Yale School of Architecture Alumni on Architectural Digest "A" List

Eleven alumni of the Yale School of Architecture decorated their Alma Mater with new laurels when they were named to Architectural Digest’s list of 100 top architects and interior designers.

The YSA graduates are Marc Appleton M. Arch. ‘72; Peter Gluck B.A. ‘62, M. Arch. ‘65; Alexander Gorlin M. Arch. ‘80; Charles Gwathmey M. Arch. ‘62; Kazuhiro Ishii M.E.D. ‘75; Hugh Newell Jacobsen M. Arch. ‘55; Thomas Kligerman M Arch ‘82; Jaquelin T. Robertson B.A ‘55; M Arch ‘61; Robert A.M. Stern M. Arch. ‘65; Stanley Tigerman B. Arch. ‘60, M. Arch.’61; Robert J. Yudell B.A. ‘69, M. Arch. ‘73.

Published in the January 2004 issue of the magazine, the AD100 honor roll is accompanied by thumbnail portraits, biographical sketches and images of work exemplifying the distinctive styles of each of the designers.

Yale School of Architecture (YSA) can also claim disproportionate representation: the 11 alumni account for more than one-third of the 30 architects named on the list.

The accolades do not end with names and numbers. Not only can the YSA boast the presence of Dean Stern on the list of the top 100, the School is most often credited as an influence and inspiration to the designer.

Gluck, whose projects include museums, affordable housing and residential commissions in a style he describes as “contextual modernism,” had an “architectural awakening” in a class taught by Yale’s renowned professor of the history of art and architecture Vincent Scully.

Ishii and Yudell credit Charles Moore, dean of the Yale School of Architecture from 1965 to 1970, as mentor and inspiration.

As a Yale undergraduate, Robertson was steered to a career in architecture (away from the foreign service) by his painting teacher Josef Albers. A designer whose projects range from homes to city complexes, Robertson got his first commission for a house while he was still a student at YSA.

Kligerman and John Ike, his partner and fellow founder of the firm Ike Kligerman Barkley, single out Stern as having strongly influenced their “design philosophy.” The two, whose firm has mainly handled residential projects, met while both were working at Stern’s New York architectural practice. They credit Stern with imbuing them with a sense of “the proper application of scale” and “the vital importance of every single detail.”

Yet another connection between Architectural Digest’s pantheon of top designers and Yale School of Architecture is the celebrated architect Frank Gehry. Gehry, whose projects range from the monumental Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles to a line of home accessories, teaches an advanced studio class at the School.