Daniel Libeskind

Daniel Libeskind: Architect

While Walking through the Architecture library, this name popped out at me, mostly because I know this person, or at least someone with the same name...

Daniel Libeskind was the son of Jewish holocaust survivors in Poland. A child prodigy at the accordion, he became a virtuoso performer and subsequently moved to the United States. Although being extremely gifted in music, Libeskind decided to pursue architecture instead [http://www.e-architect.co.uk/architects/daniel_libeskind.htm].
He studied at the Cooper Union in New York for his professional architecture degree (wikipedia.com). In 1972 he was hired to work for Peter Eisenman's New York Institute, but quit nearly immediately, althoguh he had steady work previously working under Richard Meier(wikipedia.com). For Libeskind's honeymoon he and his wife and future business partner, spent the time visiting the Frank Lloyd Wright buildings across the US which can only speak to the respect that he has for Wright's work (wikipedia.com). Libeskind built his first building at age 52, although he had taught and had been an architecture theorist for several years (wikipedia.com). This first building project was the Feliz Nussbaum Haus in 1998 (http://www.daniel-libeskind.com/projects/show-all/). Libeskind had other potential projects, like a project in Berlin that was then halted because of the falling of the Berlin Wall (wikipedia.com). The Jewish Museum in Berlin was Libeskind's first major success (wikipedia.com).
Since, Libeskind's design studio has been hard at work in dozens of projects. Most notable in the recent past was libeskind's appointment to lead the construction of the 9/11 memorial at ground zero entitled "Memory Foundations" (http://www.daniel-libeskind.com/projects/show-all/memory-foundations). This project includes several buildings that will encompass the footprints of the former towers with a memorial and museum featured as well. Libeskind will be collaborating with fellow architects Michael Arad and Peter Walker on their proposal of "Reflecting Absence." Libeskind was personally responsible for the design of the Freedom tower portion of the 9/11 memorial that is slated for completion in 2011. Libeskinds work has achieved much critical acclaim and he has garnered several design awards as well as honorary degrees. Libeskind's studio, established in Berlin, Germany in 1989, now resides in New York, just blocks away from ground zero (http://www.daniel-libeskind.com/studio/studio-bio/). At Libeskind's studio he oversees ~40 projects worldwide at any given time (wikipedia.com). While I haven't heard much about Daniel Libeskind before, I'm sure that many more will hear about him when the memorial is to be finished within the next few years (http://www.daniel-libeskind.com/ says 2013, others say 2011).





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