Gyo Obata facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gyo Obata
Obata in 2005
Born	(1923-02-28)February 28, 1923 San Francisco, California, U.S
Died	March 8, 2022(2022-03-08) (aged 99) St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Occupation	Architect

Gyo Obata (born February 28, 1923 – died March 8, 2022) was a famous American architect. His father, Chiura Obata, was a painter, and his mother, Haruko Obata, was a floral designer. In 1955, Gyo Obata helped start a big architecture company called HOK. This company now has offices all over the world! Gyo Obata lived in St. Louis, Missouri, and continued to work at HOK's office there for many years. He designed many important buildings. Some of his well-known designs include the McDonnell Planetarium at the Saint Louis Science Center, the Independence Temple, the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

Gyo Obata's Life Story

Obata in 1980

Gyo Obata was born and grew up in San Francisco, California. Because his family was of Japanese heritage, they faced a difficult time during World War II. Many Japanese-Americans were sent to special camps called internment camps. While his family was sent to one of these camps, Gyo avoided it. He left the University of California, Berkeley, to study architecture at Washington University in St. Louis. This was one of the few universities that would accept Japanese students at that time. He earned his architecture degree in 1945.

After that, he continued his studies with a famous Finnish architect named Eliel Saarinen. This was at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. He received his master's degree in architecture and urban design in 1946.

Gyo Obata then served in the U.S. Army from 1946 to 1947. After his military service, he worked as an architect in Chicago for a company called Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. In 1951, he returned to St. Louis and joined the firm of Minoru Yamasaki. Yamasaki was another Japanese-American architect who later designed the World Trade Center towers.

Four years later, in 1955, Gyo Obata teamed up with architects George Hellmuth and George Kassabaum. Together, they started their own architecture firm in St. Louis, called Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum.

Because of Gyo Obata's talent and growing reputation, their company, HOK, became famous worldwide. Gyo Obata himself won many awards for his designs. Today, HOK is a very large company with over 1,800 employees in 23 offices around the globe.

In 2010, a book was written about Gyo Obata called Gyo Obata: Architect | Clients | Reflections. The book shows 30 of his projects and the people he worked with over five decades.

Gyo Obata believed that buildings should not just be useful. He thought they should also make life better for the people who use them. He once said that architects use "daylight" to create spaces. He felt that every project was a chance to discover new things and design buildings that would bring joy to people.

Gyo Obata passed away in St. Louis, Missouri, on March 8, 2022, at the age of 99.

Amazing Buildings Designed by Gyo Obata

The James S. McDonnell Planetarium, a unique building designed by Gyo Obata, part of the St. Louis Science Center.

The National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

The Kellogg Company Headquarters in Battle Creek, Michigan.

The Independence Temple in Independence, Missouri.

The Great American Tower at Queen City Square in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Gyo Obata designed many buildings both in the United States and around the world. Here are some of his notable projects:

• Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Springfield, Illinois
• Alfred A. Arraj U.S. Courthouse, Denver, Colorado
• BP Building, Cleveland, Ohio
• Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Campus, Lawrenceville, New Jersey
• Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Texas
• Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Headquarters, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Florida Aquarium, Tampa, Florida
• Foley Square in New York City
• Galleria Dallas, Dallas, Texas
• Moscone Center, San Francisco, California
• Great American Tower at Queen City Square, Cincinnati, Ohio
• Houston Galleria, Houston, Texas
• Independence Temple, Independence, Missouri
• Japanese American National Museum, Los Angeles, California
• Kellogg Company Headquarters, Battle Creek, Michigan
• King Khaled International Airport, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
• King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
• Levi's Plaza, San Francisco, California
• National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C.
• Neiman Marcus Store, Houston, Texas
• Palo Alto Research Center, Palo Alto, California
• Sendai International Airport Terminal Building in Sendai, Japan
• Taipei World Trade Center, Taipei City, Taiwan
• University of Michigan Northwoods IV Housing, Ann Arbor, Michigan
• University of Wisconsin-Parkside Campus Master Plan, Kenosha, Wisconsin
• United States Penitentiary, Marion, Marion, Illinois
• Wrigley Company Global Innovation Center, Chicago, Illinois

Here are some of his projects located in St. Louis, Missouri:

• Anthony's Restaurant and Bar
• Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine Center for Advanced Medicine
• Boatmen's Tower
• Boeing Leadership Center
• Cervantes Convention Center and Stadium
• Congregation Bnai' Amoona Synagogue
• James S. McDonnell Planetarium at the St. Louis Science Center
• Lindell Terrace Apartments (now Lindell Terrace Condominium)
• Metropolitan Square - where HOK's St. Louis office is located
• Missouri History Museum Emerson Center
• Obata Residence
• One Bell Center
• Priory Chapel (Saint Louis Abbey Church)
• Saint Louis Zoo Children's Zoo and The Living World
• Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Campus, Edwardsville, Illinois
• St. Louis Union Station Renovation and Redevelopment
• Thomas F. Eagleton United States Courthouse
• Washington University School of Medicine Farrell Learning and Teaching Center

Other projects by Gyo Obata include:

• Centene Plaza, Clayton, Missouri
• Forsythe Plaza, Clayton, Missouri
• University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Kenosha, Wisconsin
• Western Illinois University Malpass Library, Macomb, Illinois

Awards and Special Recognition

Gyo Obata received many awards and honors throughout his career for his amazing work:

• He became a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1969. This is a high honor for architects.
• He received an honorary doctorate degree from Washington University in St. Louis in 1990.
• He was part of the Advisory Council for the Presidio in San Francisco in 1991.
• He received another honorary doctorate degree from the University of Missouri-St. Louis in 1991.
• He was added to the St. Louis Walk of Fame in 1992, which honors famous people from St. Louis.
• He was the first Howard A. Friedman Visiting Professor of Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley in 1992.
• He received an honorary doctorate from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in 1999.
• He won the Gold Award Honor from the American Institute of Architects St. Louis chapter in 2002.
• He received a Lifetime Achievement Award in the Arts from the Japanese American National Museum in 2004.
• He was given a Lifetime Achievement Award from the St. Louis Arts and Education Council in 2008.
• He received the Dean's Medal for the Sam Fox Awards for Distinction from Washington University in St. Louis in 2008.