Viñoly, Rafael, 1944-2023

Rafael Viñoly Beceiro (1 June 1944 – 2 March 2023) was an Uruguayan-born architect based in New York. He was the principal of Rafael Viñoly Architects, which he founded in 1983. The firm has offices in New York City, Palo Alto, London, Manchester, Abu Dhabi, and Buenos Aires. Viñoly designed landmark buildings internationally. Viñoly rose to international prominence with his Tokyo International Forum. Reviewing the Museum of Modern Art's exhibition of models and drawings for the building while it was still under construction, the then New York Times architecture critic Herbert Muschamp hailed Viñoly's design as "a monument to the idea of openness" that "revives faith in architecture as an instrument of intellectual clarity". At the same time, some of his works have been widely panned, including one of his high-profile designs, the so-called "Walkie-Talkie," which detractors dubbed the "Walkie Scorchy." It was named this after it focused light from the sun to a point and melted peoples' cars on August 30, 2013.