Michael Graves
Princeton, NJ, United States

World-renowned architect Michael Graves' career has been one of the most remarkably creative and successful of any American architect practicing today. His signature aesthetic elemental shapes, references to historical forms, and warm colors that o

ften reflect Italian and classical influences is recognized worldwide. The American Institute of Architects has selected Mr. Graves to receive the 2001 AIA Gold Medal, the highest honor the AIA confers to an individual whose significant body of work has h

ad a lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture. As the 58th AIA Gold Medalist, Mr. Graves joins the ranks of such visionaries as Thomas Jefferson, Frank Lloyd Wright, and I.M. Pei.Mr. Graves’ interest in the traditional lan

guage of architecture is combined with the lessons of modern composition, particularly abstraction and variation in scale. He speaks of a “figurative architecture,” his way of describing a humanistic approach to design that expresses the myths

and rituals of society. Mr. Graves’ extensive oeuvre includes such renowned projects as the Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel and the Walt Disney World Swan Hotel in Florida, the San Juan Capistrano Library in California, and the precedent- se

tting Portland Building in Oregon, as well as designs for his highly popular lines of furniture, home furnishings, and artifacts. Featured projects in the United States include the Denver Central Library in Colorado; the Michael C. Carlos Museum at

Emory University in Atlanta, with its extraordinary galleries for ancient art; and several private residences, including his own Italianate villa in Princeton, New Jersey. Also included are numerous international commissions, among them De Resident, the

Ministry of Culture office building in The Hague; Hotel New York at Euro Disneyland Park Paris; the Hyatt Regency Hotel and Office Building in Fukuoka, Japan; sixteen additional projects in Japan; and others in Germany, the Netherlands, Wales, China, and

Israel. Mr. Graves has earned numerous awards, including more than 140 awards and citations and the National Medal of Arts, presented to him by President Clinton in 1999 for his exceptional achievements in architecture, design, and education.