2024-11-21T15:45:38-05:00 https://archinect.com/features/article/150152548/in-praise-of-c-sar-pelli-s-quirky-corners Antonio Pacheco 2019-08-16T16:00:00-04:00 >2019-08-30T16:05:41-04:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/2b/2b92443af300ba65f5f8c603fa416bf2.gif" border="0" /><p>C&eacute;sar Pelli has a reputation for designing some of the world&rsquo;s tallest and most elegant buildings.&nbsp;</p> <p>And though the architect's facilities with glass skin buildings reached their highest stages late in his career, Pelli's earlier skyscrapers also showcase a deftly skilled artist at work. In the early 1990s, especially, Pelli worked to explore the high-rise corner as a site of architectural experimentation. These efforts, where Pelli carves away at otherwise monolithic edges to create stepped and puckered profiles, can be likened to the "quirks" used in woodworking, subtle changes in geometry that mask the juncture of two pieces of wood.&nbsp;At the scale of the skyscraper, quirks create softened edges around otherwise planar towers, and break down a tower's geometries into more visually pleasing configurations.&nbsp;</p> <p>Let's take a look at Pelli's quirky corners.&nbsp;</p>