American architect noted for his refinements of and variations on classic Modernist principles: pure geometry, open space, and an emphasis on light. Meier graduated from Cornell University (B.A., 1957) in Ithaca, New York. His early experience included work with the firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill in New York City and with Marcel Breuer, a noted exponent of the International style of architecture. In 1963 Meier formed his own firm. Early on he received critical acclaim for the Smith House (1967) in Darien, Connecticut, the first of his so-called white buildings, which clearly built upon the pristine Modernism of Le Corbusier’s work in the 1920s and ’30s. During this period he formed a loose association with a group of young architects, known as the “New York Five,” who advocated a return to Modernist, rational architecture. He received more attention for his Douglas House (1973), an archetypal example of his work, located in Harbor Springs, Michigan. Like much of his work, it features intersecting planes, and, in its crisp geometric whiteness, it provides a sharp contrast to the natural setting that surrounds it.