[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 46 (Wednesday, March 18, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E362-E363]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING THE LIFE OF MICHAEL GRAVES, FAIA

                                  _____
                                 

                        HON. BILL PASCRELL, JR.

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 18, 2015

  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Michael Graves, 
FAIA, a prominent and respected architect, who passed away last 
Thursday March 12, 2015 at the age of 80 at his home in Princeton, NJ.
  Mr. Graves was born in Indianapolis on July 9, 1934. Upon graduating 
from Broad Ripple High School in 1952, he went on to pursue a 
bachelor's degree in architecture at the University of Cincinnati. 
Enamored with design, Mr. Graves went on to obtain a masters degree in 
architecture from Harvard University, before teaching at Princeton 
University as the Robert Schirmer Professor of Architecture, Emeritus, 
a pursuit that would turn into a 40-year career.
  While at Princeton, Mr. Graves was an inspiring professor who taught 
architectural design and theory to thousands of undergraduate and 
graduate architecture students, as well as extending his reach beyond 
Princeton through serving as guest lecturer at over 1,000 public 
conferences.
  In 1964, Mr. Graves founded his own firm, now called Michael Graves 
Architecture & Design or MGA&D. in Princeton, NJ. Since its 
establishment, Mr. Graves has been tasked with designing everything 
from office buildings, resorts and retail stores, to hospitals, 
monuments and university buildings. Renowned across the country as one 
of the New York Five, a group that redefined modernism in architecture, 
Mr. Graves became among the most celebrated of the postmodernist 
architects in the 1980's.
  Mr. Graves designed more than 350 buildings around the world. Among 
his most notable projects are the Netherlands Ministry of Health, 
Welfare and Sport in The Hague, the Walt Disney Co. corporate 
headquarters in Burbank, CA, the NCAA Hall of Champions, the Newark 
Museum, and an innovative design scaffolding for the Washington 
Monument Restoration here in our nation's capital. He and his firm have 
designed over 2,500 products for manufacturers and retailers. Mr. 
Graves received more than 300 awards and citations, including the 
National Medal of Arts presented by President Bill Clinton in 1999 for 
his exceptional achievements in architecture, design and education. In 
2001, he was awarded the Gold Medal from the American Institute of 
Architects (AIA), the highest honor the AIA bestows on an individual 
whose body of work has had a lasting influence on the theory and 
practice of architecture.
  Mr. Graves received 14 honorary degrees from various universities, 
including Rutgers, NJIT, Emory University, the University of Virginia, 
and the University of Miami. In his most recent project, Mr. Graves 
established the Michael Graves School of Architecture at Kean 
University in New Jersey and Wenzou-Kean University in China, where his 
architectural legacy will continue for generations to come.
  As a United States Congressman, it is my great honor to recognize and 
commemorate

[[Page E363]]

the life of Michael Graves. I am proud to say that he was from my home 
state--truly his impact was felt in New Jersey and throughout the 
world.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that you join our colleagues, Mr. Graves' 
coworkers, family and friends, all those whose lives he has touched, 
and me, in recognizing Mr. Michael Graves.

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