Famous Architects Firms, Contemporary Design Practices, Celebrated Designers, Major Architecture Companies
Famous Architects Studios
Major Designers + Architecture Studios around the world
post updated 5 March 2023
We’ve selected who we feel are the major architects currently working in the world. The focus is on contemporary architects but we do carry information on many historic architects.
Celebrated architects, listed alphabetically by their surname – these design studios are all currently active, ie they are contemporary architecture studios:
Famous World Architects – Contemporary
Santiago Calatrava, Switzerland
photograph : Isabelle Lomholt
Santiago Calatrava studied architecture from 1968 at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura, Valencia. From 1975-81 Santiago studied at the ETH in Zurich. The architect married and settled in the city. His first architecture competition win, in 1983, was for the Stadelhofen Railway Station in Zurich. Calatrava then set up his architecture studio in the city.
David Chipperfield, UK
image © Nick Knight; photograph from HPA
David Chipperfield studied at the Architectural Association, London. Chipperfield worked in the architecture practices of Douglas Stephens, Richard Rogers and Norman Foster, all London. DCA began 1984 in London, 1987 in Tokyo. He is a Foundation member & director of the 9H Gallery, London, and a Member of the Architectural Foundation, London.
Norman Foster, UK
image from Hotel Puerta America
Norman Foster is the founder and executive chairman of Foster + Partners, a global studio for architecture, urbanism and design, rooted in sustainability. He was born in Manchester, and after graduating from Manchester University School of Architecture and City Planning in 1961 he won a Henry Fellowship to Yale University, where he was a fellow of Jonathan Edwards College and gained a Master’s Degree in Architecture.
Frank Gehry, USA
image from STV
Frank Gehry is Design Principal for the firm of Gehry Partners. Before founding the practice, Frank Gehry worked with architects Victor Gruen and Pereira & Luckman in Los Angeles, USA, and with André Remondet in Paris, France.
Zaha Hadid, UK
photograph : Steve Double
Steven Holl, USA
photo © Heitoff
Rem Koolhaas, Netherlands
photograph from Nitropix
Daniel Libeskind, USA
photograph from SDL
Jean Nouvel, France
photo from Hotel Puerta America
SANAA : Ryue Nishizawa, Kazuyo Sejima, Japan
© SANAA photograph © Takashi Okamoto
Famous World Architects – Historic
Alvar Aalto – major 20th Century architect
Le Corbusier – the most famous architect of the 20th Century
Antoni Gaudi
Walter Gropius – major 20th Century architect
Nicholas Hawksmoor
Arne Jacobsen
Philip Johnson
Louis Kahn – major 20th Century architect
John Lautner
Claude Ledoux
Adolf Loos
Berthold Lubetkin
Edwin Lutyens
Rennie Mackintosh
Pier Luigi Nervi
Richard Neutra
J. M. Olbrich
Frei Otto
Eero Saarinen
Hans Scharoun
John Soane
James Stirling
Jorn Utzon
Mies Van der Rohe – one of the most famous architects of the 20th Century
Otto Wagner
Christopher Wren
Frank Lloyd Wright – major 20th Century architect
Famous Buildings
photo © Derek McGavigan
World Architects – Contemporary + Historic
Contemporary Architecture Studios : major contemporary offices
Historic Architecture Studios : major practices from 20th Century & beyond
World Architect Portraits : key designers photos
picture : Erwin Olaf
Comments / photos for the World Architects – Famous Designers page welcome
