Since founding Eric Owen Moss Architects in 1973, Moss has maintained a firm that operates from Culver City, producing a wide array of international projects. His practice gained significant recognition through a decades-long collaboration with developers Frederick and Laurie Samitaur Smith, which resulted in the systematic urban revitalization of an abandoned industrial neighborhood in California.
Academic Foundation
Moss completed his Bachelor of Arts at the University of California, Los Angeles in 1965. He pursued further studies at the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned a Master of Architecture in 1968 from the College of Environmental Design. He finished his formal education at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design in 1972 with a second Master of Architecture degree.
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His academic career includes a long-standing association with the Southern California Institute of Architecture, where he began teaching in 1974 and served as director from 2002 to 2015. Additionally, he held faculty appointments at Columbia University and chairs at both Yale and Harvard universities. His international teaching portfolio includes work at the University of Applied Arts Vienna and the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.
Culver City Revitalization
Beginning in 1986, the firm focused on the transformation of the Hayden Tract. This ongoing project turned a former industrial zone into a hub for digital media, film, and design companies. Notable built works within this district include the Lindblade Tower, the Gary Group, the Umbrella, the Stealth project, and the Pterodactyl. In 2020, the Conjunctive Points development received the AIA Twenty-five Year Award.
Awards and Recognition
Moss has received numerous honors throughout his career. These include the 1999 Academy Award in Architecture, the 2007 Arnold Brunner Memorial Prize, and the 2011 RIBA Charles Jencks Award. In 2016, he was granted the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art. He also earned the 2020 American Prize for Architecture from the Chicago Athenaeum and the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
Fast facts
- Born: 1943, Los Angeles
- Founder: Eric Owen Moss Architects (1973)
- Alma Mater: UCLA, UC Berkeley, Harvard University
- Director: SCI-Arc (2002-2015)
- Significant Project: Vespertine (2017)
- 2011 Award: RIBA Charles Jencks Award
- 2016 Award: Austrian Decoration for Science and Art
Questions readers ask
What is the primary focus of Moss's firm?
The firm, based in Culver City, designs and constructs architectural projects globally, with a noted emphasis on urban revitalization.
What academic institutions has he been associated with?
He has taught at SCI-Arc, Yale, Harvard, Columbia University, the University of Applied Arts Vienna, and the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.
Achievements
- Austrian Decoration for Science and Art
- RIBA Charles Jencks Award
- Trained at Harvard University and University of California, Berkeley
