Architect César Pelli's Final Building Project Completed
The final building project of renowned architect César Pelli, known for landmarks like the Petronas Towers, has been completed posthumously. The Lola Mora Cultural Center in Argentina was finished with input from his son and firm.
The last architectural project of César Pelli, the architect behind iconic structures such as the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur and the Salesforce Tower in San Francisco, has been completed. The Lola Mora Cultural Center, located in northwestern Argentina, was finished after Pelli's death in 2019 at the age of 92.
Pelli, who achieved global fame for his large-scale skyscrapers, focused on more personal projects in his later years. This museum is dedicated to Lola Mora (1886–1936), a prominent Argentinian sculptor whose career was curtailed by a conservative government. The center houses six of her marble sculptures, originally commissioned for the exterior of Argentina's National Congress building.
According to his son, Rafael Pelli, a partner at Pelli Clarke & Partners, the architect was deeply invested in the project. "César was really thrilled by the opportunity. And it meant a lot to him," Rafael Pelli stated, noting that his father worked on it until the end. The museum's design emphasizes integration with the natural landscape, featuring a glass-enclosed gallery that overlooks a surrounding forest.
The six sculptures, created in 1903, were removed from their original location just 15 years later due to political shifts. Mora's career was effectively ended, and the sculptures were scattered and left exposed to the elements. The museum project aims to reunite these works and bring Mora's story back into public consciousness, with Pelli's design intended to place the art in dialogue with its environment.