Michael Graves was an American architect and consumer product designer, a member of the influential New York Five architectural group, and a leading exponent of Postmodernism.
Graves studied at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass, and founded his studio in 1964, designing modernist private houses. In the 1970s he came to the postmodernist style. Graves participated in the Memphis exhibitions with the Plaza dressing table in 1981 and the Stanhope bed in 1982. He is known for designing structures such as the Portland Building, the Humana Building in Louisville and the Indianapolis Art Center. He also planned the restoration of the Washington Monument. While Graves' success as an architect is more limited to North America, his design objects instead won greater international fame. In addition to his collaboration with Memphis, the one with Alessi is also worthy of mention.
He was the head of Michael Graves and Associates and the Michael Graves Design Group, and was professor of architecture at Princeton University for nearly forty years. Graves received many prestigious awards, including the National Medal of Arts in 1999 and the Gold Medal of the AIA American Institute of Architects in 2001. After his death in 2015, his studio has continued to carry on his legacy.
