The Architects Who Never Saw Their Masterpiece
Gaudí, Eero Saarinen and Louis Kahn all died before their best known work was finished. The stories behind the Sagrada Família, the TWA Flight Center, the Gateway Arch and the National Assembly in Dhaka.
Luxom Studio · LUXOM Developments
· 2 min read · Last reviewed
Key takeaways
- Antoni Gaudí took over the Sagrada Família in 1883 and worked on it until his death in 1926, more than forty years later, with the church still under construction.
- Eero Saarinen died in 1961. The TWA Flight Center opened in 1962 and the Gateway Arch was completed in 1965.
- Louis Kahn died in 1974. His National Assembly building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, was completed in 1982.
- Each of them designed a building clear enough for others to finish, which is the real test of a design.
Editor's note
Some architects never saw their masterpiece finished. This is the guide we send to anyone who comments UNFINISHED on our reel: the story behind four buildings completed after their architects were gone.
Gaudí Worked on the Sagrada Família for Forty Years
Antoni Gaudí took over the Sagrada Família in Barcelona in 1883, a year after construction began. He spent the rest of his life on it. When he died in 1926, only a small part of the basilica stood complete.
He knew he would not see it finished, so he left models and a system of geometry that later builders could follow. That record is why the building could keep going for more than a century. Our article on Gaudí looks at what that discipline teaches a private home.
Eero Saarinen Died Before His Two Icons Opened
Eero Saarinen died in 1961, at fifty one, while several of his most important buildings were still under construction. The TWA Flight Center at what is now JFK Airport, with its concrete roof shaped like a bird in flight, opened in 1962. The Gateway Arch in St. Louis was completed in 1965.
Both were finished by his office from his drawings. Both are now landmarks.
Louis Kahn Never Saw the National Assembly in Dhaka
Louis Kahn worked for more than a decade on the National Assembly of Bangladesh, the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban in Dhaka. He died in 1974. The building was completed in 1982.
Its massive geometric volumes, cut with circles and triangles to bring light inside, are considered among the most important works of twentieth century architecture.
A Design Has to Outlive Its Author
What these stories share is not tragedy. It is clarity. Each of these buildings was designed and documented well enough that others could finish it faithfully.
That is how we think about every home we design in Miami. A house should be drawn so clearly that every decision survives the site, the schedule and the people who build it, and built to stand for the next generation, not just the first owner. To see how that plays out on a real project, read from lot to handover: the Crystal Residence build.
Pull quote
A design is only finished when someone else can build it without you in the room.
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Questions about architects who died before their masterpiece was finished
01Did Gaudí see the Sagrada Família finished?
No. Gaudí took over the project in 1883 and devoted the rest of his life to it. When he died in 1926, only a small part of the basilica was complete. Construction continued for more than a century. See our article on Gaudí.
02Which buildings did Eero Saarinen not live to see completed?
Saarinen died in 1961. Among the projects completed after his death were the TWA Flight Center at New York's Idlewild Airport, now JFK, which opened in 1962, and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, completed in 1965.
03What is Louis Kahn's National Assembly building?
The Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban in Dhaka is the parliament building of Bangladesh. Kahn worked on it from the 1960s until his death in 1974, and it was completed in 1982. It is considered one of his greatest works.
04What does this mean for building a home?
A good design should be documented clearly enough that it survives delays, changes and new people on site. Our guide to construction cost overruns covers where unclear decisions usually cost the most.
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Written by Luxom Studio · LUXOM Developments
The design and development studio behind LUXOM residences in Coconut Grove, Miami
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