Raimund Abraham, Austrian-born architect, dies
LOS ANGELES - Raimund Abraham, an Austrian-born architect known for his powerfully enigmatic drawings and fierce idealism, and whose narrow, blade-like 2002 Austrian Cultural Forum in New York is among the most forceful pieces of architecture built anywhere in the last decade, was killed early Thursday when the car he was driving collided in downtown Los Angeles with a Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus. He was 76.
The accident came just hours after Abraham delivered a lecture Wednesday at the Southern California Institute of Architecture, where he taught periodically since 2003.
Abraham, based for most of his career in New York, was well known within the profession as a theorist and a teacher.
At a Friday gathering at SCI-Arc's Arts District campus, he was remembered for his refusal to bend designs to meet client demands, architectural fashion or popular taste. "Raimund was pure," architect and former SCI-Arc director Michael Rotondi.
Abraham's other recent projects include a music hall in Hombroich, Germany, that is under construction.
Una Abraham, his daughter and only surviving relative, said work would continue. "We're going to make sure it gets finished," she said.
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Sarra Sounds Off, Ep.16: From Island to island, how football helped overcome tragedy Newsday's Gregg Sarra talks to Carey football player James McGrath about how he has persevered after losing his parents at a young age, and to the Lahainaluna (Hawaii) High School football coach about how his team persevered after the Maui wildfires of 2023, plus a behind-the-scenes look at the All-Long Island teams photo shoot.
