Architect Cesar Pelli is known for designing corporate towers, skyscrapers and other landmarks in cities around the world. He designed Plaza Tower, the 21-story building that anchors the Town Center area in Costa Mesa, as well as the South Coast Repertory theater expansion.
Born in Argentina, Pelli, 79, came to the United States in the 1950s and became a naturalized citizen in 1964. He completed graduate studies at the University of Illinois, and worked under the Finnish modernist architect Eero Saarinen for 10 years.
Moving to Los Angeles, he worked for Daniel, Mann, Johnson and Mendenhall and Gruen Associates. His distinctive designs in Southern California from that era include the Pacific Design Center, nicknamed the “Blue Whale,” in West Hollywood; the San Bernardino City Hall; and the Worldway Postal Center at LAX.
He founded Cesar Pelli and Associates in 1977. Among his most famous buildings are the Petronas Twin Towers in Malaysia, for a time the world’s tallest buildings, and the World Financial Center in New York, four towers near the now-destroyed World Trade Center.
He has combined teaching with designing, and served as dean of the School of Architecture at Yale University from 1977 to 1984. His book, “Observations for Young Architects” (1999; Monacelli Press), illustrate his ideas about architecture and city-building with examples from his own experience.
He was listed as one of the 10 most influential living architects by the American Institute of Architects in 1991. He received the AIA Gold Medal in 1995.
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