Gyo Obata, FAIA, a world-renowned architect and a co-founder of HOK passed away on March 8, 2022. He was 99.
The son of artists who emigrated from Japan to the U.S., Gyo Obata was born in San Francisco, CA and grew up in an artistic household. At the age of 18 he enrolled in the architecture program at the University of California, Berkley but in his freshman year Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and in the wave of anti-Japanese hysteria that swept the country, his parents were removed to an internment camp. However, his father was able to arrange permission for young Gyo to leave the west coast and transfer to Washington University in St. Louis, MO; one of the only universities in the country that would accept Japanese-American students at the time.
He received his Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Washington University and then continued his study under Eliel Saarinen at Cranbrook Academy, where he earned a Master of Architecture and Urban Planning degree.
After a stint in the U.S. Army, Mr. Obata joined Skidmore, Owings and Merrill in Chicago, where he worked for four years before joining the St. Louis firm of Hellmuth, Yamasaki & Leinweber. At HYL he was a design assistant to Minoru Yamasaki. In that role he collaborated in the design of the main terminal at St. Louis’ Lambert International Airport.
In 1955 Mr. Obata joined with George Hellmuth and George Kassabaum to found Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum (HOK). At the age of 32 Mr. Obata was the design principal of their new firm.
His first internationally recognized design was for the Priory Chapel at the Saint Louis Abbey, but his nearly innumerable projects have left an indelible imprint on the built environment around the world. For a more complete list and discussion of his work and its impact we highly recommend the wonderful obituary tribute to Mr. Obata on the HOK website. It can be found here.
His legacy in buildings designed and built is truly monumental. His work defined a multidisciplinary approach that established HOK as a firm capable of large complex projects and fueled its growth into one of the largest and most highly regarded architectural firms in the world.
He lived a remarkably full life, continuing to come to the office into his 90’s. While we didn’t know him personally, we know his work and can imagine the influence he has had on generations of architects and designers who have worked with him at HOK. According to the HOK obituary, “With an approach to life that regarded each day as a portal to possibility, Gyo also loved spending time with his family and friends, gardening, tennis, art, travel, reading, his dogs, birds, music, theater, opera, films and cooking.