Legendary Architect Bruce J. Graham Dies

CHICAGO, March 9 /PRNewswire/ -- The elegant genius of Miesian high-rise architecture, Bruce J. Graham, died in his sleep early Saturday morning at home in Hobe Sound, Florida.  He was 84 years old.  Mr. Graham is survived by his son George Graham and daughters Lisa Graham Langlade-Demoyen and Mara Graham Dworsky.  There will be a private funeral.  A memorial service will be scheduled in Chicago.

One of the leading architects of the modern era, Bruce J. Graham was a senior design partner at Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill (SOM) from 1951 to 1989, a period when the firm emerged as one of the most influential forces in western architecture.  Mr. Graham personally led the design of Chicago's first two 100-story buildings, the John Hancock Center completed in 1970, and the Sears Tower (now the Willis Tower), which opened in 1974.

Mr. Graham's work also highlights the striking skylines of Hong Kong, London and Cairo, as well as many other cities across North and South America and around the world.  He was regarded by colleagues and competitors alike as one of the leading influences of the "modern era" of architecture.

Mr. Graham helped advance and broaden world renown for "the Chicago school of Architecture," a bold style of commercial building based on steel-frame construction and spatial aesthetic.  He believed buildings should reflect their cities, bring pride to their people and stand the test of time.  Importantly, he believed the meaning of architecture lay beyond the building's function. "We cannot explain every spatial move except that they must exist for the poetry to exist, and for that purpose does the artist in us live."

His impact on Chicago architecture carried on the "bold plans and big dreams" mission Daniel Burnham used to re-build the city at the turn of the 20th Century.  He believed that the task of city building should be "wrenched from the grasp of uninspired bureaucracy" and put back into the hands of the architect.  Mr. Graham's plans for his projects throughout downtown Chicago were all part of a grand plan.

In 1990, Chicago Magazine characterized his contributions as "defining downtown."  It described the Hancock Center and the Sears Tower as "bookends" protecting the "jewels" he cast in between -- jewels like the Inland Steel Building, Madison Plaza, Three First National Plaza, the Richard J. Daly Center and the "great arched gates of the Midwest Stock Exchange."  The magazine's editors described his work as "a perfect expression of the city's corporate aesthetic."

One of Mr. Graham's many legacies at SOM was his belief that the design process should be a collaboration.  By structuring SOM into multiple-disciplinary studios, he integrated both design and engineering into the earliest stages of project conception.  His collaboration with the engineer Fazlur Khan further inspired commitment that every project should embody the poetic connection between architecture and engineering. That helped SOM drive breakthrough innovation in both design and engineering for more than two decades.  It also enhanced the firm's formidable reputation for superiority and reliability.

Mr. Graham led a life of community service and philanthropy. He was president of the Chicago Central Area Committee, a trustee of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a trustee of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.  He also was a member of the board of trustees and chairman of the board of overseers of the Graduate School of Fine Arts of the University of Pennsylvania and funded the Bruce J. and Jane J. Graham Professorship in architecture.

He was instrumental in helping to bring great art to Chicago's public plazas, including the Henry Moore Sculpture at the University of Chicago and the Miro Sculpture near the Richard J. Daley Center.  Valuable maquettes of both sculptures were donated to the Art Institute of Chicago.

Mr. Graham was born in Bogota, Colombia, and was of Scottish and Peruvian decent.  He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and graduated in 1948 from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in architecture.  Mr. Graham was a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects and a member of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada.

His wife of 34 years, Jane Abend Graham, who passed away in 2004, was his lifelong partner. Mrs. Graham was an architect in her own right, and she was an important influence on Mr. Graham's work and vision.

In addition to his three children, Mr. Graham is survived by six grandchildren: Alexandra Dworsky, Elizabeth Graham, Kenna Dworsky, Cecily Graham, Oliver Dworsky and Julien Langlade-Demoyen.

SOURCE The Graham Family