is an interdisciplinary network of design, product, and construction leaders exploring global trends, challenges, and opportunities to advance innovation and shape the future of the industry and environment. Members inclu ...

. He was awarded the

AIA Gold Medal The AIA Gold Medal is awarded by the American Institute of Architects conferred "by the national AIA Board of Directors in recognition of a significant body of work of lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture." It is the Ins ...

in 1997. In 2013, he was awarded the A+ Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1996, he received the Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet o ...

. In 2010, Cornell established a new professorship named for Meier. Paying tribute Meier on the occasion of his firm's 50th anniversary, the Fondazione Bisazza presented the exhibition “Richard Meier: Architecture and Design” in

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a th ...

, Italy. In 2014, Meier opened a 15,000-square-foot exhibition space museum at

Mana Contemporary Mana Contemporary is a cultural center in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States with affiliated centers in Chicago and Miami. History and Founder Opened in May 2011, the center was founded by moving company mogul Moishe Mana. Shai Baitel ...

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark. The space gathers much of his life's work under one roof, and replaces a much smaller version that opened in 2007 in

Long Island City, Queens Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, a borough in New York City. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to the ...

, and that until 2013 was open only by appointment to students and tour groups. The new venue provides room to show his own sculptures, architectural drawings and collages for the first time, and is planned to include a research library.

Sexual harassment accusation

On March 13, 2018, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' detailed allegations from women that Meier had sexually harassed or assaulted them. Meier responded by saying that he would take a leave of six months from his firm. In response to the allegations and Meier's apology, his alma mater Cornell University declined his intended endowment of a named chair and instituted a review of his previous donations. On April 6, 2018, an additional four women who formerly worked at Meier's architecture firm came forward with allegations against him. The most recent allegations dated to 2009. On October 9, 2018, the firm announced that his resignation was permanent.

Works

Major works by Meier include the High Museum in Atlanta, the

, and On Prospect Park.

References

External links

*
Richard Meier in the National Gallery of Australia's Kenneth Tyler collection

Official "Meier Tower" website

Ara Pacis Museum, Rome

Over 100 photographs of the Richard Meier designed Rachofsky House which received AIA honor award in 2002

Official "Bodrum Houses" website

Richard Meier
video a
Web of Stories
* *
Richard Meier Architecture on Google Maps
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meier, Richard Modernist architects from the United States 1934 births Living people 20th-century American Jews Jewish architects Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning alumni People associated with the J. Paul Getty Museum Artists from Newark, New Jersey Pritzker Architecture Prize winners Recipients of the Praemium Imperiale Recipients of the Royal Gold Medal 20th-century American architects 21st-century American architects Members of the Académie d'architecture Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 21st-century American Jews Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters