Master Architect
Principal, Safdie Architects

World-renowned architect Moshe Safdie’s guiding principle is to bring light, greenery, and water into some of the world's densest urban areas. Or, as he has put it: “For everyone, a garden.” At the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, a trio of sweeping towers is topped by an expansive green pavilion—a sky-high oasis in the densely packed city-state. At the bustling Jewel Changi airport, a four-story tiered garden surrounds the 130-foot-tall Rain Vortex, the world’s tallest indoor waterfall.

Safdie has also designed leading museums, including Yad Vashem in Jerusalem; Virasat-e-Khalsa—the museum of Sikhism—in Anandpur Sahib, Punjab, India; and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas. While overseeing the work of his architectural offices in Montreal, Jerusalem, Boston, and Toronto, he has served as the director of the urban design program and professor of architecture and urban design at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

In 2015, Safdie was awarded the American Institute of Architects’ Gold Medal in recognition of his global influence. A citizen of the United States, Canada, and Israel, he continues to passionately advocate for humane urban design. “We live in a complicated, oppressive world with enormous cities and vast populations,” says Safdie. “I try to contribute by making it more light and open and calm.”