Remembering Robert A.M. Stern (1939–2025)

The sad news of Bob Stern’s death last Thursday marked the end of an era in architectural culture in New York. Certainly, Bob was known and influential far beyond the boundaries of the city, but his passion for architecture was formed here, and the projects that grew out of his instinctive attraction to New York’s genius loci, and lifelong curiosity about and advocacy for it, will form a major part of his legacy. 

Bob Stern was involved with The Architectural League of New York for decades, beginning with his appointment as the first J. Clawson Mills Fellow in 1965. During the year he served in that role, he mounted a number of exhibitions in the League’s then-home on East 65th Street, including the highly-publicized and much-copied 40 Under 40, which showed work by younger architects he thought merited attention. 

In 1973, Bob became the youngest-ever president of the board of the League. He set about reshaping the institution and, characteristically, undertook an energetic approach to programs, exhibitions, and publications that set a high standard for years to come. 

Bob had both an uncommonly fertile mind and great organizational skills, and an important factor in his extraordinary productivity was his capacity to marshal groups of people—by inspiring, demanding, exasperating, and encouraging—to accomplish big things. 

During his term as president of the League, new programs were started to encourage young architects, and significant established architects were given a platform to present their work. Important research projects, such as the exhibition and catalogue 200 Years of American Architectural Drawing, were undertaken, and topical issues, including the Roosevelt Island housing competition, the nascent environmental and consumer protection movements, and the need to preserve and protect historically significant buildings, were explored and debated. 

During those years, Bob and Peter Eisenman, who was directing the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies, acted as frequent—and perfect—foils for each other as they raised the volume of architectural discourse in the city. Following his term as president, Bob served as a board member of the League for decades and became a life trustee in 2013.

Several years ago, in anticipation of its 150th anniversary in 2031, the League began a project to document its history and preserve its archives. As part of that project, a number of oral history interviews are being conducted, and I had the privilege of interviewing Bob several times in the summer and fall of 2023. His wide-ranging knowledge; his remarkable memory and delight in knowing personal histories, foibles included; his unbounded affection for New York, and for architecture as art, business, intellectual pursuit, and all-consuming interest, were all on display. Robert A.M. Stern was a remarkable, infuriating, endearing, one-of-a-kind man. He will be profoundly missed.