10 arquitectos más famosos que jamás hayan vivido

Los arquitectos maestros generalmente no obtienen el respeto y la celebridad de otros artistas como los pintores. Sin embargo, podría decirse que su trabajo tiene un mayor efecto sobre nosotros a largo plazo. Los edificios nos albergan y protegen a lo largo de nuestras vidas para el hogar, el trabajo y el juego. Y la arquitectura es esencialmente el arte en el que vivimos. Incluso si nunca hemos estado en ninguno de los edificios diseñados por maestros arquitectos, probablemente hayamos estado en muchos que incorporan sus influencias.

Frank Lloyd Wright llamó a la arquitectura "el arte madre", explicando: "Sin una arquitectura propia, no tenemos el alma de nuestra propia civilización". De hecho, los edificios son tanto una necesidad práctica como una expresión artística de una cultura. Los arquitectos hacen que la civilización no solo sea posible, sino también hermosa.

Exploraremos algunos de los arquitectos más famosos de la historia. Algunos han sido conocidos por su trabajo icónico o su influencia duradera, mientras que otros sacudieron al mundo con sus estilos innovadores. Comenzaremos con un verdadero hombre del Renacimiento que tuvo una influencia increíble para alguien que llegó tarde a la arquitectura.

1. Miguel Ángel
2. mimar sinan
3. Sir Christopher Wren
4. Luis Enrique Sullivan
5. le corbusier
6. Antonio Gaudí
7. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
8. Ieoh Ming Pei
9. Frank Gehry
10. Frank Lloyd Wright

Aunque hoy en día es más conocido por su pintura y escultura, Miguel Ángel también fue un maestro arquitecto . De hecho, fue uno de los primeros en apartarse del estilo clásico y desafiar las expectativas tradicionales.

En 1523, el Papa Clemente VII encargó a Miguel Ángel que diseñara una biblioteca de dos pisos sobre un convento existente. Miguel Ángel empleó principios radicales en su diseño de la Biblioteca Laurenciana, rompiendo las reglas del estilo clásico. Por ejemplo, tomó elementos prácticos, como ménsulas utilizadas tradicionalmente como estructuras de soporte, y las utiliza meramente como ornamentación.

La contribución más famosa de Miguel Ángel a la arquitectura es probablemente la cúpula de la Basílica de San Pedro. Se erige como uno de los hitos más reconocibles del mundo e inspiró a muchos imitadores, como el edificio del Capitolio en Washington, DC. Sin embargo, la cúpula en sí no se completó cuando murió Miguel Ángel. Los estudiosos todavía debaten cuánto se desvía la construcción final de los planes de Miguel Ángel.

Rompiendo las reglas

Miguel Ángel creó nichos vacíos que son similares a espacios de ventanas o tabernáculos, pero no tienen ningún propósito [fuente: Hermanos ].

El contemporáneo de Miguel Ángel en el Imperio Otomano fue Mimar Sinan. Trabajando en el siglo XVI, trabajó en más de 300 estructuras, incluidas principalmente mezquitas, pero también palacios, escuelas y otros edificios. Indiscutiblemente el arquitecto turco más influyente de la historia , Sinan perfeccionó el diseño de la mezquita abovedada, que era un símbolo importante tanto del poder político como de la fe islámica en el Imperio Otomano.

Aunque nació cristiano, Sinan fue reclutado en el Cuerpo de Jenízaros y se convirtió al Islam. Después de ascender rápidamente en las filas hasta convertirse en jefe de artillería, primero mostró su talento en arquitectura diseñando fortificaciones y puentes . Se convirtió en Jefe de los Arquitectos Imperiales en 1538 y comenzó a construir mezquitas.

Sus obras maestras incluyen la mezquita Selimiye en Edirne, así como la mezquita Süleymanive en Estambul. Selimiye incluye una cúpula central masiva sostenida por ocho pilares y rodeada por cuatro minaretes (agujas). Inspirándose en Hagia Sophia, Sinan diseñó la mezquita Süleymanive con una cúpula central sostenida por cuatro semicúpulas. La estructura original incorporó no solo un espacio de culto, sino también un hospital, madrazas (escuelas islámicas), baños y tiendas.

En circunstancias normales, Sir Christopher Wren probablemente sería conocido como un gran arquitecto , pero es posible que no haya pasado a la historia como uno de los arquitectos más famosos que jamás haya existido. Sin embargo, dio la casualidad de que Wren estaba en el lugar correcto en el momento correcto, y poseía el talento correcto.

Wren era un profesor de astronomía en Oxford que llegó a la arquitectura a través de su interés por la física y la ingeniería . En la década de 1660, recibió el encargo de diseñar el Teatro Sheldonian en Oxford y visitó París para estudiar los estilos barrocos francés e italiano. En 1666, Wren había completado un diseño para la cúpula de la Catedral de San Pablo. Sin embargo, una semana después de que fuera aceptado, el Gran Incendio de Londres arrasó la ciudad y destruyó la mayor parte, incluida la catedral.

The Great Fire created an unexpected opportunity for Wren, and he was soon at work on reconstruction. Although plans for a sweeping reconstruction of the city soon proved too difficult, by 1669, he was appointed surveyor of royal works, which put him in charge of government building projects. Ultimately, he had his hand in designing 51 churches, as well as St. Paul's Cathedral.

More Than Just St. Paul's Cathedral

Other famous buildings designed by Wren included the Greenwich Hospital, which later became the Royal Naval College, and the facade of Hampton Court Palace.

Known for the principle of "form follows function," Louis Henri Sullivan was anxious to break free from tradition and became influential in forging a distinctly American architecture. Similar to Sir Christopher Wren, Sullivan benefited from a great fire. The Great Fire of 1871 in Chicago resulted in a construction boom and afforded architects like Sullivan with work for the decades to come. As a young man, he worked briefly in the offices of famed architects Frank Furness and then William Le Baron Jenney. He was only 24 years old when he became a partner in Dankmar Adler's firm in 1881.

As other architects like Jenney started implementing steel to allow for taller structures, the skyscraper was born. Sullivan was instrumental in creating a new functional design for these new tall buildings rather than sticking with outmoded traditions. Because of this, some refer to Sullivan as the "Father of the Skyscraper" (though others ascribe this title to Jenney). His designs also incorporated both geometric shapes and organic elements. Although most of his work was done in Chicago, his most famous work is the 10-story Wainwright building in St. Louis, built in 1890, and the 16-story Guaranty Building in Buffalo, built in 1894.

Another architect we'll explore later, Frank Lloyd Wright , who worked under him for six years, cited Sullivan as a major influence.

A Swiss-French architect born in 1887, Charles Édouard Jeanneret made some of the most significant contributions to architecture in the 20th century. He and the painter Amédée Ozenfant began the publication "L'Esprit Nouveau" in 1920 and wrote under pseudonyms. Jeanneret chose a name from his family lineage: Le Corbusier.

Le Corbusier embraced functionalism, rejecting excessive nonstructural ornamentation, and favored the modern materials of concrete and steel in his structures. He was particularly well-known for his houses and would become a major figure in the developing the International Style of architecture. His designs used free-flowing floor plans , as well as column support that allowed for walls that could be placed independent of the structure. He placed his buildings on stilts, partly because he believed this to be conducive to a hygienic lifestyle. And finally, his buildings incorporated flat roofs that could accommodate gardens. Summing up his philosophy, he described a house as "a machine for living in."

Sliding Windows

Le Corbusier attained several patents during his life, including one for his characteristic horizontal sliding windows that would take up the length of a building.

Fueled by a faith in God and a love of nature, the Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi developed a style all his own. Born in 1852 in the Catalonia region of Spain, Gaudi was a fervent Catholic who believed that he could glorify God by deriving his inspiration from nature, God's creation.

Taking his cues from nature, then, Gaudi favored curves rather than straight lines, varied textures and vibrant colors . His unique and somewhat bizarre style was part neo-Gothic, part avant-guarde, part surrealistic. The architect and his work soon became synonymous with the city of Barcelona. However, in the 1920s and '30s, the architectural world favored International Style, which starkly contrasted Gaudi's philosophies. So it wasn't until the 1960s that Gaudi started gaining wide recognition.

The Cathedral of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona stands as his most famous work. However, the cathedral was unfinished at his death in 1926 and, although work continued, remains unfinished to this day.

Born in Germany in 1886, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (commonly know by his surname, Mies) was one of the many modern architects to make the transition from the more ornate, traditional styles of the 19th century to the sleek, minimalist styles of the 20th century. After quickly establishing his reputation in residential work in his home country, he was chosen to design the German Pavilion for the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona. He is also known for designing Barcelona chairs, cantilevered chairs with steel frames. In 1937, however, he moved to the United States, where he served as longtime director of (and designed the campus for) the School of Architecture at Chicago's Armour Institute.

While in the United States, he designed many well-known skyscrapers , including the Seagram building in New York City and the Lake Shore Drive apartments in Chicago. As he sought to reflect the Industrial Age in his building designs, he often featured exposed structural steel. And always emphasizing that "less is more," his designs display simplicity and elegance without excessive ornamentation.

Same Style

As a contemporary of Le Corbusier, Mies also worked at the forefront of the International Style of architecture.

Born in 1917 in China, Ieoh Ming Pei came to the United States in the 1930s to study architecture. However, by the time he graduated, he wasn't able to return to China due to the outbreak of World War II. Instead, he stayed in the United States, eventually becoming a citizen in 1954.

In his work, Pei strove to bring together the modern and traditional – what he calls the "impossible dream" [source: PBS]. His designs are considered a continuation of the International Style popularized by architects like Le Corbusier. However, he's also known for Brutalism, an offshoot of the International Style that uses bold forms and utilitarian principles. For instance, Pei's large, rectangular concrete blocks , like those used for his National Center for Atmospheric Research, completed in 1967, evidenced Brutalism [source: Palmer].

In the 1960s, Pei was selected to design the terminal at the John F. Kennedy International Airport, and he gained national recognition in 1974 when he designed the National Gallery of Art's East Building. He is perhaps best known for the controversial glass pyramids in the courtyard of the Louvre Museum in Paris, built in 1989.

Born in Canada in 1929 and having moved to the United States as a teenager, Frank Gehry eventually became a leading force in the deconstructionist and postmodern styles of architecture. As opposed to the rigid, utilitarian tendencies of the International Style, Gehry explores irregular forms and radical, expressive shapes.

He started gaining attention in the 1960s and 1970s, when his line of furniture made of corrugated cardboard became suddenly popular. By the 1990s, he honed his style and gained a reputation for designing seemingly organic, undulating, free-flowing structures. He designed the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, which opened in 1997 and was meant to resemble both a ship and a living creature. He also designed the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Calif., which opened in 2003 and is known for not only its unique structure but also superior acoustics.

DIY Gehry

In 1978, Gehry radically renovated his own home in an asymmetrical structure and used common materials like fencing and corrugated aluminum in unusual ways.

Most agree that Frank Lloyd Wright is the most famous architect of the modern era, if not all of history. Along with Louis Henri Sullivan, his early mentor, he helped form a uniquely American architecture.

Wright favored the Prairie School of architecture, which came out of the Midwest United States and emphasized horizontal lines to blend with the landscape. One famous example of his Prairie style home is the Robie House, completed in 1909. Wright took this idea further, however, and promoted what he called organic architecture. This term refers to using both structure and materials to integrate designs with nature and the surrounding environment.

Wright was embroiled in scandal in 1909 after he left his wife and family for his mistress. But his career eventually recovered, and he would go on to design many of his signature masterpieces. In 1935, he designed Fallingwater, a home built over a waterfall in southwestern Pennsylvania. Wright was also responsible for the innovative design of the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, which features a rising spiral walkway rather than individual floors.

Want to learn more about history's famous architects? See the links on the next page.

Originally Published: May 9, 2012

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