House for Venice Biennale project, Venice, Italy (Aerial views)

César Pelli was an American architect whose glass and steel towers defined the postwar international modernist aesthetic. Born in Argentina and based primarily in the United States from the 1960s onward, Pelli designed landmark skyscrapers including the World Financial Center in New York and the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur. His approach combined structural clarity with refined proportional systems and a deliberate attention to how buildings meet skylines and urban public space. Pelli's influence extended across several generations of architects through his teaching and prolific practice.