We love architects and we love architecture. Designs, innovation, function, utility. Seeing the way these things are brought together excites us.

Another thing that excites us are the people who create those innovative designs. Architects are not just people who design buildings, they are true artists in every sense of the word. If you don’t believe us, just explore the careers of these six architects, arguably the most notable of the last 500 years.

Le Corbusier

If you’ve ever enjoyed a building with an open floor plan and distinctive columns, you may have Le Corbusier to thank for it. In the early 20^th Century, he pioneered this approach, using columns for structure so that walls could be placed (or removed) almost anywhere, allowing for freer designs and more creativity in floor plans. Any residential architect in New Jersey would be pleased to have the same freedom!

Sir Christopher Wren

Wren was a great architect, but it was only through good luck – or rather, bad luck – that he became a legend. Wren was in the midst of what would become several famous designs (including the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral) when the Great Fire of London struck in 1666. He was appointed surveyor of royal works after the disaster, which led to him having a hand in designing more than 50 London landmarks.

Michelangelo

You probably know him for his world renown paintings and sculptures (or for being a ninja turtle), but the legendary Michelangelo was also a world class architect who would be the envy of any NJ architectural firm. Like many great artists, he was known to buck tradition and forge his own path. His most famous work is the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica, one of the most famous landmarks in the world.

Louis Henri Sullivan

While many architects daydream of being artists, Sullivan pioneered an approach that would make him right at home as a commercial architect in New Jersey. Namely, he believed that function was more important than form. Thanks to this philosophy, he pioneered methods that led him to be named the Father of the Skyscraper, creating buildings as tall as 16 stories in the 1890s, long before tall skylines became a normal thing.

Frank Gehry

One of the modern day’s most acclaimed architects, Gehry has been a pioneer in bringing unusual shapes and forms to urban environments. His Guggenheim Museum design in Bilbao, Spain is one of the modern world’s great designs, and his sense for organic irregularity in urban building design has won him international acclaim. We doubt he’ll ever be an everyday NJ architect!

Frank Lloyd Wright

Are there any architects more famous than Frank Lloyd Wright? This is a man whose work is known even by the layman. The New York Guggenheim Museum is perhaps his most famous design, but his groundbreaking homes, innovative designs, and rule-breaking ideas have made him arguably the most famous architect to ever life. Few can touch him when it comes to design, and none can when it comes to fame. In the world of architecture, Wright is Michael Jordan and Babe Ruth all wrapped up into one.