Le Corbusier —
1887-1965
French-Swiss
Le Corbusier is arguably the 20th century's most important architect. The Swiss-born French godfather of modernism -- real name Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris -- set the template for the "International Style's" clean geometric forms in concrete and ste
He designed more than 75 buildings in 12 different countries, but these creations are swamped by hundreds of incredibly ambitious, never-built plans for buildings and citi
But he has also divided critics right down the line. As the modern city's most influential designer, Le Corbusier takes blame for both his own rigid formalism and the failings of dreary post-war tower blocks, built by inferior imposters without the same focus on space, light, and communit
Quote: "A house is a machine for living in
Iconic building: Unité d'Habitation, Marseille
Charles and Ray Eames —
1907-1978 and 1912-1988
American
The Eameses designed some of California's most iconic post-war houses -- and almost everything inside them.
The couple married in 1941, and worked together to ingeniously mold new materials such as plywood and fiberglass into expressive furniture, and create bright and airy houses from prefabricated materials.
Arguably their most influential creation was the home they lived in: a villa overlooking the Pacific Ocean, built in days from steel parts intended for industrial construction
Quote: "Take your pleasures seriously."
Iconic building: The Eames House, California
Norman Foster —
1935 -
British
His buildings are woven into the fabric of world capitals. Berlin's Reichstag dome, New York's Hearst Tower, Hong Kong's HSBC Building, London's "Gherkin" all bear the architect's High-Tech touches
Manchester-born Normal Foster's buildings wear their steel skeleton on the outside, but combine modernism's clear structure with a high-sheen finish
Currently building the 175-acre halo-shaped Cupertino "Campus" for Apple, Foster was among the first to put environmental awareness at the centre of his design -- creating buildings such as Frankfurt's Commerzbank Headquarters that adapt to make best use of natural light and ventilation.
His practice has been voted 'most admired architectural practice' by other architects, eight times in a row.
Quote: "As an architect you design for the present, with an awareness of the past, for a future which is essentially unknown
Iconic building: Hongkong and Shanghai Bank Headquarters, Hong Kong
Oscar Niemeyer —
1907-2012
Brazilian
Oscar Niemeyer's buildings summoned into being a modern Brazil, with its own unmistakeable style, in the middle of the 20th century, and is renowned globally as one of modernism's greatest masters.
A student of Le Corbusier, Oscar Niemeyer took his clean style and added sweeping curves that he claimed were inspired by Brazilian women.
Amongst his creations the United Nations Headquarters in New York (a collaboration with his mentor) and the white concrete civic buildings of Brasilia, Brazil's capital (inaugurated 1960).
Niemeyer worked until his death at 104, in December 2012, and his contribution to world architecture can be seen in over 500 buildings across North and South America, Africa and Europe.
Quote: "My work is not about 'form follows function,' but 'form follows beauty' or, even better, 'form follows feminine.'"
Iconic building: Niterói Contemporary Art Museum, Brazil
Jørn Utzon —
1918-2008
Danish
Utzon took inspiration from the growth patterns of nature to create organic buildings that emerge from their surroundings.
When he won architecture's top award, the Pritzker prize in 2003, judges praised Utzon's inspired appropriation of older influences "touching on the Mayan, Chinese and Japanese, Islamic cultures, and many others, including his own Scandinavian legacies."
Utzon's work encompasses huge variation, but his greatest creation is undeniably the Sydney Opera House, one of the 20th century's most distinctive and evocative buildings.
Quote: "I like to be on the edge of the possible
Iconic building: Sydney Opera House, Australia
Mies Van der Rohe —
1886-1969
German-American
Van der Rohe's influence can be seen in every modern building that reveals the industrial materials used in its construction.
Like his International School contemporaries, Van der Rohe's designs expressed paramount simplicity and a tendency to minimalism -- "skin and bones architecture," he called it. His single story Farnsworth House, built as a retreat for a physician friend, contains just a single room, edged with glass.
He believed buildings should express the age in which they are built, and his stand as monuments to the industrial spirit of the 20th century.
His first tall building, New York's Seagram Building, banished exterior brick and stonework in favor of a clean glass and steel skin -- creating a blueprint for the 20th century skyscraper.
Quote: "Less is more"
Iconic building: Barcelona Pavilion, Spain
Frank Lloyd Wright —
1867-1959
American
Born in an era when American homeowners aped the ornate style of 19th century European homes, Frank Lloyd Wright left behind a legacy of striking, original architecture that helped define 20th century America.
Wright's Fallingwater, a Pennsylvanian house built on top of a waterfall, remains one of the most celebrated homes ever built -- a recognizably "American" design of cantilevered balconies that stood apart from anything that came before.
Wright said his inspiration came from the "inner harmony" he saw in nature, and his sporadic monumental civic structures -- notably his (crowning achievement) Guggenheim Museum in New York -- take inspiration from the patterns found in shells, trees, and plants.
He left behind over 500 completed buildings. A national survey by the American Institute of Architects has named Frank Lloyd Wright the greatest American architect of all time.
Quote: "Space is the breath of art."
Iconic building: Fallingwater, Pennsylvania
Zaha Hadid —
1950-
Iraqi-British
No architect working today divides opinion like Zaha Hadid. The first woman to take architecture's highest honor, the Pritzker Prize, she has won over business and world leaders to design buildings across the globe -- from London's Olympic Aquatics Centre to Beijing's Galaxy Soho Mall and the proposed Al-Wakrah stadium in Qatar.
World cities are now queuing up to have her wavy imprint stamped on them.
Criticism is never far away, with detractors claiming her buildings aren't built for people and grossly disregard their surroundings.
But, undeniably a trailblazer in a white, male-dominated profession, today Hadid's stock has never been higher, with defenders saying she is simply too far ahead of her time.
Quote: "Architecture is really about well-being... On the one hand it's about shelter, but it's also about pleasure."
Iconic building: Heydar Aliyev Centre, Azerbaijan
The A-Z of archietcture —
Federico Babina's Archibet introduces 18 more architects, including Renzo Piano, Alvar Aalto, and Jean Nouvel. Archibet by Federico Babina (Laurence King, $12.95)
