Architect Robert A.M. Stern:
Presence of the Past

Robert A.M. Stern, FAIA

Robert A.M. Stern

Robert A.M. Stern is a practicing architect, teacher, and writer.  He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, and received the AIA New York Chapter's Medal of Honor in 1984 and the Chapter's President's Award in 2001.  Mr. Stern is the 2011 Driehaus Prize laureate and in 2008 received the tenth Vincent Scully Prize from the National Building Museum. In 2007, he received both the Athena Award from the Congress for the New Urbanism and the Board of Directors' Honor from the Institute of Classical Architecture and Classical America.  As founder and Senior Partner of Robert A.M. Stern Architects, he personally directs the design of each of the firm's projects.

Mr. Stern is Dean of the Yale School of Architecture. He was previously Professor of Architecture and Director of the Historic Preservation Program at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation at Columbia University. Mr. Stern served from 1984 to 1988 as the first director of Columbia's Temple Hoyne Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture. He has lectured extensively in the United States and abroad on both historical and contemporary topics in architecture. He is the author of several books, including New Directions in American Architecture (Braziller, 1969; revised edition, 1977); George Howe: Toward a Modern American Architecture (Yale University Press, 1975); Modern Classicism (London: Thames & Hudson; New York: Rizzoli, 1988); The Philip Johnson Tapes: Interviews by Robert A.M. Stern (Monacelli, 2008); and Architecture on the Edge of Postmodernism: Collected Essays 1964–1988 (Yale University Press, 2009). Mr. Stern's profound interest in the development of New York City's architecture and urbanism can be seen in his books, New York 1900 (Rizzoli, 1983) coauthored with John Massengale and Gregory Gilmartin; New York 1930 (Rizzoli, 1987) coauthored with Thomas Mellins and Gregory Gilmartin, which was nominated for a National Book Award, an unusual distinction for a book about architecture; New York 1960 (Monacelli, 1995); New York 1880 (Monacelli, 1999) coauthored with Thomas Mellins and David Fishman; and New York 2000 (Monacelli, 2006), coauthored with David Fishman and Jacob Tilove.

Fifteen books on Mr. Stern's work have been published: Robert Stern (London: Academy Editions, 1981); Robert A.M. Stern Buildings and Projects 1965-1980 (New York: Rizzoli, 1981); Robert A.M. Stern: Buildings and Projects 1981-1985 (New York: Rizzoli, 1986); Robert A.M. Stern:  Modernità e Tradizione (Rome: Edizioni Kappa, 1990); The American Houses of Robert A.M. Stern (New York: Rizzoli, 1991); Architectural Monographs no. 17, Robert A.M. Stern: Selected Works (London: Academy Editions, New York: St. Martins Press, 1991); Robert A.M. Stern: Buildings and Projects 1987-1992 (New York: Rizzoli, 1992); Robert A.M. Stern: Buildings (New York: Monacelli, 1996); Robert A.M. Stern: Houses (New York: Monacelli, 1997); Robert A.M. Stern: Buildings and Projects 1993-1998 (New York: Monacelli, 1998); Robert A.M. Stern: Buildings and Projects 1999-2003 (New York: Monacelli, 2003); Robert A.M. Stern: Houses and Gardens (New York: Monacelli, 2005); Robert A.M. Stern: Buildings and Towns (New York: Monacelli, 2007); Robert A.M. Stern: Buildings and Projects 2004-2009 (New York: Monacelli, 2009); and Robert A.M. Stern: On Campus (New York: Monacelli, 2010).

Mr. Stern's work has been exhibited at numerous galleries and universities and is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Deutsches Architekturmuseum, Centre Pompidou, the Denver Museum of Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1976, 1980, and 1996, he was among the architects selected to represent the United States at the Venice Biennale. In 1986 Mr. Stern hosted "Pride of Place: Building the American Dream," an eight-part, eight-hour documentary television series aired on the Public Broadcasting System. Mr. Stern served on the Board of Directors of The Walt Disney Company from 1992 to 2003. Mr. Stern is a graduate of Columbia University (B.A., 1960) and Yale University (M. Architecture, 1965).