Robert A. M. Stern | |
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| Born | (1939-05-23)May 23, 1939 (age 86) New York City, U.S. |
| Education | Columbia University (BA) Yale University (MArch) |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Spouse | Lynn Gimbel Solinger (divorced) |
| Children | Nicholas S. G. Stern |
| Awards | Driehaus Architecture Prize |
| Buildings | Comcast Tower,15 Central Park West,220 Central Park South,520 Park Avenue,30 Park Place,Pauli Murray College andBenjamin Franklin College |
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Robert Arthur Morton Stern (born May 23, 1939) is an American architect, educator, and author. He is the founding partner of the architecture firm, Robert A. M. Stern Architects, also known as RAMSA. From 1998 to 2016, he was the Dean of theYale School of Architecture.
His firm's major works include the classically styled New York apartment building,15 Central Park West; two residential colleges atYale University; Philadelphia'sMuseum of the American Revolution; and the modernistComcast Center skyscraper in Philadelphia.[1] In 2011, Stern was honored with theDriehaus Architecture Prize for his achievements incontemporary classical architecture.Schwarzman College was designed by Stern; the 200,000 square foot campus houses one of the most advanced higher-education facilities in the world[citation needed] and is one of the firstLEED Gold-certified academic buildings in China.
Born in theBrooklyn borough of New York City, in 1939 to a Jewish family,[2] Stern spent his earliest years with his parents in the nearby Manhattan borough.[3] After 1940, they moved back to Brooklyn, where Stern grew up. Stern received a bachelor's degree fromColumbia University in 1960 and a master's degree in architecture fromYale University in 1965. Stern has cited the historianVincent Scully and the architectPhilip Johnson as early mentors and influences.[4]
After graduating from Yale, Stern worked as a curator for theArchitectural League of New York, a job he gained through his connection toPhilip Johnson. While at the League, he organized the second40 Under 40 show, which featured his own work alongside work of then-little-known architectsCharles Moore,Robert Venturi andRomaldo Giurgola, all of whom were featured in the influential issue ofPerspecta that Stern edited a year before at Yale.[5] Upon leaving the Architectural League in 1966, Stern worked briefly as a designer in the office of the architectRichard Meier, then worked for two and a half years at New York City's Housing and Development Administration, after which he established Stern & Hagmann withJohn S. Hagmann, a fellow student from his days at Yale.[6] In 1977 he founded its successor firm,Robert A.M. Stern Architects, now known as RAMSA.
Stern was the dean of the Yale School of Architecture from 1998 to 2016, and taught there after the end of his tenure until 2022.[7] Previously, he taught at Columbia University, in theColumbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, and from 1984 to 1988 was the inaugural director of Columbia's Temple Hoyne Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture.[7]
A prolific writer, Stern has authored, co-authored, and edited numerous books about architecture, including six volumes about New York City's architectural history, each focusing on a different period. In 1986, he hostedPride of Place: Building the American Dream, an eight-part documentary series that aired on PBS. The series featuredPeter Eisenman,Leon Krier,Philip Johnson,Frank Gehry and other notable architects.Pride of Place was well received by the public.[8]
Many of Stern's early works were private houses in theNew York metropolitan area, including in theHamptons and inWestchester County.[6] Early commercial commissions included projects forWalt Disney World such asDisney's Yacht Club Resort,Disney's Beach Club Resort and the master plan forCelebration, Florida, and from 1992−2003, Stern served on the board of theWalt Disney Company.[9][10]
Stern is now better known for his large-scale condominium and apartment building projects in New York City, which include20 East End Avenue, The Chatham, The Brompton and15 Central Park West. The latter was, at the time of its completion, one of the most financially successful apartment buildings ever constructed, with sales totaling $2 billion,[11] later succeeded by220 Central Park South.[12]
Stern has designed some of the tallest structures in the United States, including the glass-clad Comcast Center, the second tallest building in bothPhiladelphia andPennsylvania.[13] The Driehaus Prize committee (commenting on a preliminary, stone-clad, pyramidal-topped scheme) characterized the design as "[carrying] forward the proportions of the classical obelisk".[14] The scheme, along with Stern's15 Central Park West, and his master plan for Celebration, were cited as contributing factors in his having won the award. More recently, Stern has designed three skyscrapers in New York City,220 Central Park South,520 Park Avenue and30 Park Place, which became some of the tallest buildings in the city and the United States once completed.[15][16][17] In 2017 RAMSA completed a major addition to the campus of Yale University, with two new residential colleges,Pauli Murray College andBenjamin Franklin College, both designed in aCollegiate Gothic style.[18]
In the 1970s, and early 1980s, Stern developed a reputation as apostmodern architect for integrating classical elements into his designs for contemporary buildings.[19] Stern contributed a postmodern architectural facade to theStrada Novissima inThe Presence of the Past exhibit at the 1980 Venice Biennale. In the mid-1980s, his work became more traditional, more in keeping with the then emergingNew Classical architectural movement.[20] Stern, however, has rejected such characterizations, arguing that his projects draw onvernacular context and local traditions.[21] In recent years, the work of Stern's office has ranged from traditional to modernist, depending on the building type and project location.
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Stern owns an apartment in The Chatham, a building he designed in New York City.[22] In 1966, he married photographerLynn Gimbel Solinger, the daughter ofDavid Solinger and the granddaughter ofBernard Gimbel, a marriage that ended by divorce in 1977.[23][24] They had one son,Nicholas S. G. Stern, who manages the boutique construction and planning firm Stern Projects.[25][26]
Stern has both led and been recognized by numerous arts and architecture organizations, including serving as president of the Architectural League of New York from 1973 to 1977;[27] various roles at the non-profitInstitute for Architecture and Urban Studies until its closure in 1985, including visiting fellow and eventually institute trustee; and a member of the board of trustees for theSOM Foundation from 1984 to 1990.
In 1998, Stern became a permanent member of the Council of Advisors for theInstitute of Classical Architecture and Art and has served on the board of trustees for theNational Building Museum since 1999.
Stern was elected a member of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2007, and a member of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Letters in 2011.
Other select awards include:
A selection of books written and co-written by Stern:
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