Friedrich St. Florian (December 21, 1932 – December 18, 2024) was an Austrian-American architect. He moved to the United States in 1961, and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1973.
Background
St. Florian was born Friedrich St. Florian Gartler in the Austrian city of Graz, on December 21, 1932.[1] He was quoted as having said [that] "when I was 10 or 11, I was a sandcastle-builder, a dam-builder. I wanted to build for the pleasure, the delight of it really was amazing."[citation needed]
St. Florian died on December 18, 2024, at the age of 91.[2]
Academic career
After teaching at Columbia University for a year, St. Florian joined the Rhode Island School of Design faculty in 1963, where he helped launch the school's European Honors Program in Rome, which he directed from 1965 to 1967. From 1978 to 1988 he was dean of Architectural Studies and acted as Provost for Academic Affairs from 1981 to 1984.
St. Florian was a practicing architect in the United States from 1974 on. His work is included in numerous private collections as well as in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the MIT, the RISD Museum, and the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France. He also won the second prize for his design with Raimund Abraham and John Thornley for their entry in the competition to design thd last of these.
He served as Project Architect for Providence Place, a 450 million-dollar regional retail and entertainment center located in historic downtown Providence, Rhode Island and the largest construction project ever undertaken in Rhode Island, and the Providence Skybridge, which frames the entrance to the city.
St. Florian's office was later headquartered in downtown Providence, Rhode Island.[3] He continued to work on international design competitions and a wide array of projects. His later built works included a modernist residence in Providence's East Side and Urban Markers in Charlotte, North Carolina. The project named "Three Pier Bridge" was designed under a new firm name "Studio Providence LLC", which is a collaboration between St.Florian's firm and 3SIX0 Architecture. The "Three Pier Bridge" tied for first place in an international competition while also winning prizes from the BSA and AIA.[citation needed]