Who is the greatest architect of all time? Frank Lloyd Wright tops most rankings of the greatest architects in history — the American master of organic architecture behind Fallingwater and the Guggenheim — with Antoni Gaudí, Le Corbusier, Zaha Hadid and Frank Gehry his most-cited rivals for the title. The at-a-glance table below pairs all twenty greats with the one building to know them by.
| # | Architect | Signature work |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frank Lloyd Wright | Fallingwater; Guggenheim Museum, New York |
| 2 | Frank Gehry | Guggenheim Museum Bilbao |
| 3 | Le Corbusier | Villa Savoye; Chandigarh Capitol Complex |
| 4 | Zaha Hadid | Heydar Aliyev Centre, Baku |
| 5 | Norman Foster | 30 St Mary Axe (“The Gherkin”), London |
| 6 | Ludwig Mies van der Rohe | Seagram Building, New York |
| 7 | Santiago Calatrava | City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia |
| 8 | Louis Kahn | Salk Institute; National Assembly of Bangladesh |
| 9 | Renzo Piano | Centre Pompidou; The Shard |
| 10 | Philip Johnson | The Glass House, Connecticut |
| 11 | Oscar Niemeyer | Civic buildings of Brasília |
| 12 | Antoni Gaudí | Sagrada Família, Barcelona |
| 13 | I. M. Pei | Louvre Pyramid, Paris |
| 14 | Eero Saarinen | TWA Flight Center; Gateway Arch |
| 15 | Rem Koolhaas | CCTV Headquarters, Beijing |
| 16 | Jean Nouvel | Institut du Monde Arabe; Louvre Abu Dhabi |
| 17 | Buckminster Fuller | Geodesic dome (Montreal Biosphère) |
| 18 | Louis Sullivan | Wainwright Building — “form follows function” |
| 19 | César Pelli | Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur |
| 20 | Walter Gropius | Bauhaus building, Dessau |
Here is the list of the 20 greatest architects / best architects in the world around the world :
1. Frank Lloyd Wright | Greatest Architects / Best Architects In The World
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer, and educator who designed more than 1,000 structures, 532 of which were completed.
Born: 8 June 1867, Richland Center, Wisconsin, United StatesDied: 9 April 1959, Phoenix, Arizona, United StatesArtworks: Skyscraper Vase, Spindle Cube Chair, Side Chair, Taliesin Line of Decorative Wallpapers, Armchair, Design 105
2. Frank Gehry | Best Architecture in The World
Frank Owen Gehry, CC is a Canadian-born American architect, residing in Los Angeles. A number of his buildings, including his private residence, have become world-renowned attractions.
Born: 28 February 1929 (age 88), Toronto, CanadaArtworks: Fish Lamp, Superlight Chair, Pito Water Kettle, MOREOn view: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Serpentine Galleries, Dallas Museum of ArtAwards: Pritzker Architecture Prize, MORE
3. Le Corbusier | Greatest Architects / Best Architects In The World
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, known as Le Corbusier, was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now called modern architecture.
Born: 6 October 1887, La Chaux-de-Fonds, SwitzerlandDied: 27 August 1965, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, FranceArtworks: Abstract Composition, Still Life Filled with Space, MOREOn view: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, MORE
4. Zaha Hadid | Cool Architects
Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid DBE RA was an Iraqi-British architect. She was the first woman to receive the Pritzker Architecture Prize, in 2004. She received the UK’s most prestigious architectural award, the Stirling Prize, in 2010 and 2011.
Born: 31 October 1950, Baghdad, IraqDied: 31 March 2016, Miami, Florida, United StatesArtworks: Horizontal Tektonik, Malevich’s Tektonik, London, MOREOn view: Serpentine Galleries, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, High Museum of ArtAwards: Pritzker Architecture Prize, Stirling Prize, Structural Steel Design Awards, Glamour Award for The Architect-In-Chief
5. Norman Foster | Architects Modern
Norman Robert Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank, OM, HonFREng, is a British architect whose company, Foster + Partners, maintains an international design practice famous for high-tech architecture.
Born: 1 June 1935 (age 82), Reddish, Stockport, United KingdomProjects: American Air Museum at the Imperial War Museum DuxfordPractice: Foster + PartnersBooks: Rebuilding the Reichstag, MORE
6. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe | Greatest Architects / Best Architects In The World
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was a German-American architect. He is commonly referred to and was addressed as Mies, his surname.
Born: 27 March 1886, Aachen, GermanyDied: 17 August 1969, Chicago, Illinois, United StatesArtworks: Barcelona chair, Brno chair, Armchair (MR20), Tugendhat chair, Court House, “Barcelona,” Model MR 90 ChairOn view: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Dallas Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, HoustonAwards: Royal Gold Medal, AIA Gold Medal, Presidential Medal of Freedom, Twenty-five Year Award
7. Santiago Calatrava | Cool Architects
Santiago Calatrava Valls is a Spanish architect, structural engineer, sculptor, and painter, particularly known for his bridges supported by single leaning pylons and his railway stations, stadiums.
Born: 28 July 1951 (age 66), Benimàmet, Valencia, SpainArtworks: Infinite Spirit, Times Capsule, Il Dente, Eye, Fruit, Wave, Bou, Palme, Bird I, TorsoAwards: Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts, AIA Gold Medal, MORE
8. Louis Kahn | Architects Modern
Louis Isadore Kahn was an American architect, based in Philadelphia. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935.
Born: 20 February 1901, Pärnu, EstoniaDied: 17 March 1974, New York City, New York, United StatesProjects: Center of Philadelphia, Urban and Traffic StudyBooks: Louis Kahn: Essential Texts, MORE
9. Renzo Piano | Best Architecture in The World
Renzo Piano, OMRI, OMCA, is an Italian architect and engineer. His notable buildings include the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, The Shard in London, and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City.
Born: 14 September 1937 (age 80), Pegli, ItalyEducation: Polytechnic University of Milan (1964)Books: Logbook, Renzo Piano museums, MOREAwards: Pritzker Architecture Prize, Royal Gold Medal, MORE
10. Philip Johnson
Philip Cortelyou Johnson was an American architect. He is best known for his works of Modern architecture, including the Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut, and his works of postmodern architecture.
Born: 8 July 1906, Cleveland, Ohio, United StatesDied: 25 January 2005, New Canaan, Connecticut, United StatesBooks: Architecture 1949-1965, Deconstructivist architecture, MOREAwards: Pritzker Architecture Prize, AIA Gold Medal, Twenty-five Year Award
11. Oscar Niemeyer | Greatest Architects / Best Architects In The World
Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho —known as Oscar Niemeyer —was a Brazilian architect who was considered to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture.
Born: 15 December 1907, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, BrazilDied: 5 December 2012, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, BrazilProject: Museum of Modern Art in CaracasBooks: The curves of time, MOREAwards: Pritzker Architecture Prize, Royal Gold Medal, MORE
12. Antoni Gaudí | Cool Architects
Antoni Gaudí i Cornet was an architect from Reus, Catalonia. He is the best-known practitioner of Catalan Modernism. Gaudí’s works have a highly individualized and distinctive style.
Born: 25 June 1852, Reus, SpainDied: 10 June 1926, Old Hospital de la Santa Creu, Barcelona, SpainBuried: Sagrada Família, Barcelona, SpainBooks: Gaudi: The Complete Buildings, Gaudí, art and design, MORE
13. I. M. Pei | Greatest Architects / Best Architects In The World
Ieoh Ming Pei, FAIA, RIBA, commonly known as I. M. Pei, is a Chinese American architect. In 1948, Pei was recruited by New York City real estate magnate William Zeckendorf.
Born: 26 April 1917 (age 100), Guangzhou, ChinaSpouse: Eileen Loo (m. 1942)Education: Harvard Graduate School of Design (1942–1946), MOREAwards: Pritzker Architecture Prize, AIA Gold Medal, MORE
14. Eero Saarinen | Architects Modern
Eero Saarinen was a 20th-century Finnish-American architect and industrial designer noted for his neo-futuristic style.
Born: 20 August 1910, Kirkkonummi, FinlandDied: 1 September 1961, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United StatesBooks: Eero Saarinen on His Work, MOREAwards: Twenty-five Year Award
15. Rem Koolhaas | Best Architecture in The World
Remment Lucas “Rem” Koolhaas is a Dutch architect, architectural theorist, urbanist, and Professor in the Practice of Architecture and Urban Design at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University.
Born: 17 November 1944 (age 73), Rotterdam, NetherlandsSpouse: Madelon VriesendorpBooks: S,M,L,XL, Delirious New York, Junkspace / Running Room, MOREMovies: Rem, Body and Soul
16. Jean Nouvel | Greatest Architects / Best Architects In The World
Jean Nouvel is a French architect. Nouvel studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and was a founding member of Mars 1976 and Syndicat de l’Architecture.
Born: 12 August 1945 (age 72), Fumel, FranceEducation: École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts (1966–1972)Books: The Singular Objects of Architecture, MOREAwards: Pritzker Architecture Prize, Aga Khan Award for Architecture, Royal Gold Medal, Wolf Prize in Arts
17. Buckminster Fuller | Cool Architects
Richard Buckminster “Bucky” Fuller was an American architect, systems theorist, author, designer, and inventor. Fuller published more than 30 books, coining or popularizing terms such as “Spaceship Earth”, ephemeralization, and synergetic.
Born: 12 July 1895, Milton, Massachusetts, United StatesDied: 1 July 1983, Los Angeles, California, United StatesStructures: Dymaxion house, MOREAwards: Royal Gold Medal, AIA Gold Medal, Presidential Medal of Freedom, St. Louis Literary Award
18. Louis Sullivan | Architects Modern
Louis Henry Sullivan was an American architect, and has been called the “father of skyscrapers” and “father of modernism”.
Born: 3 September 1856, Boston, Massachusetts, United StatesDied: 14 April 1924, Chicago, Illinois, United StatesSpouse: Mary Azona Hattabaugh (m. ?–1924)Books: The autobiography of an idea, MOREAwards: AIA Gold Medal
19. César Pelli | Best Architecture in The World
César Pelli, founder of Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, is an Argentine-American architect who has designed some of the world’s tallest buildings and other major urban landmarks.
Born: 12 October 1926 (age 91), San Miguel de Tucumán, ArgentinaBooks: Observations for young architects, MOREAwards: AIA Gold Medal
20. Walter Gropius | Greatest Architects
Walter Adolph Georg Gropius was a German architect and founder of the Bauhaus School, who, along with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, and Frank Lloyd Wright, is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modernist architecture.
Born: 18 May 1883, Berlin, GermanyDied: 5 July 1969, Boston, Massachusetts, United StatesBooks: The New Architecture and the Bauhaus, MOREAwards: Royal Gold Medal, AIA Gold Medal, Goethe Prize
Frequently Asked Questions About the Greatest Architects
Who is considered the greatest architect of all time?
Frank Lloyd Wright is the most common answer — the American Institute of Architects has called him “the greatest American architect of all time” — with Antoni Gaudí, Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe the perennial alternatives depending on whether originality, influence or form is weighed most.
Who is the father of modern architecture?
Le Corbusier is most often given the title for codifying modernism’s principles, though Louis Sullivan — who coined “form follows function” and fathered the skyscraper — and Walter Gropius, founder of the Bauhaus, share the paternity depending on the lineage you trace.
Which of these architects are still alive in 2026?
Six of the twenty: Frank Gehry (b. 1929), Norman Foster (b. 1935), Renzo Piano (b. 1937), Rem Koolhaas (b. 1944), Jean Nouvel (b. 1945) and Santiago Calatrava (b. 1951) — all still leading active practices.
How many of the 20 have won the Pritzker Prize?
Nine: Philip Johnson (the first-ever laureate, 1979), I. M. Pei (1983), Oscar Niemeyer (1988), Frank Gehry (1989), Renzo Piano (1998), Norman Foster (1999), Rem Koolhaas (2000), Zaha Hadid (2004, the first woman) and Jean Nouvel (2008). The earlier masters — Wright, Le Corbusier, Mies, Gaudí — died before the prize was founded in 1979.
Where should I start exploring their work?
Use the at-a-glance table above, then go deeper with our profiles of the projects that define Zaha Hadid’s style and Tadao Ando’s most famous works — the self-taught Pritzker laureate many would add to this list.
Sources for the 2026 update
The Pritzker Architecture Prize, laureates list, pritzkerprize.com (2026). Encyclopaedia Britannica, entries on Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier and Antoni Gaudí (2026).
