The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art Remembers Leon Krier

At the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art (ICAA), we are saddened by the news of the sudden passing of Léon Krier, an extraordinary architect, urban planner, and theorist whose work expressed his conviction that the language of classical and traditional architecture and design held the answers to creating towns, cities, and communities that were enduring, sustainable, and beautiful. The ICAA was honored to recognize his extraordinary career achievements, bestowing on him the Arthur Ross Award in 2015. In 2003, he was the first laureate of the Richard H. Driehaus Prize in Architecture, awarded by the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture.

ICAA Board Chair Melissa DelVecchio, a Partner at Robert A.M. Stern Architects, reflected on Léon Krier’s substantial contributions to the discourse and practice of architecture, design, and urbanism:

Léon Krier’s theories about architecture and urbanism have influenced generations of architects.

His ideas—expressed in brilliant essays, legendary debates, and beautifully witty and concise line drawings—were incisive, accessible and practical, aiming to reduce over-scaled inhumane developments and reverse post-war car dependent urban sprawl. His theories were an open invitation to question the way modernist ideologies had failed many cities, giving architects newfound permission to learn from, and draw freely upon, historical modes of building in their new work.

He advocated for proven, time-tested methods for designing beautiful buildings, neighborhoods and cities, rekindling ideas that have endured and evolved through centuries of technological development and cultural change. Other architects followed his lead, together launching the widely successful movement we now call New Urbanism. Léon’s new town built for King Charles at Poundbury is one shining example of New Urbanist principles in action. Its traditional features were questioned by some critics when it was first unveiled; more than twenty years later, it has grown into a thriving community and is recognized as a model for addressing today’s housing crisis. It's wonderful that Léon lived to enjoy this broad acknowledgement of the theories underpinning his life’s work.

Léon was a kind soul whose elegance, style, and sense of humor were unmatched. He was generous in his promotion of architects whose work he admired, taking time to serve on juries for multiple architectural prizes. These were roles he relished and took very seriously, actively seeking out and nominating talented traditional architects from all corners of the globe. Some of these architects had struggled to design and build traditional projects, and then unexpectedly found their work highlighted on a world stage.

A teacher and a mentor to many, Léon was an inspiration to architects who are still doing much good in the world. In the end, this will be one of his greatest legacies.

In his recent book, King Charles III: 40 years of Architecture, architectural historian, journalist, and 2025 Arthur Ross Award recipient Clive Aslet wrote about Léon Krier’s contributions to Poundbury, the groundbreaking urban extension to the city of Dorchester in the United Kingdom, on which Krier served as lead architect and planner. Upon Krier’s passing, Clive offered an assessment of his legacy:

Léon Krier was a hero of the Classical Movement. Nobody was fiercer in defence of its ideals, as expressed both in architecture and urbanism, and yet in person nobody could be more charming to the people whose company he enjoyed, or were on the right side of the argument. As a propagandist, Leo did not attempt to bludgeon his opponents: his preferred medium was wit, in the form of incomparable, superficially cartoon-like drawings which crystallised his ideas and simultaneously made those opposing them look lumpen and ridiculous. He had chosen a brave path to follow in the early years, given that Classicism seemed to be little more than an esoteric cult, followed only by people prepared to suffer a monk-like existence. Fortunately, Leo was able to overcome all obstacles and achieve worldwide acclaim.

This, of course, had something to do with his association with the Prince of Wales, as King Charles III was then called. They were an unlikely couple. Leo was the very image of an intellectual; more a phenomenon of the Continent than the English shires. But as other advisors came and went, Leo remained as the masterplanner of Poundbury for the 30 years from its inception until his own death. His vision for this and other developments around the world gives hope that it is still possible to create beautiful, rewarding places to live and work, where neighbours know each other and all that is needful in life can be reached on foot. When I first met Leo in the 1980s this seemed to be a utopian dream. Leo has demonstrated through his own work that it can, if we’re lucky, become a utopian reality.

Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, a founding principal of DPZ CoDesign and the Malcolm Matheson Distinguished Professor of Architecture at the University of Miami, introduced Léon Krier during the 2015 Arthur Ross Awards, where he was presented with the Board of Directors Honor. She shared her observations about Krier’s architectural achievements:

Léon Krier was a great architect, and a brilliant polemicist, the catalyst for the New Urbanism, deflecting the course of urbanism toward its lost traditions. All of his buildings in the U.S. are in Florida and they are well worth visiting. His own house at Seaside, the chapel at Windsor, and the School of Architecture at the University of Miami are creative masterpieces. A long awaited tower at the central plaza of Seaside will doubtless break ground soon.

Krier combined an international architecture and planning practice with writing and a selective teaching career at institutions such as the Architectural Association and the Royal College of Art in London, Princeton University, the University of Virginia, and Yale University. He served as H.R.H. the Prince of Wales’ advisor beginning in 1987, and he is considered the godfather of the New Urbanism movement.

Tags: urbanism, urban design, leon krier