An Interview with Cesar Pelli, FAIA Mr. Pelli, an Argentinian-born American architect, served as the Dean to the Yale School of Architecture from 1977-84. In 1991, the AIA (The American Institute of Architects) named Pelli one of the ten most influential living American architects. His firm, Cesar Pelli and Associates, designed distinguished buildings such as the Petronas Towers (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), the World Financial Center (New York, New York), Canary Wharf (London, England), and Reagan International Airport (Washington, D.C.) BC: My project is called Architecture as a Cultural Icon, do you personally feel that architecture functions as a cultural icon? CP: An icon is a sacred image. When the term is applied to architecture it usually means a building with a symbollic role and distinguished forms. Some buildings, therefore, are icons, most buildings make the natural fabric of a city. JJ: What characteristics does architecture embody for society? CP: Architecture is a social art. A good architect interprets and responds to social needs and aspirations. BC: A year ago, your design of the Petronas Towers took the title of World's Tallest Building away from the United States for the first time. How do you see the future of architecture in American cities? CP: Being the tallest building in the world is not important. The Petronas Towers' value can be found in the way they meet the sky and provide a symbol for Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia. JJ: What do you want people to think when they look at your buildings? CP: I hope that when people see my buildings they derive pleasure from them and that they judge my work as being appropriate and responsible. I also hope they find it beautiful. JJ: Do different types of architecture say different things? CP: Architecture is a form of language, and different buildings say different things. BC: For you, personally, what do your own buildings symbolize? Do you feel Pei, Johnson, and the architects at SOM would give similar answers? CP: Only some of my buildings have symbolic roles. Most of them just try to provide comfort, enjoyment, and beauty. Probably different architects will give you different answers to this question.