New Jersey

Michael Graves, Postmodern Architect and Designer, Dies

Michael Graves, an architect who designed modern and whimsical postmodern structures and later household goods sold at Target stores, died in New Jersey on Thursday. He was 80 years old.

Spokeswoman Michelle DiLello says Graves died of natural causes Thursday in his longtime hometown of Princeton.

Graves was born in Indianapolis. He designed buildings including The Portland Building in Portland, Oregon, and The Humana Building, in Louisville, Kentucky. He also did a campus master plan for Rice University in Houston and designed the scaffolding that surrounded the Washington Monument during a restoration project.

In 2012, Graves was awarded the prestigious Driehaus Architecture Prize, awarded to an architect whose work exemplifies classical architecture in a modern context.

His buildings often had a sense of whimsy. At 1 Port Center in Camden, New Jersey, he used yellow and blue to liven up an office building.

Graves has had branded lines of housewares including teapots and colanders for sale at Target and JCPenney stores since 1999.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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