Internationally recognized architect, writer, and professor Antoine Predock passed away in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on March 2, 2024, at the age of 87. Throughout his career, Predock developed a unique style, working outside of urban centers and seeking to find a connection between the landscapes and the human experience of space. In addition to serving as a long-term faculty member at the University of New Mexico, he is also the architect behind some well-known projects, including the Nelson Fine Arts Center, the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Born in 1936 in Lebanon, Missouri, he came to call New Mexico his ‘spiritual home’. He studied engineering at the University of Missouri before transferring to New Mexico. After attending a technical drawing course with modernist architect Donald Schlegel, Predock soon switched tracks to architecture, earning a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Columbia University.
After traveling throughout Europe on a Columbia University Traveling Fellowship, and a series of internships with I.M.Pei, The Architects Collaborative, and Gerald McCue, Predock established his first office in Albuquerque at the age of 31. His first completed work is a series of townhouses at La Luz, which have been recently listed in the National Register of Historic Places for their qualities that blend modernist and regional idioms. In 1985, he was awarded the Rome Prize with residency and study at the American Academy in Rome. In 2006, Predock won the AIA Gold Medal, and, one year later, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.
Related Article
“My Buildings Are Rides”: In Conversation with Antoine PredockAlways working at the intersection of architecture and landscape, Predock was inspired by nature and geology. According to Christopher Mead’s eulogy, the architect used to call himself a ‘desert rat,’ spending his career outside of urban centers and creating surprising and unexpected works of architecture. Motorcycles have been another passion of Predock, once declaring “When I ride, my experience becomes seamless. My buildings are like those rides; they reveal both topical and timeless.”
The mission of any architect is to have his deepest inner content made visible through work. The role of an architect is to be true to his mission. - Antoine Predock
Antoine Predock’s legacy spans over 230 projects worldwide, each a testament to his unparalleled creativity and enthusiasm. From the Center for Journalism and Communication to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, his bold, poetic forms continue to inspire and provoke thought. Predock's architectural language, rooted in his spiritual connection to New Mexico, leaves an indelible mark on the built environment.
