Robert AM Stern, the architect behind New York City's iconic 15 Central Park West, has died at the age of 86. Stern was known for designing buildings that evoked pre-war grandeur while offering modern luxury, earning him the nickname 'King of Central Park West' from Vanity Fair.
15 Central Park West, completed in 2008, was the highest-priced new apartment building in New York's history, with roughly $2bn in sales. Its exterior featured over 85,000 pieces of limestone, and residents included hedge-fund managers, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, Steve Jobs, Bono, Sting, Denzel Washington, and Bob Costas.
Stern rejected modernist glass towers and ultra-tall 'shadow-makers', instead championing a 'traditional modern' style. He drew all designs by hand, never using a computer. The Zeckendorf family, the building's developers, recognised that 'nothing appeals to people, particularly rich people, like something new that doesn't look too new'.
Born in Brooklyn, Stern ran a 300-person firm, served as dean of the Yale School of Architecture, and wrote encyclopedic volumes on New York's architecture. His other projects included Disney World beach clubs, the George W Bush Center, the Museum of the American Revolution, and Philadelphia's Comcast Center.
Stern, who wore pocket squares and bespoke suits, was critical of modernism. 'Many Modernist works of our time tend to be self-important objects,' he told the New York Times in 2007. 'Buildings can be icons or objects, but they still have to engage with the larger whole.'
