ROBERT ARTHUR MORTON STERN, FAIA (1939-2025)
Born in Brooklyn NY, Stern was educated at Columbia and Yale. After graduating from Yale, where he edited Perspecta, Stern worked as a curator for the Architectural League of New York where he organized the second 40 Under 40 show, which featured his own work alongside Charles Moore, Robert Venturi and Romaldo Giurgola. In 1966, Stern worked briefly for Richard Meier then worked for 2.5 years at New York City's Housing and Development Administration. In 1969 he established Stern & Hagmann with John Hagmann, a student from his days at Yale. Hagmann left in 1976 and the firm became Robert A.M. Stern Architects, now known as RAMSA.
Stern taught at Columbia then became Dean of the Yale School of Architecture from 1998 to 2016. A prolific author, he co-wrote a monumental six-volume history of New York City architecture and hosted the 1986 PBS series Pride of Place. He shaped Disney's Yacht and Beach Club resorts and master-planned the Disney town of Celebration FL.
Stern's calling card was 15 Central Park West, the limestone-clad Manhattan apartments completed in 2008 that channeled the great prewar buildings of Central Park West and became one of the most financially successful residential buildings ever, racking up $2 billion in sales. Stern designed many commercial buildings including Philadelphia's glass-sheathed Comcast Center and Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, and two college dorms at Yale.
1965 - The Robert A. M. and Lynn Gimbel Solinger Stern Renovation, Lee Avenue, East Hampton NY. They rented and then bought the 1906 house beginning in the mid-1960s. Stern's additions of a semi-circular porch and a round swimming pool got a lot of notice. Due to a divorce, they sold the house in 1978. The porch has since been removed, and the house extensively changed.
1967 - The Wiseman House, 17 Beech Street, Montauk NY. Stern's first built house, designed while he worked for NYC Government, designed with structural engineer Robert Silman. Has been sold.
1974 - The Paul Henry Lang House, Washington CT. Designed with John Hagmann; commissioned 1973. Project architect, his son Jeremy P. Lang, an associate at Stern & Hagmann. On the cover of Progressive Architecture, April 1975. Peter Eisenman named it among Stern's best work; Stern called it a complete break from Modernism. Structural engineers Zoldos/Silman; landscape by Daniel Stewart; lighting by Carroll Cline.
1975 - The Norman and Carol Mercer House, 33 Ocean Avenue, East Hampton NY. 6,300 square feet on three acres. Available for rent.
1976 - The Beebe House, 380 Old Montauk Highway, Montauk NY. Designed with John Hagmann. Commissioned 1969. The guesthouse appeared on the cover of A+U. Atop a 210-foot oceanfront bluff with a beachfront cabana, guest house, and pool house. Available for rent.
1976 - The Edith (Didi) Koshland Ehrman House, 7 Deer Ridge Lane, Armonk NY. She was the widow of Frederick Ehrman, the Chairman of Lehman Brothers. Designed with John Hagmann. Commissioned 1974, completed 1976; the curving free-plan design was published in Architektur des 20. Won a 1976 Progressive Architecture Award. Sold in 1992 to Richard and Susan Madris. Sold in 2013 to Soo Jeong Lee. Featured in the Wall Street Journal.
1978 - The Robert A. M. Stern House, 101 Cove Hollow Road, East Hampton NY. Stern bought a three-room ranch in 1978 and renovated it slowly for nearly fifty years. Most of his twenty-plus books were written on the screened back porch. Passers-by would stop to ask whether they could obtain a set of plans. Deeded to son Nicholas Stern.
Around 1980 - The Sylvia and Albert Cohn Renovation, 90 Glen Avenue, Llewellyn Park, West Orange NJ. Established in 1853, Llewellyn Park is considered to be the first planned suburban residential community in the United States. Gated community, no public access. Original house a 1928 Georgian Colonial. Stern did a 1982 pool addition, adapting Hans Hollein's palm tree columns.
Around 1980 - aka Points of View, Mount Desert Island ME. Was a 1981 Architectural RECORD House. Built by Herrick; engineering by Robert Silman; project architect, Daniel Colbert; photos by Futagawa; mechanical by Arthur Fox. Status unknown.
1981 - The Sylvia and Albert Cohn House, 26 Prospect Hill Road, Chilmark MA. 3,500sf. The first of five houses on Martha's Vineyard. Project architect Roger Seifter, who supervised construction. Built by Donald DeSorcy of The DeSorcy Company, who milled the windows, molding and the great circular front window; crews included Raymond Fauteux, Joe Leonard and Ronald Ames. His son Leo DeSorcy has maintained the house since. The commission came through Paul Goldberger. Published in Architectural Digest and in The Houses of Martha's Vineyard.
1981 - The Lawson House, 81 Dune Road, East Quogue NY. 2.4 acres. Sold in 1999 to David and Ellen Wasserman and destroyed, replaced with a new house in 2013.
1981 - aka Farm Neck house, 305 Farm Neck Way, Oak Bluffs MA. The second of five houses on Martha's Vineyard.
1983 - The Bruce Bozzi House, 37 Cottage Avenue, East Hampton NY. An Architectural RECORD House in 1984. Built by Paul Trunzo. Sold in 2020.
1992 - The Gerald and Barbara Hines House, aka Adagio, aka Tuscan Villa at River Oaks, 2920 Lazy Lane Boulevard, Houston TX. For sale in 2021.
1993 - The Richard and Bonnie Reiss House, aka Residence at Apaquogue, 103 Apaquogue Road, East Hampton NY. Commissioned 1989. Project architect Randy Correll.
1994 - aka Life Dream House, 4050 Palisades Main NW, Kennesaw GA. Commissioned by LIFE magazine. Photo by ESTO. Many variations were built without Stern's direct involvement, but this one was constructed under his supervision by Macauley Homes. Project architect Gary Brewer.
1996 - The Fred Baron House, aka Residence in Starwood, 332 South Starwood Drive, Aspen CO. Has been sold.
1998 - aka The Edgewater Apartments, 2288 Bellevue Avenue, West Vancouver, Canada. 15 full-floor residences on the Dundarave waterfront.
1999 - The Ivan Reitman House, aka Residence in Montecito, 900 Cold Springs Road, Montecito CA. Project architect Roger Seifter.
2000 - The Fred Baron House, aka Residence in Preston Hollow, 5950 Deloache Avenue, Dallas TX. Sold. 2022 renovations added two glass additions.
Around 2000 - aka Chestnut Hill Residence, 191 Clyde Street, Brookline MA.
Around 2000 - aka Kings Point Residence, 26 Pond Road, Kings Point NY.
2001 - The Frederick Bourke House, aka NYBOR LLC House, aka Bearings, 179-181 Peabody Drive, Seal Harbor, Mount Desert Island ME.
2003 - aka Residence in Palo Alto, Palo Alto CA. Project architect Grant Marani.
2004 - aka Residence in East Hampton, aka French Style Residence in East Hampton, East Hampton NY. Project architect Randy Correll.
2004 - aka Residence at West Tisbury, West Tisbury MA. Project architects Randy Correll and Roger Seifter.
2004 - aka Residence on Long Island, Long Island NY. Project architect Roger Seifter.
2005 - aka Residence on Salt Spring Island, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada. Project architect Grant Marani. The main residence is U-shaped, and a boathouse on Long Harbour, a teahouse to the west overlooking Ganges Harbour, and a spa pavilion at the south end of the Point connect back to the main house.
2005 - aka Residence in California, Los Angeles CA. Home of the former U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James. Honors the clients' admiration for Paul Williams and Billy Haines; interiors by Brown Buckley and Brian J. McCarthy. Perched some nine hundred feet above Los Angeles with views of the city, the Pacific and the mountains.
2006 - The Robert and Lisa Nesbitt House, aka House at Seaside, 2110 East County Highway 30A, Seaside FL. 2,700 sf oceanfront villa designed with Gary Brewer, built by O.B. Laurent Construction. Featured in Architectural Digest, April 2008. Sold to David and Jennifer Kwon.
2007 - The Byron Trott House, aka House on Lake Michigan, 595 Sheridan Road, Winnetka IL. Project architect Randy Correll. 14,280 square feet.
2007 - aka House on the Southern California Coast, California. Sited on a bluff above the Pacific, the house dissolved into separate structures organized around garden courtyards. Project architect Roger Seifter.
2008 - 15 Central Park West, 15 Central Park West, New York NY. Limestone-clad twin-tower apartment house channeling the great prewar buildings of Central Park West; one of the most financially successful residential buildings ever. RAMSA also did the interiors for a penthouse here.
2008 - One St. Thomas Residences, 71 Queen's Park Crescent East, Toronto, Canada. 29-stories.
2008 - The Beny Alagem House, aka Residence on Bel Air Road, 457 Bel Air Road, Los Angeles CA. Project architect, Roger Seifter; interiors by Thomas Pheasant; landscape by RAMSA.
2008 - aka Residence in Napa County, Oakville CA. Project architect Roger Seifter.
2009 - Superior Ink Condos and Townhouses, 400 West 12th Street, New York NY. Site of the former Superior Ink factory.
2009 - aka Maisonette in Chicago, 65 East Goethe Street, Chicago IL. Same clients as Dove Cottage on Lake Michigan, below. Project architect Randy Correll with interiors by Arthur Dunnam of Jed Johnson.
2009 - aka Ten Rittenhouse Square, 130 South 18th Street, Philadelphia PA.
2009 - aka Residence in Highland Park, Highland Park IL. Project architect Grant Marani. The clients are art collectors and the program includes a pool and cabana, a playroom and a bunk room.
2009 - aka West Village Townhouse, New York NY. An 1847 Greek Revival Greenwich Village townhouse, long divided into apartments, restored to a single-family house for a young couple. Project architect Randy Correll.
2010 - The Century, 10 Century Drive, Los Angeles CA. Residents have included Rihanna, Matthew Perry, Candy Spelling, and Paula Abdul.
2010 - aka House on Hook Pond, East Hampton NY. Project architect Randy Correll.
2011 - aka Mas Fleuri, 33 Promenade Maurice Rouvier, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France. Private villa at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat on the French Riviera. Project architect, Grant Marani. Commissioned 2006.
2012 - aka Cedarwoods Apartments, 41 Cameo Drive, Willimantic CT. Affordable housing in Willimantic CT. Designed with Hartford's Crosskey Architects.
2013 - aka House on Georgica Cove, East Hampton NY. Project architect Randy Correll. A three-acre waterside site.
2013 - aka Pool & Folly at Glen Ellen, aka House in Sonoma, 3139 Warm Springs Road, Glen Ellen CA. Project architect, Grant Marani; interiors by Agnes Bourne, landscape by Ron Herman.
2014 - The Wayne D. Jones House, aka Las Olas, 698 Lido Drive, Fort Lauderdale FL. Project architect Roger Seifter.
2014 - aka Residence at Mountain Lake, Lake Wales FL. Renovation and additions to a 1927 Mediterranean-farmstead house by Franklin W. Abbott in the Olmsted-planned Mountain Lake colony; beside the golf course. The internal street address is best obtained from the National Register district nomination or polkpa.org, since the county flattens every parcel in the colony to one situs.
2015 - aka Residence in Singapore, Nassim Road, Singapore. Project architects Grant Marani and Paul Whalen. Located in the Botanic Gardens district.
2016 - The Melvin and Randy Berlin Cottage, aka Dove Cottage, 14156 Swift Avenue, Lakeside MI. Same clients as Maisonette, above. Capacity for performances around the concert grand for up to 60 people. Project architect Randy Correll; photographed by Peter Aaron/OTTO.
2016 - aka The Morgan, 31 Conduit Road, Hong Kong, China.
2016 - aka Residences on Zero Island, Tianjin, China. Roughly fifty houses on Golden Island in the Meijiang lake district of Hexi.
2017 - The Lewis A. Sanders House, aka House on Lily Pond Lane, 171 Lily Pond Lane, East Hampton NY. Project architect Randy Correll. Replaced a demolished 1920s Colonial whose 1990s wing was retained; interiors by Dara Stern; landscape design by Justin Terzi.
2017 - aka Emerald Riverside, Pudong, Shanghai, China. On the Huangpu River.
2017 - aka House on the Northeast Coast, location unknown. Project architect Roger Seifter. The site is four acres of oceanfront, and the clients' city apartment was an earlier RAMSA commission.
2017 - aka Residence in Southampton, aka House on Gin Lane, 22 Gin Lane, Southampton NY. Project architect Randy Correll.
2018 - 520 Park Avenue, 520 Park Avenue, New York NY. 54 stories.
2018 - 70 Vestry, 70 Vestry Street, New York NY. Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen owned a unit 2016-2020.
2018 - aka The Alexander Apartments, 300 Alexander Court, Philadelphia PA. Owned by the LDS Church. Inga Saffron's Inquirer review praised its urbanism despite her usual skepticism of Stern.
2018 - aka Metropolis 79, Hangzhou, China. High-density Vanke residential development in Hangzhou.
2018 - aka 375 Avenida Pezet Apartments, 375 Avenida General Juan Antonio Pezet, San Isidro, Lima, Peru.
2018 - aka 561 Avenida Pezet Apartments, 561 Avenida General Juan Antonio Pezet, San Isidro, Lima, Peru.
2018 - aka Three Otter Farm, aka House in New England, in New Hampshire. On a 50-acre wooded coastal property. Project architect Roger Seifter, who added a guest house and cabin in 2023. Engineering by CSI.
2019 - 220 Central Park South, 220 Central Park South, New York NY.
2019 - One Bennett Park, 451 East Grand Avenue, Chicago IL.
2019 - aka 1331 Maryland Ave, 1331 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington DC.
2019 - aka House in Winnetka, 657 Sheridan Road, Winnetka IL. Project architect Randy Correll.
2020 - aka Crescent Nob Hill Condos, 1001 California Street, San Francisco CA.
2020 - aka House in Virginia Beach, 4210 Ocean Front Avenue, Virginia Beach VA. Won the 2021 John Russell Pope Award; interior design by Manuel de Santaren. Project architect Gary Brewer.
2020 - The Michael Eisner Compound, aka Encinal Bluffs Family Compound, 33550 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu CA. 5 acres. 25000sf.
2020 - aka Lakeville V, Shanghai, China. Residential development at Xintiandi, Shanghai.
2020 - aka 310 Carlos Graña, 310 Calle Carlos Graña Elizalde, San Isidro, Lima, Peru.
2020 - aka House in Southern California, 965 North Alpine Drive, Beverly Hills CA. Renovation of a 1954 Hollywood Regency house by John Elgin Woolf built for actress Eleanor Parker and later owned by Woolf himself. Project architect Roger Seifter; interior designer John Gilmer; landscape by Mario Nievera.
2021 - aka Oceanfront House. Project architect Roger Seifter; likely in Hawaii.
2022 - aka 150 East 78th Street Condos, 150 East 78th Street, New York NY.
2022 - aka St. George's Mansions, 24A Kadoorie Avenue, Hong Kong, China. Three 20-story towers with 175 units developed by Sino Group and CLP.
2022 - aka Alfredo Salazar Residences, 236 Calle Carlos Graña Elizalde, San Isidro, Lima, Peru.
2023 - aka 200 East 83rd Street Condos, 200 East 83rd Street, New York NY.
2023 - aka House in Lost Tree Village, North Palm Beach FL. 4607 sf. Significantly modified from stock plans. Project architect Randy Correll. RAMSA did a project for this client in 1985.
2024 - aka Calle Blas Cerdeña, 216 Calle Mariscal Blas Cerdeña, San Isidro, Lima, Peru.
2024 - aka Renovation in Los Angeles, Bel Air, Los Angeles CA. Originally designed by Austen Pierpont, the Hollywood scenographer turned architect. Project architect Roger Seifter; interiors by David Netto, landscape by Deborah Nevins. Former home of Mary Martin.
2026 - aka Pezet 195, 195 Avenida General Juan Antonio Pezet, San Isidro, Lima, Peru.
2027 - aka 1 Mayfair, 5 Audley Square, London, United Kingdom. Caudwell's £2 billion, 29-residence scheme managed by Dorchester Collection.
Year unknown - aka Residence in Pacific Heights, San Francisco CA. Project architect Grant Marani. Same clients as the Glen Ellen compound.