Minoru Yamasaki was an American architect, best known for designing the original World Trade Center in New York City and several other large-scale projects.
20 Facts About Minoru Yamasaki
2.
Minoru Yamasaki enrolled in the University of Washington program in architecture in 1929, and graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture in 1934.
3.
Minoru Yamasaki earned money to pay for his tuition by working at a salmon cannery in Alaska, working five summers and earning $50 a month, plus 25 cents an hour in overtime pay.
4.
Minoru Yamasaki wrapped dishes for an importing company until he found work as a draftsman and engineer.
5.
The firm helped Minoru Yamasaki avoid internment as a Japanese-American during World War II, and he himself sheltered his parents in New York City.
6.
Minoru Yamasaki was politically active during his early years, particularly in efforts to relocate Japanese Americans affected by the internment program in the United States during World War II.
7.
Minoru Yamasaki left the firm in 1949, and started his own partnership.
8.
Minoru Yamasaki was a member of the Pennsylvania Avenue Commission, created in 1961 to restore the grand avenue in Washington, DC, but he resigned after disagreements and disillusionment with the design by committee approach.
9.
Minoru Yamasaki was awarded contracts to design the first three buildings: the Classroom Building, the Laboratory Building, and the Dr John Archer Library, which were built between 1963 and 1967.
10.
Minoru Yamasaki designed two notable synagogues, North Shore Congregation Israel in Glencoe, Illinois, and Temple Beth El, in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
11.
Minoru Yamasaki designed a number of buildings on college campuses, including designs for Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, between 1958 and 1968 as well as being commissioned to design buildings on the campus of Wayne State University in the 1950s and 1960s, including the McGregor Memorial Conference Center, the College of Education building and the Prentis Building and DeRoy Auditorium Complex.
12.
Minoru Yamasaki used exotic materials such as white marble tiles and columns, incorporated a skylight traversing the length of the building and made extensive use of the secondary space outside the building including constructing a plaza with reflecting pools, seating areas, greenery and sculptures.
13.
Minoru Yamasaki employed the fastest elevators at the time, running at 1,700 feet per minute.
14.
In 1978, Minoru Yamasaki designed the Federal Reserve Bank tower in Richmond, Virginia.
15.
Minoru Yamasaki strived to achieve "serenity, surprise, and delight" in his humanistic modernist buildings and their surrounds.
16.
Minoru Yamasaki was first married in 1941 to Teruko "Teri" Hirashiki.
17.
Minoru Yamasaki suffered from health problems for at least three decades, and ulcers caused surgical removal of much of his stomach in 1953.
18.
Minoru Yamasaki's health was not improved by increasingly heavy drinking towards the end of his life.
19.
Minoru Yamasaki died of stomach cancer on February 6,1986, at the age of 73.
20.
Minoru Yamasaki was affectionately known as "Yama" among his friends and associates.