Remembering Rafael Viñoly: Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen

We are deeply saddened to learn that Rafael Viñoly, FAIA, passed away on March 2 in New York City at the age of 78. Our thoughts are with his family, colleagues, and all in the architecture community who knew and loved him during this time of profound loss. 

Person Place Thing is an interview show hosted by Randy Cohen based on the idea that people are particularly engaging when they speak, not directly about themselves, but about something they care about. This special installment of Person Place Thing will be a conversation with Román Viñoly, Director of Rafael Viñoly Architects, on the life and achievements of his father, Rafael Viñoly.

For more information and to hear past episodes, visit PersonPlaceThing.org.

Speakers:
Román Viñoly, Director, Rafael Viñoly Architects
Randy Cohen, Host, Person Place Thing

About the Speakers:
Román Viñoly first joined the Rafael Viñoly Architects over 29 years ago and has since fulfilled a huge diversity of roles from gopher to communications director to project director. Through his experiences in all aspects of the firm’s activities, he has developed the ability to integrate management, communications, and artistic and economic priorities to help ensure successful outcomes for a wide range of cultural, civic, and educational clients.

As coordinator for the firm’s Pier 26 Estuarium project for Clarkson University and the Hudson River Park Trust in New York City, he is responsible for aligning design goals with budget realities as well as coordinating stakeholder outreach, design presentations and fundraising efforts in concert with the clients.

Among other accomplishments, he founded the firm’s first in-house visualization studio and served as an integral part of the THINK team of architects, urbanists, engineers, technologists, and artists that was a finalist in the World Trade Center Design Competition after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York. He co-authored THINK New York: A Ground Zero Diary (Images Publishing Group, 2006) as well as the firm’s first monograph, VIÑOLY (Princeton Architectural Press, 2002).

Randy Cohen is an American writer and humorist who began his professional career writing for newspapers and magazines such as The New Yorker, Harpers, The Atlantic, and Young Love Comics. While Cohen is a writer of humor pieces, essays, and stories he is best known for “The Ethicist,” a weekly column for The New York Times Magazine between 1999 and 2011. His most recent book is entitled Be Good: How to Navigate the Ethics of Everything.

This event is offered in person; COVID-19 vaccinations and face masks are strongly encouraged for all visitors. Read our full Health and Safety Protocol here.