César Pelli: Architect of Malaysia's Petronas Towers dies at 92

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Architect Cesar Pelli delivers a speech during the Grand Opening of the CityCenter, Las Vegas, in December 2009Image source, AFP
Image caption,
César Pelli died at his home in New Haven, Connecticut, his family said

The Argentine-American architect César Pelli, designer of the Petronas Towers in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, has died at the age of 92.

The towers were the world's tallest buildings at their inauguration in 1998 and kept the title for six years.

His other works included London's One Canada Square tower and the National Museum of Art in Osaka in Japan.

Pelli's death was reported by the governor of Argentina's Tucuman province, where the architect grew up.

"With much regret we receive the sad news of the death of the great architect César Pelli," Juan Manzur said in a post on Twitter.

"I want to convey my condolences to his whole family, his friends and his team. He was without doubt a creator and his legacy will endure forever in each of his works."

Image source, AFP
Image caption,
Kuala Lumpur's Petronas Towers were the world's tallest structure for six years

Also writing on Twitter, President Mauricio Macri said Pelli's legacy was "a pride for all Argentines".

Pelli was a graduate of Tucuman University and moved to the US in 1952, settling in New Haven, Connecticut.

From 1977 to 1984 he was Dean of the Yale University School of Architecture and over his career received dozens of awards including the Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architecture.

His other notable projects included New York's World Financial Centre; the Gran Torre Santiago skyscraper in Chile and most recently the Transbay Transit Center in San Francisco which opened in 2018.

Image caption,
One Canada Square, sometimes known as the Canary Wharf Tower, was the UK's tallest building for more than 20 years