In a statement on the firm's website, his son Román said: "The firm’s partners and directors, many of whom have collaborated with him for decades, will extend his architectural legacy in the work we will continue to perform every day."
Rafael Viñoly will be remembered for working across a variety of different project types and scales, authoring award-winning designs that captured the public’s attention while experimenting with scale and materiality in relation to his passion for classical music and art.
Born in Uruguay and educated in Argentina. In 1978, together with his family, he immigrated to the United States. For a brief time, he lectured at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and settled permanently in New York in 1979.
Viñoly first opened his practice in New York in 1983. His first major project was the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, completed in 1988. In 1989 rose to prominence with the commission of the Tokyo International Forum, which was completed in 1996. Other noteworthy international designs such as the Cleveland Museum of Art, Carrasco Airport in Montevideo, 20 Fenchurch Street in London and 432 Park Avenue in Manhattan.
During the course of his 40-plus-year career, Viñoly practised in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
