Pelli Clarke Pelli

César Pelli
Pelli in 2010
Born	(1926-10-12) October 12, 1926 (age 90) San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina
Nationality	Argentine – United States citizen
Occupation	Architect
Awards	Doctor of Arts, CTBUH Skyscraper Award, The Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award

Practice	Pelli Clarke Pelli
Buildings	Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur Key Tower, Cleveland Cira Centre, Philadelphia 30 Hudson Street, Jersey City 1 Canada Square, London Riverview Plaza, Wuhan Wells Fargo Center (Minneapolis), Minneapolis
Design	Metallic, art deco-influenced buildings

César Pelli (born October 12, 1926), founder of Pelli Clarke Pelli, is an Argentine American architect known for designing some of the world's tallest buildings and other major urban landmarks. In 1991, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) listed Pelli among the ten most influential living American architects. His many awards include the 1995 AIA Gold Medal which recognizes a body of work of lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture. Perhaps his most famous work are the Petronas Twin Towers, which were for a time the world's tallest buildings. He also designed the World Financial Center complex in downtown Manhattan.

After studying architecture at the Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Pelli completed his studies at the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He started his career in the New Haven offices of architect Eero Saarinen.

He emigrated to the United States in 1952 and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1964. He married Diana Balmori, a landscape and urban designer. They have two children: Denis, a neurobiologist and Professor of Psychology and Neural Science at New York University and Rafael Pelli, also well-known architect.