Known for his progressive aesthetics and vast body of work, 1982 Pritzker Prize laureate Kevin Roche (born June 14, 1922) has headed numerous projects of varying program and scale as the design principal of his firm Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates. In 1980, shortly before the death of Roche's business partner John Dinkeloo, the firm was described by critic C. Ray Smith in 1980 as "the most aesthetically daring and innovative American firm of architects now working."
The eighth edition of the 2018 Premios Mayor in Chile has awarded its top prize to Chilean architect Teodoro Fernández, designer of metropolitan projects such as Bicentenario Park in Santiago and the Kaukari Urban Park in Copiapó.
During the ceremony held at the Universidad Mayor School of Architecture in Santiago on November 8, the 2014 National Architecture Prize winner reflected specifically on open space. "Projects undergo processes of growth and decay that are much longer and deeper than in other fields. Understanding this is fundamental, and there are examples in art, such as when Marcel Duchamp allowed dust—which is ultimately the passage of time—to become part of his work *The Large Glass*. That is the balance of ideas we must find space for in cities," Fernández commented.
In response to a growing company's request for office space, Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates developed a master plan that would allow the incremental addition of floor space over time. The initial design included nine identical buildings arranged in a parallelogram, totaling 1.2 million square feet. Only three of the buildings were constructed in the initial phase, and the expansion plan was never fulfilled. The trio is known as "The Pyramids" for their simple geometry and slanting glass facades.
