Robert Venturi, Author and Architect, Dies at 93

Urban design media mourned the passing of Robert Venturi this week.

1 minute read

September 20, 2018, 5:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Philadelphia Architecture

Franklin Court, in Philadelphia. | Zack Frank / Shutterstock

Fred A. Bernstein reports:

Robert Venturi, the influential American architect and theorist whose buildings and best-selling books helped inspire the movement known as postmodernism, in which historic elements enliven contemporary forms, died on Tuesday at his home in Philadelphia. He was 93.

Bernstein's coverage of Venturi's passing includes a long chronology of design and writing accomplishments. Venturi's relevance beyond the architecture profession is obvious, with books like Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture and Learning from Las Vegas among the urban design cannon. For more on Venturi's professional accomplishments, read the citation he received for earning the Pritzker Prize in 1991. Both Venturi's son, James Venturi, and wife, Denise Scott Brown, are urban planners.

The news of Venturi's passing lead to an outpouring of remembrances and condolences online this week. Here's a partial reading list.

Wednesday, September 19, 2018 in The New York Times

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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