Walking into the office this morning, I looked at the news feed on my iPhone and saw that Charles Gwathmey had died. Not knowing he had been sick, I was surprised, and it felt like the end of an era...

It also meant something to me personally. As a child, I knew Charles Gwathmey as step-father to one of my classmates in elementary school. I had played in the famous house he designed for his parents on Long Island. I heard him speak when my friend died of cancer in high school, and later met him again while touring a large apartment he'd just finished in the Police Building.

Gruff but approachable, he asked me what I was doing. I told him that I was a "designer" (explaining Apartment Therapy seemed too complicated), and he said warmly, "What does that mean? Everyone's a designer these days." How true.

In honor of Charles Gwathmey, I thought I'd give you a little bio in the form of pictures and links. His career spanned over fifty years, and he was as influential on American modern architecture as any in his generation.

>> Charles Gwathmey, Modernist Architect, Is Dead at 71 [NYTimes]
>> Charles Gwathmey [Wikipedia]
>> Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects

Gwathmey Residence & Studio, Amagansett, NY, 1967 (and pic up top)

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Cohn Residence, Amagansett, NY, 1972

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de Menil Residence, East Hampton, NY, 1983

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Spielberg Residence, East Hampton, NY, 1983

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Guggenheim Museum Renovation & Addition, NYC, 1992

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Zumikon Residence, Zumikon, Switzerland, 1993

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Astor Place Condominiums, NYC, 2005

(Images: Gwathmey-Seigel website | Scott Frances/Esto - Gwathmey Residence, David Franzen - Cohn Residence, Norman McGrath - de Menil Residence, Richard Bryant/Arcaid 2x - Spielberg Residence, Jeff Goldberg/Esto - Guggenheim Museum, Richard Bryant/Arcaid - Zumikon Residence, Scott Frances - Astor Place Condominiums)