Daniel Libeskind, born May 12, 1946, is a Polish American architect, professor, and set designer. Libeskind founded Studio Daniel Libeskind in 1989 with his wife, Nina, and its principal design architect. He is best known for introducing complex ideas and emotions into his designs. His work is often described as Deconstructivist, a style of postmodern architecture characterized by fragmentation and distortion.
Libeskind first studied music at the Lodz Conservatory, and in 1960 he moved to New York City on a music scholarship. He decided to change his aim after he arrived and began to study architecture under John Hejduk and Peter Eisenman at Cooper Union. After receiving a master’s degree in the history and theory of architecture from the University of Essex, England in 1972, he became known as an academic. He was especially known for his time teaching at the Cranbrook Academy of Art (1978-1985) in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
Libeskind’s international reputation as an architect was solidified when in 1989, he won the competition to build an addition to the Berlin Museum that would house the city museum’s collection of objects related to Jewish history. Despite a decade of opposition through local
politics, the building itself was completed in 1999 and opened as a museum in 2001. (Libeskind, lost most of his family in the Holocaust. He was the son of Polish Jews and Holocaust survivors. He dedicated much of his illustrious career to commemorating his heritage through visually dynamic buildings, often with a striking angularity that seems to
defy gravity. He worked to convey several levels of meaning in the building.) Starting with the base of the complex runs in a broken, zig-zag pattern that creates a floor plan that resembles the Star of David which Jews were forced to wear and displayed prominently on their clothing. Throughout the length of the museum runs a space known as the Void, which is a path of raw, blank concrete walls. Visitors can see the Void, but they cannot enter it or use it to access other parts of the museum. This way it suggests both notions of absence and paths not taken.
Angular slices of the window allow light that creates a disorienting, almost violent feeling throughout the structure, while at the same time, an adjacent sculpture garden creates a sense of meditative silence. Because the spatial experience is so powerful, many felt that the building might better serve as a memorial without any installations. Controversy swirled
over this proposal until, in 2000-2001, Libeskind remodeled the building somewhat to facilitate its museum function.
On the basis of the recognition he earned for this project, Lebskind received a number of museum commissions in the late 1990s and early 2000s. This included the Imperial War Museum North (1997-2001) in Manchester, England. In 2003 Libeskind won an international competition to rebuild the World Trade Center site in New York City. During the competition phase, much debate arose over whether a new, taller structure should be built or the site left untouched as a memorial. Libeskind’s plan thoughtfully addressed both of these visions, combining a glass tower, designed to be the tallest in the world, with open memorial gardens that represent the “footprints” of the two fallen towers. His design was praised by both the architectural community and the general public, but commercial and safety concerns ultimately overrode the original design. Still further political and practical
considerations influenced the redesign of the tower until all that remained of Libeskind’s vision was the overall height of the building: 1,776 feet (540 meters), a reference to the year in which the Declaration of Independence was approved by the United States Continental
Congress.
Libeskind continued to be sought after for Jewish projects. Among these was the interior of the Danish Jewish Museum, completed in 2003, in Copenhagen, a glass courtyard, completed in 2007 for the Jewish Museum in Berlin, and the Contemporary Jewish Museum, completed in 2008, in San Francisco. He was also hired to design a variety of art museum buildings- including the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, completed in 2007, an extension of the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto; and the
Frederic C. Hamilton Building, which opened in 2006, is an extension of the Denver Art Museum- and many other structures. Libeskind’s later projects included the Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre, completed in 2010, City University of Hong Kong; The extension to the Museum of Military History, 2001-11, Dresden, Germany; the Magnet housing development, 2008-14, Tirana, Albania; the Ogden Center for Fundamental Physics, complete in 2016 at Durham University, England; and MO Museum, completed in 2018, a modern art museum in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Other buildings that he is known for include the extension for the Denver Art Museum in the United States, the Grand Canal Theatre in Dublin, the Imperial War Museum North in Greater Manchester, England, the Felix Nussbaum Hus in Osnabruck Germany, Reflections
in Singapore and the Wohl Centre at the Nar-Jlan University in Ramat Gan, Israel. His portfolio also includes several residential projects. Libeskind’s work has been exhibited in major museums and galleries around the world including the Museum of Modern Art, The Bauhaus Archives, the Art Institute of Chicago, and Centre Pompidou.
Throughout his career, Libeskind also designed sculptures, furniture, lighting, hardware, and other objects. In addition to buildings, Libeskind has applied his visionary aesthetic to large-scale sculptures, furniture, and interior fixture.
Libeskind has lived, among other places in New York City, Michigan, Italy, Germany, and Los Angeles. He is both a U.S. and Israeli citizen. Nina and Daniel Libeskind have three children: Lev, Noam, and Rachel. Daniel Libeskind was a talented individual. He is the recipient of various awards and accolades. He is the first architect to win the Hiroshima Art Prize, awarded to an artist whose work promotes international understanding and peace (2001). With his love of music, philosophy, literature, and poetry, Libeskind hopes to expand the scope of architecture that is resonant, unique, and sustainable.
At Scarano architect, PLLC, we admire the many works of Daniel Libeskind, especially his contribution to the Holocaust museums. We look forward to hearing from you and helping you with all of your architectural needs. Please feel free to contact us today.
