Michael Graves

Michael Graves won the 2012 Richard H. Driehaus Prize, a US$200,000 award that the University of Notre Dame has been giving yearly since 2003 as recognition of excellence in classical architecture and traditional urban planning. In the words of the jury, he “has enhanced not just the architecture profession with his talent and scholarship, but everyday life itself through his inspiring attention to beautiful and accessible design”. Moreover, “the quality and scope of his work have enhanced how people work, live, and interact in public and private realms, making a profound impact on American life”. Born in Indianapolis in 1934, Michael Graves was a member of The New York Five, with Peter Eisenman, Charles Gwathmey, John Hejduk and Richard Meier; a group whose work was presented at the MoMA in 1969. Graves, however, would disengage himself from the Five and adopt a strongly postmodern and eclectic language with buildings like The Portland in Oregon, The Humana in Louisville, the Central Library in Denver, the Dolphin Hotel in Orlando or the Hotel El Gouma on the shore of the Red Sea in Egypt.