World-renowned architect César Pelli would have been 100 years old this week.
His skyscraper, originally named Wachovia Center in downtown Winston-Salem, remains the tallest building in the Piedmont Triad. On Monday, the 26th floor was the site of Pelli’s birthday celebration.
The day-long event organized by MUSE Winston-Salem included architecture-themed story time for children, a lecture, "On the Rise: César Pelli in Winston-Salem," by architecture historian Nikki Moore, assistant professor of art at Wake Forest University, and guided tours by MUSE Executive Director Mike Wakeford.
The 34-floor office skyscraper on North Main Street provides a 360-degree bird’s-eye view of the city. It was completed in the mid-90s and is today known as the Wells Fargo Center. Unlike mid-century modernist glass-box designs, Pelli’s building blends the old and new, with adornments including the skyscraper’s distinctive nearly 60-foot granite dome.
Wakeford says these decorative references helped forge a connection with the surrounding community.
"He built the curved arch over the main entrance, which is a reference to the half-dome canopies that adorn many buildings in Old Salem," says Wakeford. "So, playing with the Moravian architectural heritage, and in the marble-inlaid floor in the lobby, the Moravian star served as inspiration."
Wakeford says Pelli’s willingness to incorporate what he calls architectural historicism into his structures helps identify him further as a postmodern architect.
Another example of Pelli’s work can be found in the Worrell Professional Center on the Wake Forest University campus, completed in 1993.