Backgrounds

Architects have many different backgrounds

Santiago Calatrava Valls was born in Valencia, Spain in 1951. He pursued undergraduate studies at the Architecture School and Arts and Crafts School. He graduated in 1975.

Norman Foster was born in the Reddish area of Stockport, England in 1935. In 1956 Foster attended the University of Manchester's School of Architecture and City Planning graduating in 1961.

Julian De Smedt was born in Brussels in 1975. After attending schools in Brussels, Paris, Los Angeles and London, Julien de Smedt received a diploma with commendation from the Bartlett School of Architecture in London in 2000.

Zaha Hadid was born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1950. She received a degree in mathematics at the American University of Beirut and later studied at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London.

Stephen Holl was born in Bremerton, Washington in 1947. Holl graduated from the University of Washington and pursued architecture studies in Rome in 1970. In 1976, he joined the Architectural Association in London and established his offices New York City, and has taught at Columbia University since 1981.

Renzo Piano was born in Genoa, Italy in 1937. He was educated at the Politecnico di Milano. He graduated from the university in 1964 and started working with lightweight structures and basic shelters.

Will Alsop was born in 1947 in Nothhampton, England. At age six, he was already designing houses for his parents. At age sixteen, his father died and Alsop left school. He later studied at Architectural Association School of Architecture.

Antoine Predock was born in 1936 in Lebanon, Missouri.He received a Bachelor's degree from Columbia University. He opened the Albequerque office in 1967, and a branch office in Los Angeles in 1989.

Peter Zumther was born in Basel, Switzerland in 1943. He apprenticed to a carpenter in 1958 and studied at Kunstgewerbeschule starting in 1963. He later studied at Pratt Intstitute in New York.

Shigeru Ban was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1957. He studied at the Southern California Institute of Architecture and later went to Cooper Union's School of Architecture where he studied under John Hejduk and graduated in 1984.

Frank Gehry was born in Toronto, Ontario as Ephraim Owen Goldberg in 1929. He studied at Los Angeles City College, eventually to graduate from the University of Southern California's School of Architecture in 1954.

Formerly Van Berkel & Bos, UNStudio was founded in 1998. The initials "UN" stand for United Network. UNStudio has an average work force of 100.

NOX was founded in 1973. The name NOX stands for the last names of the founders.

Thom Mayne was born in Waterbury, Connecticut in 1942. He studied at University of Southern California (1969) and the Harvard University Graduate School of Design in 1978.