Pioneer Information
Born in Grozny, Russia, Chermayeff moved to England at an early age, attending school there and gaining British citizenship in 1928. Chermayeff initially worked as an interior designer for E. Williams, Ltd. from 1924 to 1927, and Waring & Gillow from 1928 to 1929. Despite a lack of formal training, he established his own architectural practice in 1930 and built his career in the decade that followed, often working in partnership with German architect Erich Mendelsohn. Together they developed many projects of note in the Modern Movement throughout the U.K., including the iconic De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill, East Sussex.
Chermayeff immigrated to the United States in 1940. There he held an illustrious academic career, first at the California School of Fine Arts, and then at Brooklyn College, where he served as chair of the department of design until 1946, at which point he was recommended by Walter Gropius to become the president of the Institute of Design in Chicago. Chermayeff later taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and served as head of the department of architecture at both Harvard and Yale Universities, remaining at the latter until his retirement in 1970.
Chermayeff wrote several books on architecture and urban planning, and was a co-founder of the American Society of Planners and Architects. Throughout his over 55 years in the United States, Chermayeff maintained his principal residence in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, where he died in 1996.