robert venturi, pioneer of postmodernism, passes away aged 93

robert venturi, one of the major architectural figures in the twentieth century, has died at the age of 93 following a short illness. the american architect, who was awarded the pritzker prize in 1991, passed away peacefully at his home on tuesday september 18, 2018. the news was shared by VSBA, the firm founded in 2012 as the next generation of venturi, scott brown and associates — the office venturi ran with his wife denise scott brown.

venturi originally designed the ‘vanna venturi house’ for his mother in 1964

‘robert venturi, one of the world’s leading architects, has died at the age of 93,’ reads the statement from VSBA. ‘he passed away peacefully at home on tuesday after a short illness. an expanded statement about bob’s incredible life will be coming in the next few days. for now, denise scott brown and james venturi have asked that we respect their wishes for privacy while they grieve. all of us at VSBA are heartbroken. viva bob.’

the guild house, completed 1964, on spring garden street, philadelphia

venturi was born in philadelphia, pennsylvania and received his bachelors and masters degrees from princeton university. he furthered his studies as a rome prize fellow at the american academy in rome. over his career, venturi and scott brown became pioneering figures in the world of architecture, and are widely credited for helping establish the postmodern movement.

the interior of the chapel at the episcopal academy near newtown square, pennsylvania (2008)

although venturi created a number of significant buildings, including the ‘vanna venturi house’, which he designed for his mother, he is perhaps best known for his writing and theory. in 1972, venturi, alongside denise scott brown and steven izenour, published ‘learning from las vegas’ — the seminal book of the postmodernism movement. robert venturi is survived by his wife, denise scott brown, who was recently awarded the 2018 soane medal, and his son, james. below is a selection of tributes from architects, designers, and critics influenced by venturi’s work.

I am heartbroken to learn of the death of Robert Venturi. Writing about him and Denise Scott Brown was the beginning of my career as an architecture critic: Less Is More‐mies van der Rohe Less Is a Bore–Robert Venturi https://t.co/52VtASVoK8

— Paul Goldberger (@paulgoldberger) September 19, 2018

RIP Robert Venturi. “Architecture After Las Vegas” @yalearch symposium poster designed by @michaelbierut, 2010 https://t.co/azjL5fu4bL pic.twitter.com/lK1knbvbBl

— Pentagram Design (@pentagram) September 19, 2018

It is almost incomprehensible, but we have lost Robert Venturi, a thinker, teacher, architect and writer who played a vital role in massively expanding the notion of what academic architecture was, and could be… pic.twitter.com/ntBf8gqMXt

— AdamNathanielFurman (@Furmadamadam) September 19, 2018