Daniel Libeskind
Daniel Libeskind, B.Arch. M.A. BDA AIA is an international architect and designer. His practice extends from building major cultural and commercial institutions - including museums and concert halls- to convention centers, universities, housing, hotels, shopping centers and residential work. Daniel Libeskind’s commitment to expanding the scope of architecture reflects his profound interest and involvement in philosophy, art, literature and music. Fundamental to Libeskind’s philosophy is the notion that building are crafted with the perceptible human energy, and that they address the greater cultural context in which they are built.
Born in postwar Poland in 1946, Mr. Libeskind became an American citizen in 1965. He studied music in Israel (on the America-Israel Cultural Foundation Scholarship) and in New York, and became a virtuoso performer. He left music to study architecture, receiving his professional architectural degree in 1970 from the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York City. He received a postgraduate degree in History and Theory of Architecture at the School of Comparative Studies at Essex University (England) in 1972.
Daniel Libeskind has designed such world-renowned projects as the master plan for the World Trade Center in New York and the Jewish Museum Berlin. Most recently, Studio Daniel Libeskind completed the Grand Canal Theatre project, a major addition to Dublin’s dockland’s and cultural core in March 2010, just a few months after opening Crystals at CityCenter, a 500,000 square foot retail complex that serves as the centerpiece to MGM Mirage’s signature development on the Las Vegas Strip, in December 2009. The Studio currently has several projects under construction, including the Fiera Milano, the redevelopment of the historic Fiera Milano Fairgrounds in Milan, Italy, the Military History Museum in Dresden, soon to be Germany’s largest museum and cultural landmark, Creative Media Centre at the City University of Hong Kong, L Tower and Sony Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto, Reflections at Keppel Bay, Singapore, a two-million-square-foot residential development including six curving towers that reshape the horizon, Zlota 44; a residential high rise in Warsaw, Poland, and Haeundae Udong Hyundai l’Park, a mixed-use development in Busan, South Korea, which when completed will include the tallest residential building in Asia. Studio Daniel Libeskind is also in the process of designing Archipelago 21, the Master Site Plan for the Yongsan International Business District in Seoul, Korea, Institute for Democracy & Conflict Resolution for the University of Essex, Kö-Bogen; a new office and retail complex for downtown Düsseldorf, Vitra; a residential tower in Sao Paulo Brazil, and The Central Deck and Arena in Tampere Finland, a mixed used development, including a Ice Hockey arena with a capacity of 11.000 visitors.
Amongst some of Mr. Libeskind’s accolade-laden buildings include the city museum of Osnabrück, Germany, The Felix Nussbaum Haus, opened in July 1998; the Imperial War Museum North in Manchester, England opened to the public in July 2002; The Frederic C. Hamilton building, Extension to the Denver Art Museum, alongside the Denver Museum Residences, in Colorado, opened in October 2006; the Extension to the Royal Ontario Museum, Canada, opened in June of 2007; and the Glass Courtyard, an extension to the Jewish Museum Berlin, was completed in the Fall 2007. The Ascent at Roebling’s Bridge, a residential high-rise in Covington, Kentucky opened in March 2008; the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco opened in June 2008 and Westside, the largest shopping and wellness center in Europe opened in October 2008, in Bern, Switzerland. More recently, Daniel Libeskind completed his first signature series home, the Libeskind Villa, which is now available worldwide.
Mr. Libeskind has taught and lectured at many universities worldwide. He has held such positions as the Frank O. Gehry Chair at the University of Toronto, Professor at the Hochschule für Gestaltung, Karlsruhe, Germany, and the Cret Chair at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Louis Kahn Chair at Yale University. He has received numerous awards, including the 2001 Hiroshima Art Prize - an award given to an artist whose work promotes international understanding and peace, never before given to an architect. In 2010 Daniel was the first architect to receive the Buber-Rosenzweig Medal from DKR, the German Coordinating Council of Societies for Christian-Jewish Cooperation. He was awarded the 1999 Deutsche Architekturpreis (German Architecture Prize) for the Jewish Museum Berlin; also the 2000 Goethe Medallion for cultural contribution; in 1996 the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award for Architecture and in the same year the Berlin Cultural Prize; in 1990 a membership in the European Academy of Arts and Letters; in 1997 an Honorary Doctorate from Humboldt Universität, Berlin; also in 1999 an Honorary Doctorate from the College of Arts and Humanities, Essex University, England; in 2002 an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Edinburgh and an Honorary Doctorate from DePaul University, Chicago; in 2004, an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Toronto, and in 2009 an Honorary Degree, Doctor of Fine Art, from University of Ulster, Belfast.
Two of Mr. Libeskind’s buildings won RIBA Awards in 2004, the London Metropolitan University Graduate Centre and the Imperial War Museum North, the latter of which was also nominated for the Stirling Prize. Also in 2004, Mr. Libeskind was appointed the first Cultural Ambassador for Architecture by the U.S. Department of State, as part of the CultureConnect Program. In 2005 Daniel Libeskind was awarded the Building of the Year Award for the London Metropolitan University by the Royal Fine Arts Commission, as well as the American Architect Award for the Danish Jewish Museum and the Giants of Design Awards from the Hearst Corporation and House Beautiful. In 2006, the Wohl Centre was awarded the Riba International Award. In 2007, Daniel was awarded the Trebbia European Award, the Gold-Medal for the Architecture at the National Arts Club, the Silver Award for “Large Visitor Attraction of the Year” honoring the Imperial War Museum North, the Second Penn State IAH Medal for Distinguished Contributions to the Public Advancement of Arts and Humanities, the Award of Merit for innovative steel design for the Royal Ontario Museum, and the Commander’s cross of the Order of Merit at the Residence of the Consul General of Germany. Most Recently in 2008, Daniel Libeskind has been awarded the Annual Project of the Year Award for the Ascent at Roebling’s Bridge by the Midland Engineering Company, the CNBC Europe and Africa Property Awards in categories of Architecture, Redevelopment, High-Rise Architecture, and High-Rise Development to ORCO Property Group, the Doctor Scientiarum Honoris Causa awarded by the Technion Honorary Doctoral Ceremony, the CNBC Americas Property Awards for the Ascent at Roebling’s Bridge, and the AIA New York and the Center for Architecture Foundation presented Studio Daniel Libeskind with the 2008 President’s Award.
In September, 2004, Riverhead Books (Penguin Group) published his memoir, Breaking Ground. The foreign language editions were published in January/February of 2005, encompassing more than 90 countries. In November, 2008, Monacelli Press (Random House, INC.) published an extensive monograph of his work, Counterpoint, in conversation with Paul Goldberger.
Daniel Libeskind’s work has been exhibited extensively in major museums and galleries around the world and has also been the subject of numerous international publications in many languages. His buildings have appeared on the covers of Time Magazine, Newsweek, Architectural Record, and the Wall Street Journal, among other publications. Mr. Libeskind’s ideas have influenced a new generation of architects and those interested in the future development of cities and culture.
In 2012, he was awarded the AIA National Service Medal by the American Institute of Architects, Washington, DC
