Michael Graves

Public Administration Building (Portland, Oregon).

Michael Graves (Indianapolis, Indiana, July 9, 1934 – Princeton, New Jersey, March 12, 2015) was an American architect.

Biography

He studied architecture at the University of Cincinnati and Harvard University.

Graves worked for two years as an assistant at the American Academy in Rome and later established his architectural firm in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1964. There he became a professor at Princeton University in the year 1972.

He was one of five members of the Five Architects or New York Five group along with architects Peter Eisenman, Richard Meier, John Hejduk and Charles Gwathmey.

As an architect, Graves was a leading representative of the post-modernist movement in the United States. His buildings maintain the clarity of lines characteristic of modern designs, but incorporate classical elements, which give his works a less technical and cold aspect, and more human. In 2001 he received the AIA (American Institute of Architects) Gold Medal.

In addition to being an architect, Graves was a designer and became widely known to the public through his designs for everyday household utensils (Alessi), which are sold in Target stores nationwide.

Representative works

• Human Offices Building (Louisville, Kentucky)
• Public Administration Building (Portland, Oregon)
• Alexander House (Princeton, New Jersey)
• Casa Crooks (Fort Wayne, Indiana)
• Hanselmann House (Fort Wayne, Indiana)
• Portland Building (Portland, Oregon)
• Offentlight Library (San Juan de Capistrano, California)
• Ten Peachtree Tower (Atlanta, Georgia)
• Disney Team Building (Burbank, California)
• Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University (Atlanta, Georgia)
• Engineering Research Centre, University of Cincinnati (Cincinnati, Ohio)
• Bryan Building, University of Virginia, (Charlottesville, Virginia)

Awards and awards

• AIA Gold Medal