Archinect - News

Richard Meier is retiring as name change signals firm restructuring

2021-06-24T13:34:00-04:00

Architect Richard Meier is retiring from his firm renamed Meier Partners in a restructuring plan that signals an official end to the 86-year-old architect’s involvement with the practice.

Meier has been away from the office since the fall of 2018 after sexual harassment allegations published in The New York Times that spring ensnared him in the Me Too movement sweeping across various high-profile industries at the time.

Meier founded the firm in 1963 after brief stints in the studios of SOM and Marcel Breuer, eventually contributing designs for the Getty Center and San Jose City Hall before stepping down. Richard Meier & Partners Architects was then headed briefly by Bernhard Karpf, who left in July of 2019 to start his own practice in Brooklyn.

Previously on Archinect: Richard Meier steps down

New additions to the firm were also announced as Meier and his daughter Ana continue on in advisory roles. George Miller will become COO and Dukho Yeon is the firm’s new lead designer. Both...

Longtime Richard Meier partner leaves to start new firm

2020-01-30T18:55:00-05:00

Bernhard Karpf, the 30-year veteran of Richard Meier & Partners who helped take over the firm after Meier was accused of sexual misconduct by five women in 2018, has left the office to start his own practice, Karpf Khalili Architects.

Karpf departed Meier & Partners in July of 2019, The Real Deal reports, and took Parsa Khalili, an associate and director of visualization, with him to start the new practice. In an email, Khalili tells The Real Deal, "Karpf Khalili is a collaboration of two architects with complementary skills and expertise. We are interested in all types of ambitious projects with architectural significance.”

Coloma House

According to the Karpf Khalili website, Karpf studied architecture and literature at the University of Stuttgart in Germany, at the ETH Zürich in Switzerland, and at the Technical University Darmstadt, also in Germany. He earned a Master of Architecture and Urban Design from Cornell University. He was elevated to the American Institute of Architect...

Richard Meier steps down

2018-10-09T20:08:00-04:00

Richard Meier is officially out at Richard Meier & Partners Architects, the company announced in a statement titled Leadership Changes this morning.

"Founder Richard Meier will step back from day-to-day activities and support the leadership transition of the firm he founded in 1963," reveals the release. "He will remain available to colleagues and clients who seek his vast experience and counsel. The firm will maintain and develop the rigorous design philosophy that Richard pioneered."

Meier, 83, has been taking a leave of absence since March this year after accusations of sexual harassment were brought forward by five women—four of whom had previously worked with Meier.

The statement lists various senior employees to be taking on leadership positions, most notably Bernhard Karpf as the new Managing Principal of the New York office as well as Vivian Lee, Reynolds Logan, and Dukho Yeon, who were promoted to Principals. Partner Michael Palladino and Jim Crawford will maintain their ...

Why Richard Meier's behavior was known and went unchecked

2018-04-05T15:27:00-04:00

After a report last month by The New York Times detailing a pattern of sexual misconduct by Mr. Meier, more women have come forward to share their own upsetting encounters with him. But in recounting such experiences, these women said they had also been disturbed by a sense of helplessness that pervaded the firm. Mr. Meier’s behavior was common knowledge, they said, but no one seemed to have the power to stop it.

With the #metoo movement, women have come forward exposing Richard Meier's abusive behavior to his employees. Further investigation has explored why this behavior of powerful men harassing or assaulting women went unchecked at their organizations. The common thread is fear of losing a job.

Many women did not lodge formal complaints with the company for fear of being fired (although some were fired regardless soon after an incident). Other employees in the company who knew what was going on did nothing to stop it for fear of losing their own jobs.

Looking for a job at a women-led firm? Check out our latest job roundups featuring current (at the time of writing) opportunities at firms powered by amazing women.

Richard Meier, accused by 5 women of sexual harassment, to take a six-month leave of absence

2018-03-13T14:00:00-04:00

In a story published by the New York Times this morning, five women—four of whom worked with Meier and another who encountered him through the Getty—have gone on record with their stories of sexual harassment and assault at the hands of Richard Meier. The behavior ranges from grabbing a woman's "underwear through her dress at a firm holiday party," to exposing himself to unwilling employees. In one instance, according to the Times, Meier forcefully pulled a women into bed, causing her to flee his home in Los Angeles.

With these women going public, Mr. Meier has decided to take a six month leave from his firm, which is a rather short amount of time considering the severity of these accusations. He has issued the following statement: “I am deeply troubled and embarrassed by the accounts of several women who were offended by my words and actions. While our recollections may differ, I sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended by my behavior. I am leaving the company in the hands of...

Cornell Architecture Chair named after AAP alumnus Richard Meier

2018-01-29T13:15:00-05:00

The chair of the Department of Architecture in AAP will bear the name of one of the college's renowned alumni: Richard Meier (B.Arch. '56). The Richard Meier Chair of the Department of Architecture was announced by the college and by Richard Meier & Partners Architects, Meier's New York City– and Los Angeles–based practice for 55 years.

The first person to hold the new title of Richard Meier Chair of the Department of Architecture will be AAP associate professor Andrea Simitch (B.Arch. '79).

The 83-year-old Meier is the only Cornell alumnus to have received the Pritzker Architecture Prize (1984).

Richard Meier discusses his first black building in new Time-Space-Existence video

2018-01-11T13:41:00-05:00

Richard Meier’s oeuvre is known for bold, geometric buildings cast in luminous white, a color he believes enhances nature and refracts the world. One of the most recognized architects alive today, Meier has dedicated five decades to his field and worked on projects around the globe. As part of our partnership with PLANE—SITE (a Berlin-based creative agency working at the interface of urban form, cultural space and social life), we are sharing another video from their Time-Space-Existence series featuring Richard Meier.

685 First Avenue © bloomimages

In this new short video, Meier discusses his first ever black building, 685 First Avenue in New York, as well as his love of designing buildings for public gathering, for enjoyment and for learning. Part of the renowned New York Five group of Modernist architects, the Pritzker Prize-winning architect, over the course of his fifty-year career, has consistently placed formal clarity, light, and abstraction at t...

Massive wildfire erupts near the Getty Center in Los Angeles

2017-12-06T12:52:00-05:00

A new wildfire closed part of Interstate 405 early Wednesday near Los Angeles' posh Bel Air area and prompted evacuations [...] The closure of I-405 -- a significant north-south artery in the country's second-largest city -- came after flames swept down the foothills toward the highway near Sepulveda Pass and the Getty Center arts complex as stunned motorists drove by shortly before 6 a.m.

The Richard Meier-designed Getty Center — scheduled to celebrate its 20th anniversary on December 16 — woke up to a terrifying scene before sunrise this morning with the neighboring hillscape ablaze.

The Skirball Fire is the latest of several fast-moving wildfires devastating Southern California this week.

Richard Meier on the Getty Center as it turns 20

2017-12-04T14:46:00-05:00

The Getty Center, that collection of hilltop buildings in travertine and white metal panels designed by the New York architects Richard Meier & Partners, opened to the public on Dec. 16, 1997. To mark the 20th anniversary of the Brentwood complex, we reached Meier, now 83, by phone to ask him about his memories of getting it built.

Richard Meier & Partners completes their first bridge project, the new Cittadella Bridge

2017-09-26T19:09:00-04:00

Over 20 years after being commissioned, Richard Meier & Partners finally completed the new Cittadella Bridge in Alessandria, Italy. As the practice's first bridge (which they worked on with Dante O. Benini & Partners Architects), the 185-meter-long structure reconnects the city with an 18th-century citadel across the Tanaro River, and replaces the original Napoleonic-era Cittadella Bridge.

Photo © Hufton+Crow.

Following the floods of Alessandria in 1994, the water level rose high enough to cover the roadway and the piers of the original bridge. The new bridge is 32.5 meters tall and stands well above the flood plain, restoring the natural flow of the river. With a surface area of about 4,150 m2, the new bridge is made of white precast concrete, painted steel, aluminum, and ipe hardwood. It was also designed with separate parallel routes for vehicles and pedestrians.

Photo © Hufton+Crow.

Photo © Hufton+Crow..

Photo © Hufton+Crow.

“I am extremely pleased to have completed this new modern...

The NYT takes a tour of Richard Meier’s summer house in the Hamptons

2017-08-01T16:34:00-04:00

The man known for his modern, white, geometrically intricate buildings spends his summers in a simple, cedar-shingled farmhouse built in 1907 that he bought from the family of the original owners in 1984. On a July afternoon, Mr. Meier was in his study there, painting watercolors.

Inside Richard Meier’s White-Walled World

2017-06-21T11:51:00-04:00

The American architect – part of the New York Five and one of the city’s most iconic modernists – talks to Port about his body of work and branching out from his beloved colour white

The new Richard Meier Light collection captures elements of the architect's iconic buildings

2017-03-28T20:33:00-04:00

It was only a matter of time until Richard Meier would come out with a lighting collection. Earlier this month, the architect launched a series of stylish indoor lighting fixtures simply named Richard Meier Light at the Ralph Pucci New York showroom. Industrial designer Ana Meier, who is Richard's daughter, developed the collection with her father and L'Observatoire International founder Hervé Descottes. “They’re Ana’s — she did the drawings. My role was to comment when asked,” Meier said in the Architectural Record.

“I was moved to take recurring themes and forms in Richard’s work, and translate them into sculptural objects that are interacted with everyday,” Ana Meier said in a statement about the 12-piece collection, which includes sconces, floor and table lamps, and hanging pendants — all in white, of course. WonderGlass also manufactured some of the pieces.

Some lights depict simple geometric forms while others resemble Richard Meier's buildings like the Barcelona Museum of Cont...

Waterfront Towers Reel In Unusual Loan Deal

2016-11-29T12:10:00-05:00

Most of the foundations are completed for the three buildings, which will have rental apartments on the lower floors and condominiums on the upper ones. The partnership tapped Uruguayan architect Rafael Viñoly, who designed the slender ultraluxury condo skyscraper at 432 Park Ave., Richard Meier & Partners Architects LLP and Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates PC to design the glass, stone and metal towers, which range from 34 to 38 stories tall.

With New York's Waterline Square, three architects are better than one

2016-11-17T13:23:00-05:00

Three leading starchitecture firms – Rafael Viñoly Architects, Richard Meier & Partners Architects and Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates – have joined forces to collaborate on Waterline Square, a new residential development occupying five acres of land on one of the Upper West Side's last remaining waterfront development sites along the Hudson River.

A Richard Meier Building. In Black.

2016-11-07T00:18:00-05:00

Designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Meier, the 556-unit building, 685 First Avenue, is going up just south of the United Nations headquarters on the westernmost lot of the long-dormant site, which stretches along the Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive from 35th Street to 41st Street. It will be the first building that Mr. Meier, known for his Modernist style and white aesthetic, has designed in black.

Black glass curtainwall - bloomimages

Architect Richard Meier Changes His Palette for New Tower

2016-05-19T11:06:00-04:00

But an old friend, and a special commission, have gotten the architect to change his stripes. Mr. Meier has designed a black building. At East 39th Street and First Avenue in Manhattan, developer Sheldon Solow will be unveiling a 42-story, 556-unit residential building. It will be Mr. Meier’s tallest in the city and his first since his trio of apartment towers on West Street were completed in 2004.

A rendering of the Richard Meier-designed building. PHOTO: VIZE/RICHARD MEIER & PARTNERS ARCHITECTS

The Inventory: Richard Meier

2016-02-18T20:34:00-05:00

Ambition or talent: which matters more to success? I think it’s probably ambition, because if you have talent without ambition, the talent goes to waste. But if you have talent and want to do something with it, you follow your intuition.

Richard Meier on the Buildings He Wishes He’d Designed

2016-02-10T14:57:00-05:00

Until recently, though, Mr. Meier had never broken ground in South Korea. He checked that off his list with the newly opened Seamarq Hotel, a towering white complex overlooking the East Sea in the city of Gang-neung. “Our client chose a really magnificent site,” Mr. Meier said from his New York office.

The Future of New York’s Skyline

2016-01-26T11:44:00-05:00

The biggest names impacting New York’s skyline come together to discuss the projects that now epitomize the city, the ever-evolving real estate market and what’s next for New York’s neighborhoods.

"Process and Vision" showcases the work of Richard Meier at the Chicago Architecture Biennial

2015-10-23T12:58:00-04:00

In keeping with the Chicago Architecture Biennial theme “The State of the Art of Architecture”, Richard Meier’s architectural projects, exhibited at the MANA Contemporary, underscore the consistency of a language pursued over many years of intense architectural activity.

Luxury Patterned After Old Bohemian Farm Villages

2015-07-27T14:16:00-04:00

The project, estimated at 400 million euros, or $433 million, features designs by the architects Eva Jiricna, Richard Meier and John Pawson, in addition to the 10 emerging firms, three of which are Czech and seven that are British.

Mexico builds business district with a 'human touch'

2015-07-09T12:27:00-04:00

It’s one of the first Mexican projects for award-winning architect Richard Meier, who is known for his white geometric design such as the Getty Center in Los Angeles

Richard Meier Only Lives Within White Walls

2015-07-06T12:32:00-04:00

Pritzker winner Richard Meier, who runs his firm from the same New York office he's called home since 1985, has a habit of looking back. "Clients keep the buildings," he says, "but I keep the models." In fact, a warehouse space in Jersey City, where a simulated city of brown building models showcases decades of his designs in miniature, has become a favorite retreat.

A stark contrast: Ulm Stadthaus set to host a retrospective exhibition of Richard Meier & Partners

2015-07-01T14:18:00-04:00

A new exhibition on the work of New York-based Richard Meier & Partners Architects is set to open at the Ulm Stadthaus Exhibition and Assembly Building in Ulm, Germany on 8 July.

Meier makes mark in Miami

2015-04-13T12:25:00-04:00

Far from reducing his workload or resting on his considerable laurels, the 80-year-old Meier and his partners are also wrapping up construction on several other projects, including the HH Resort and Spa in Gangneung, South Korea; the Leblon office building in Rio de Janeiro; the 140-unit Rothschild Tower in Tel Aviv; the Cittadella Bridge in Alessandria, Italy; and Teachers Village, a mixed-use development in Newark, New Jersey.

Is Newark the Next Brooklyn?

2015-03-20T13:28:00-04:00

When construction’s done in 2016, Teachers Village will consist of eight, low-rise buildings housing three charter schools and a daycare facility, 65,000 square feet of retail, and 205 residential units designed by the world-renowned Richard Meier, Newark’s native son and architect of the Getty Center in Los Angeles and the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art in Spain.

Snøhetta to take over SF development project near Civic Center

2014-10-29T19:53:00-04:00

This would be the first U.S. tower for Snøhetta, founded in Norway but on the rise in the United States since being selected in 2004 to design the pavilion for the National Sept. 11 Memorial & Museum. Snøhetta will replace an even better-known architect for the corner: Richard Meier, the Pritzker Prize-winning designer of the Getty Center in Los Angeles, whose firm has been working on a tower in the same location since 2008.

The site in question is directly adjacent the Civic Center's metro stop on Market St., and a large part of the developer's plans revolve around shifting this existing stop one block north, to avoid (in the SFGate author's words) the "squalid even by neighborhood standards" area. The residential tower being built on the site, which includes condominiums with retail space on the ground floor, would account for its affordable housing requirements by building separate properties three blocks away.

Snøhetta's other work in San Francisco includes SFMoMA's expansion, which is currently under construction.

Richard Meier, on His Mentors

2014-10-01T11:29:00-04:00

The first job I had after graduating from architecture school was in the office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. And I worked under the head person, Gordon Bunshaft, who was terrific. And, after I was there for six months, I was offered a position in the office of Marcel Breuer. So, I went and told Mr. Bunshaft, “I'm sorry that I've only been here a short time…” but I wanted to work in Breuer's office because it was smaller and more of the kind of office I had one day hoped to have for myself.

Richard Meier’s High and Mighty Beach House

2014-07-11T12:27:00-04:00

But building the $2.25 million steel-and-glass structure he had in mind presented a number of challenges on Fire Island. For starters, they had to dig 10 feet below sea level to bury the wood piles. Then they had to put a steel frame on top that could support 25 tons of glass. Sam Wood, the contractor, had been working on Fire Island for 30 years and had never seen anything like it. “It’s built like a mini-skyscraper,” he said.