Remembering architect Ricardo Scofidio (1935 – 2025)
Ricardo Scofidio, seminal architect and co-founder of Diller Scofidio + Renfro, has died, aged 89; we honour his passing and celebrate his life
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Architect Ricardo Scofidio has died, aged 89. One of his era's seminal creatives in the built environment field, Scofidio passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family, including his partner in life and work, Elizabeth Diller, announced his studio, Diller Scofidio + Renfro in an Instagram post.
'Ric had a profound impact on our architectural practice, establishing the studio with a mission to make space on his own terms. The firm’s partners and principals, many of whom have collaborated with him for decades, will extend his architectural legacy in the work we will continue to perform every day.'
Ricardo Scofidio: the architect's life and career
Scofidio co-founded Diller Scofidio with his partner in work and life, Elizabeth Diller, in New York in 1981. The pair worked together on projects that blur the lines of art and architecture, turning heads and making their mark with structures such as the Blur Building in Yverdon-les-Bains for the Swiss National Exposition in 2002.
The Blur Building (courtesy of Diller Scofidio + Renfro)
The mesmerising, 300ft-wide, 200ft-deep, 75ft-high lightweight tensegrity structure was set like an intangible cloud on the waters of Lake Neuchatel in Switzerland, challenging perceptions of what the very nature of architecture is.
The High Line, New York – see the discussion between Liz Diller and Stefan Sagmeister for Wallpaper*
Charles Renfro joined them as partner in the firm in 200 and Benjamin Gilmartin in 2015. The team went from strength to strength, completing some of the early 21st century's most celebrated buildings. Key examples include the New York High Line, The Broad in Los Angeles, The Shed, the MoMA expansion and the 15 Hudson Yards (all in New York).
The Broad, opened in 2015
At the same time, the studio continued to work tirelessly on the intersection of art and building, designing stage and performance sets, installations and exhibitions. In 2014, its conceptual work titled 'Musings on a Glass Box', took place in the glass box that happens to be Jean Nouvel's iconic Fondation Cartier in Paris; the effect was a 'stirring performance of playfulness and respect,' wrote our reporter, Amy Verner, at the time.
The Shed
Scofidio made an unforgettable mark in the architecture field, and his legacy will live on through his firm and his partners Diller and Renfro. Diller Scofidio + Renfro has announced that a memorial service to celebrate the architect's life is being planned, with news to follow in the coming weeks.
