Researched by: S.Sawada
Edited: J. Shaevitz
Minoru Yamasaki is a prominent Japanese-American architect who made a significant impact in the 20th century’s architecture.
Yamasaki was born on December 1, 1912, to his Japanese parents in Seattle. He enrolled in the University of Washington in 1929 to learn about architecture. However, he was harassed with Japanese discrimination and decided to move to New York and complete his master’s degree at New York University. After graduating, Yamasaki went to work for the firm of Shreve, Lamb & Harmon. This firm is known for designing the Empire State Building. The firm was supportive of him, even during World War Ⅱ, and helped to shelter his family. Yamasaki left a few years later and went on to work for several other firms. He then established his own with two other colleagues in 1949 in Michigan.
The first work Yamasaki received critical acclaim was the Lambert-St. Louis Municipal Air Terminal and won the AIA First Honor Award. He then went on to design architectures that included several airports and many office buildings. Some notable works are Dhahran International Airport in Saudi Arabia, the Federal Reserve Bank Tower in Virginia, One M&T Plaza in New York, and the Century Plaza Towers in California. In 1957, he formed Yamasaki & Associates, making his name more well-known in the world of architecture. His most significantly designed building is the World Trade Center, which was completed in 1973.
Yamasaki received not only fame but many honors as well, such as Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1960. He was also featured on a TIME cover, a feat just a handful of architects achieved. Throughout his successful career, he designed over 250 buildings around the world. His extraordinary works shocked the architectural world, and Yamasaki is widely recognized as one of the masters of “New Formalism” today.
Yamasaki passed away on February 6, 1986, because of stomach cancer. He was 73 years old. His firm continued to design buildings until it closed in 2010.
Works Cited
Gyure, D. A. (2020, July 26). Minoru Yamasaki (1912–1986). Architectural Review.
WSU Yamasaki Legacy- Minoru Yamasaki biography. (n.d.). WSU Yamasaki Legacy.
Retrieved September 5, 2021, from http://yamasaki.wayne.edu/biography.html
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