Pelli Clarke Pelli

Pelli Clarke Pelli Pelli Clarke Pelli is an international architectural practice known for high-profile skyscrapers, urban masterplans, and cultural institutions. The firm emerged from the careers of architectural figures who worked across North America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, collaborating with major clients, developers, and public institutions on commissions that shaped skylines in cities such as London, Kuala Lumpur, New York, San Francisco, and Tokyo.

History and formation

The firm traces roots to the practice of Cesar Pelli after his tenure at Gruen Associates, Smith, Hinchman & Grylls, and contributions to projects like World Trade Center (1973 proposal). Following formative roles with Eero Saarinen's office and collaborations with Kevin Roche and Philip Johnson, Pelli founded his own office before forming a partnership with Fred Clarke and later Rafael Pelli. The practice expanded through commissions from developers such as Hines Interests Limited Partnership, British Land, Isetan, Mitsubishi Estate, and Cheung Kong Holdings, and engaged with cultural institutions including Museum of Modern Art, Tate Gallery, National Gallery of Art, and municipal authorities in Kuala Lumpur, London, New York City, San Francisco, and Tokyo.

Principal architects and leadership

Leadership included founder Cesar Pelli, principals like Fred Clarke, Rafael Pelli, and senior partners who collaborated with designers and consultants from firms such as Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Arup Group, Foster + Partners, SOM, Kohn Pedersen Fox, and Gensler on multidisciplinary teams. The studio attracted architects who had worked with notable figures such as I. M. Pei, Norman Foster, Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers, Zaha Hadid, and Tadao Ando, and partnered with engineers and contractors including Ove Arup & Partners, Buro Happold, WSP Global, Turner Construction Company, and Laing O'Rourke to realize complex programs.

Notable projects

The firm’s portfolio includes landmark towers and complexes: One Canada Square at Canary Wharf for Canary Wharf Group; the twin Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur for Petronas; the World Financial Center complex in New York City for World Financial Center (site) developers; Guangzhou projects commissioned by China State Construction Engineering; the International Finance Centre in Hong Kong for Sun Hung Kai Properties; Salesforce Tower in San Francisco for Salesforce; mixed-use masterplans for Battery Park City developers; cultural commissions for Milwaukee Art Museum donors; academic buildings for Yale University, Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, and Columbia University; hospitality projects for Hilton Worldwide, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, and Marriott International; and transportation-related work involving Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, MTR Corporation, and municipal transit agencies. Other high-profile clients included Qatar Investment Authority, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Sberbank, Mitsui Fudosan, Lendlease, Shimizu Corporation, and Sumitomo Corporation.

Design style and architectural approach

The firm advocated contextual modernism, integrating influences from Le Corbusier, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Louis Kahn while responding to site-specific conditions in cities like Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai, Mumbai, Dubai, Riyadh, Istanbul, and São Paulo. Their approach balanced glazed curtain wall systems developed with engineering partners such as Arup, structural strategies associated with Fazlur Rahman Khan’s innovations, and sustainable measures aligned with standards from LEED, BREEAM, and local green codes in Singapore and Hong Kong. Design strategies integrated mixed-use programming, podium-tower typologies seen in projects in Mexico City and Buenos Aires, and urbanistic considerations reflected in collaborations with municipal planning agencies, cultural authorities like Smithsonian Institution, and preservation bodies such as English Heritage and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Awards and recognition

Principal members and the practice received awards including the AIA Gold Medal presented by the American Institute of Architects, the Praemium Imperiale awarded by the Japan Art Association, and the Royal Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects. Projects garnered honors from institutions such as Urban Land Institute, CTBUH (Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat), International Union of Architects, World Architecture Festival, and local awards from bodies like AIA New York, AIA San Francisco, RIBA, BOMA International, and municipal preservation commissions. Individual partners were lecturers and jurors at universities and organizations including Yale School of Architecture, Harvard Graduate School of Design, Columbia GSAPP, MIT School of Architecture and Planning, University of Tokyo, Politecnico di Milano, and professional forums organized by UNESCO and the World Bank.

Category:Architecture firms