R.I.P. Cesar Pelli, architect of UMD’s Weber Music Hall

Ah, I love Pelli's buildings.  

The Norwest Tower in Minneapolis was a love letter to American Modern [Art Deco] buildings, for a bank that had intentionally invested in art by collecting Modern Art and Design -- so appropriate a building for the institutional spirit. The collection was divested [donated to the ArtsMIA] when Wells Fargo bought the bank but did not include the soul in the deal.

Gavidae Commons was an attempt to rethink a mall inside an urban center downtown, one that crossed a street and one that included a collaboration with Siah Armajani -- it's difficult to underestimate the ways that Pelli and others made Minnesota an international space for architecture.

The Minneapolis Library was less innovative, in my book -- it participates in the common designs of 21st century libraries I have seen.  

The Weber completes the Grand Slam. Four exceptional buildings, one architect.

Sorry to see him go, but I'll be talking about these buildings for the rest of my life.