THOM MAYNE

Architect

Born on January 19, 1944, in Waterbury, Connecticut. Studied at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles (UCLA), graduating in 1968 with a Bachelor of Architecture degree. In 1972, Mayne founded the architectural firm “Morphosis” in Santa Monica with Livio Santini, James Stafford, and Michael Brickler, initially more of an idea than an office. In 1975, Michael Rotondi became Mayne's partner. After a period of professional work, he took a year off in 1978 and earned a Master of Architecture degree from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. Entrusted with small projects in the 1980s, such as the design of the Kate Mantilini steakhouse in Beverly Hills (1986) and the Sinai Cancer Center in Hollywood (1988), the firm made a name for itself among professionals and students. The construction of Diamond Ranch High School in Pomona, California, in 1999 marked the firm's breakthrough. Larger commissions led to international recognition for the firm. In Europe, Mayne was known until the mid-1990s only as a theorist with a reputation as a rebel. In 1996, he designed a new administration building for the Hypobank Alpe-Adria bank on the outskirts of Klagenfurt. His buildings were always provocative, yet in the US he was awarded contracts for several school buildings and public spaces that would have been unthinkable in Europe due to their radical nature.

In 1972, he was a founding member of the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc). Since then, he has been a visiting lecturer at Columbia, Yale, the Harvard Graduate School of Design, the Berlage Institute in the Netherlands, the Bartlett School of Architecture in London, and many other institutions around the world. There has always been a close relationship between Mayne's teaching and his work as an architect, as evidenced by his position as founder and board director of the Now Institute at UCLA, a research and design initiative. Professor of architecture and urban design at UCLA since 1992. Mayne also made a name for himself as the author of scholarly essays on design and aesthetic theories. Member of the American Academy of Design since 1992 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 2008. Honorary doctorates from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and the California College of the Arts in 2008.

Mayne pioneered an architectural style characterized by complex geometric forms. The first buildings, which Mayne often designed for vacant lots in satellite towns in the 1970s and early 1980s, were architectural provocations and more like spatial works of art than normal buildings. The architect mixed building materials seemingly at random, using steel, concrete, wood, glass blocks, plastic, and corrugated iron. The interiors were characterized by abruptly towering partition walls and staircases, which sometimes created an almost claustrophobic feeling of confinement. The ensembles were completed with windows and lamps that could be operated with the aid of curious lifting devices or bolts.

Awards (Selection)
2019 ACADIA Awards of Excellence
2019 Austrian Decoration of Honour for Science and Art
2013 AIA/Gold Medal
2011 Richard J. Neutra Award
2009 Centennial Medal der American Academy in Rome
2008 Edward MacDowell Medal
2005 Pritzker-Prize
2001 Chrysler Design Award of Excellence
2000 AIA/LA Gold Medal
1995 Alumni of the Year, University of Southern California
1992 Arts and Letters Awards

Selected projects
Sejong M-Brigde, Sejong City (2015-2019)
7132 Hotel & Arrival, Vals (2015-2017)
Kolon One & Only Tower, Seoul (2013-2018)
Bloomberg Center at Cornell Tech, New York (2012-2017)
Taubman Complex at Lawrence Tech, Southfield, Michigan (2012-2016)
Emerson College, Los Angeles (2008-2014)
Perot Museum of Nature and Science, Dallas (2008-2012)
Phare Tower, La Défense, Hauts-de-Seine (2006-2010)
Giant Interactive Group Headquarters, Shanghai (2005-2010)
Alaska State Capitol Design Competition, Juneau, Alaska (2005)
41 Cooper Square, New York (2004-2009)
San Francisco Federal Building (2000-2007)
Hypo Alpe-Adria Bank, Klagenfurt (2003-2006)
Wayne Lyman Morse United States Courthouse, Eugene, Oregon (1999-2006)
Caltrans District 7 Headquarters (2001-2005)
NYC2012 Olympic Village, New York (2004)
Hypo Alpe-Adria Center, Klagenfurt (1996-2002)
Diamond Ranch High School, Pomona, CA (1994-1999)
Sun Tower, Seoul (1995-1997)
Salick Healthcare Administrative Offices (8201), West Hollywood (1990-1991)
Cedars-Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Center, Hollywood (1986-1988)
Kate Mantilini Steakhouse, Beverly Hills (1985-1986)

Exhibitions (Selection)
2019 Interfaces. Milan Design Week 2019, Milan
2006 Morphosis Retrospective. Centre George Pompidou, Paris
1999 Silent Collisions. Netherlands Architecture Institute, Rotterdam
1990 Parallel Activities. Gallery MA, Tokyo
1989 Installation. Walker Art Center, Minneapolis

Bibliography (Selection)
2019 Mayne, Thom: Morphosis - 2004-2018. New York: Rizzoli
2015 Mayne, Thom: M - Morphosis. Goyang: Equalbooks (NemoFactory)
2014 Ferraresi, Alberto: Morphosis. Rom: Edilstampa
2009 Mayne, Thom: Morphosis - Buildings and Projects 1999-2008. New York: Rizzoli
2003 Mayne, Thom; Warke, Val K.: Morphosis. Berlin: Phaidon