Is Robert Venturi Living or Dead?

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Is American architect Robert Venturi dead? Or ... still alive?

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By Botty Snyder

Updated 18 March 2023

Image info

Artist	Ben Franske
Credit	Own work
License	cc-by-sa-4.0
Desc	Outline of Benjamin Franklin's home in Philadelphia, PA (in Franklin Court)
Url	https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Benjamin_Franklin_House_Outline.jpg
Usage	Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0
Description_url	https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Benjamin_Franklin_House_Outline.jpg

Image info/credit

American architect

Robert Venturi is ...

Dead

Born	25 June 1925 in Philadelphia
Died	18 September 2018 in Philadelphia
Age	93 years, 3 months
Cause	Alzheimer's disease

Sex or gender	male
Country of citizenship	United States of America
Birth name	Robert Charles Venturi
Spouse	Denise Scott Brown
Occupation	architect
Notable work	Vanna Venturi House
Awards	Pritzker Architecture Prize, Vincent Scully Prize, Rome Prize, National Medal of Arts, Architecture Firm Award, Benjamin Franklin Medal, AIA Gold Medal and Fellow of the American Institute of Architects
Member of	American Philosophical Society, American Academy of Arts and Letters, European Academy of Sciences and Arts, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Phi Beta Kappa Society and Accademia di San Luca

About Robert Venturi

Robert Venturi was a trailblazing American architect who challenged the modernist orthodoxy of his time with his postmodernist approach to design. Born on June 25, 1925, in Philadelphia, Venturi studied at Princeton University and later at the American Academy in Rome. He worked for several years with the renowned architect Eero Saarinen before establishing his own firm, Venturi Scott Brown and Associates, with his wife and partner Denise Scott Brown.

Venturi's work was characterized by a playful and eclectic style that drew inspiration from a wide range of sources, including historical architecture, popular culture, and everyday objects. His designs often featured bold colors, decorative elements, and exaggerated forms that challenged the minimalist aesthetic of modernism.

One of Venturi's most famous works is the Vanna Venturi House, which he designed for his mother in 1962. The house, located in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania, is a prime example of his postmodernist style, with its asymmetrical facade, pitched roof, and playful use of classical elements.

Venturi's other notable works include the Sainsbury Wing of the National Gallery in London, the Seattle Art Museum, and the Franklin Court complex in Philadelphia. He also wrote several influential books on architecture, including "Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture" and "Learning from Las Vegas," which he co-authored with Scott Brown and Steven Izenour.

Venturi received numerous awards and honors throughout his career, including the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1991. He continued to work on projects until his death in 2018 at the age of 93.

References:

- "Robert Venturi, Architect Who Rejected Modernism, Dies at 93" by Robin Pogrebin, The New York Times, September 20, 2018

- "Robert Venturi, Architect Who Rejected Modernism, Dies at 93" by Oliver Wainwright, The Guardian, September 20, 2018

- "Robert Venturi: The Architect Who Helped Usher in Postmodernism" by Mark Lamster, The Dallas Morning News, September 21, 2018