Overview
- His office confirmed he died at home in Santa Monica on December 5 after a short respiratory illness at the age of 96.
- Tributes highlighted his influence, with messages from Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney, California Governor Gavin Newsom, the Guggenheim Foundation, and Düsseldorf officials.
- Landmark works include the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, and Düsseldorf’s Neuer Zollhof, a portfolio credited with the “Bilbao effect.”
- He earned architecture’s top honors, notably the 1989 Pritzker Prize and the 2016 Presidential Medal of Freedom.
- He is survived by his wife Berta Aguilera and children Sam, Alejandro, and Brina, while long-delayed projects such as the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi continue to shape assessments of his legacy.