Born in Uruguay and raised in Argentina, Rafael Viñoly has been practicing architecture for over 45 years.

As principal of Rafael Viñoly Architects PC (founded 1983 in New York), he has completed many critically and publicly praised buildings throughout the United States, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. He has also practiced in Africa and the Middle East.

Viñoly is known as an architect of imagination and rigour with a proven capacity to create beloved civic, cultural, and institutional spaces. He teaches widely and founded a training and research program within the firm.

Global projects

Among Viñoly's most significant projects are the Tokyo International Forum; the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Janelia Farm Research Campus in Ashburn, Virginia; the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia; the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh; and Curve – a performing arts centre in Leicester.

He recently completed the Master Plan for the Abu Dhabi Campus for New York University in the United Arab Emirates and the Carrasco International Airport in Montevideo, Uruguay.

He is currently working on the Battersea Power Station Masterplan and the 20 Fenchurch Street Tower in London; the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the Senate in Boston, Massachusetts; and the New Stanford Hospital, as well as a wide range of commercial, academic and civic schemes around the world.