In Memoriam: Rafael Viñoly

Rafael Viñoly, an internationally celebrated architect described by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) as “an ardent contributor for shaping the urban realm,” passed away on March 2 in New York at age 78. Viñoly’s iconic, groundbreaking towers include 20 Frenchurch Street in London (the “Walkie-Talkie”), the Samsung Jong-Ro Tower in Seoul, NEMA in Chicago, 432 Park Avenue in NYC and the Carrasco Airport in his native Montevideo, Uruguay. With bachelor’s and master’s degrees in architecture from the University of Buenos Aires, Viñoly founded Rafael Viñoly Architects in 1983. His work “is marked by a sustained originality that transcended the passing fads of architectural movements,” CTBUH observed. In NYC, The Skyscraper Museum said part of the shock of Viñoly’s sudden passing was learning his age, “which was in no way apparent in his youthful energy and inventiveness.” In 2014, Viñoly delivered a lecture for the museum that included an inside look at “creating and engineering a residential tower (432 Park Avenue) taller than the World Trade Center with a slenderness ratio of 1:19.” His designs received numerous CTBUH awards.