Henry N. Cobb, founding partner of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, died Mar. 2 in NYC. He was 93. Born in Boston in 1926, Mr. Cobb attended Phillips Exeter Academy, Harvard College, and the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. He co-founded I.M. Pei & Associates in New York in 1955 with I.M. Pei (who died last year at age 102) and Eason H. Leonard (who died in 2003). The firm’s name was changed to I.M. Pei & Partners in 1966 and to Pei Cobb Freed & Partners in 1989.
The firm issued the following statement, signed by partners Michael D. Flynn, Ian Bader, Yvonne Szeto, Michael W. Bischoff, and José Bruguera:
“At this solemn time we express our appreciation for our esteemed colleague, leader, and friend, Henry Cobb.
“Over a career that spanned seven decades of sustained and brilliant accomplishment, his breadth of engagement and depth of insight guided generations of architects.
“Unwavering in his commitment to both attainment and restraint, Harry lifted our art to a definition of truth itself.
“His many accolades attest to the accessibility of his ideas, the depth of his humility, and the sincerity of his friendship”
Mr. Cobb’s obituary in the New York Times noted that he focused primarily on office buildings throughout his long career, and that the John Hancock Tower in Boston (1976) was his proudest accomplishment.
Notable buildings for which Mr. Cobb was principally responsible include:
Place Ville Marie in Montreal (1962)
Campus of the State University of New York Fredonia (1968)
Harbor Towers, Boston (1971)
John Hancock Tower, Boston (1976)
Wilson Commons at the University of Rochester (1976)
World Trade Center, Baltimore (1977)
One Dallas Centre, Dallas (1979)
Johnson and Johnson Plaza, New Brunswick, New Jersey (1983)
ARCO Tower, Dallas (1983)
Charles Shipman Payson Building, Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine (1983)
Pitney Bowes World Headquarters, Stamford, Connecticut (1985)
Library Tower, Los Angeles (1989), now U.S. Bank Tower
Credit Suisse First Boston headquarters at Canary Wharf, London (1992)
UCLA Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles (1995)
American Association for the Advancement of Science headquarters, Washington DC (1996)
John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse and Harborpark, Boston (1998)
College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati (1999)
World Trade Center Barcelona, Barcelona (1999)
National Constitution Center, Philadelphia (2003)
Hyatt Center, Chicago (2005)
Palazzo Lombardia, Milano (2005)
International Monetary Fund Headquarters 2, Washington, D.C. (2005)
Center for Government and International Studies at Harvard University (2005)
1 Memorial Drive, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (2008)Torre Espacio, Madrid, Spain (2008)200 West Street, New York (2009)
Palazzo Lombardia, Milan (2010)
7 Bryant Park, New York (2016)
Four Seasons Hotel & Private Residences, One Dalton Street, Boston (2019)
(Source: Wikipedia)