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VAGO, Pierre [Vágó Péter]
VAGO, Pierre [Vágó Péter]
architect
(Budapest, 30th August, 1910 – Noisy-sur-École (FR),27th January, 2002)
Vágo’s father, József Vágó, was one of the leading figures of Hungarian secessionist architecture. He moved to Italy with his father in 1919, and attended school in Rome, then, following his graduation from high school moved to Paris. Vágó attended on of the studios of École des Beaux-Arts for a few months from 1928, after which he enrolled in the École Spéciale d’Architecture, where he came into acquaintance with Auguste Perret, one of the pioneers of ferro-concrete architecture. He soon began his designing career. His first success came when he, together with his cousin István Vágó, as first year university students, won the 2nd award of the Jeanne d’Arc memorial tender. He debuted as a technical writer around 1930, up until when he wrote critiques for the magazine entitled Maitr d’Oeuvre. He soon joined one of the most popular periodicals entitled L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui, of which he became the editor in chief at the age of 21. He received his diploma in 1932, when he founded the Réunions Internationales d’Architects (RIA), an international architectural society, which he led as its secretary general. In 1938 he became the secretary of the l’Union de l’Art, of which Perret was the president and Le Corbusier, Léger, Maillol and Matisse constituted the leading members. He was mobilized as a reserve directly before the outbreak of the Second World War, but was discharged in 1941. Later from 1942 he fought within the Navales Francaises Libres, lead by De Gaulle. He was awarded the Médaille de la Reésistance by De Gaulle himself, in 1945. Following the war he played a leading role in the founding of the most significant international architectural society, the L'Union Internationale des Architectes (UIA) (1948, Lausanne). He was elected the first general secretary of the Society. He was reelected up until 1969, and received the honorary presidential post of the UIA at the time of his retirement. Between 1948 and 1954, following the war, he organized and led the reconstruction of the Rhône delta region. He worked in a number of countries such as France, Germany, Tunisia, Mexico, Luxemburg, Israel, and Italy, as city designer,. Many of the buildings designed by him were erected around the world, for instance the 10th Pius Basilika, the pilgrimage temple of Loudres, the Central Bank of Tunisia, and the University Library of Bonn. Vágó was the professor of the St-Luc Architectural University, as well as International Summer University of Saltzburg. He was furthermore the head of the Industrial Design Council between 1963 and 1965, and has been the member of the highly respected international committee of architectural critiques. He has also been a member of the French Architectural Academy since 1981, as well as the vice-president of the International Architectural Academy since 1983. He is the honorary professor if the University of Applied Arts of Budapest, and a member of the Hungarian Academy of Arts since 1994. He has always upheld close and direct ties with Hungary, Hungarian architecture, and the society of architects, and has done a great deal for the popularization and recognition of both Hungarian architecture and the architects of Hungary.
(Budapest, 30th August, 1910 – Noisy-sur-École (FR),27th January, 2002)
Vágo’s father, József Vágó, was one of the leading figures of Hungarian secessionist architecture. He moved to Italy with his father in 1919, and attended school in Rome, then, following his graduation from high school moved to Paris. Vágó attended on of the studios of École des Beaux-Arts for a few months from 1928, after which he enrolled in the École Spéciale d’Architecture, where he came into acquaintance with Auguste Perret, one of the pioneers of ferro-concrete architecture. He soon began his designing career. His first success came when he, together with his cousin István Vágó, as first year university students, won the 2nd award of the Jeanne d’Arc memorial tender. He debuted as a technical writer around 1930, up until when he wrote critiques for the magazine entitled Maitr d’Oeuvre. He soon joined one of the most popular periodicals entitled L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui, of which he became the editor in chief at the age of 21. He received his diploma in 1932, when he founded the Réunions Internationales d’Architects (RIA), an international architectural society, which he led as its secretary general. In 1938 he became the secretary of the l’Union de l’Art, of which Perret was the president and Le Corbusier, Léger, Maillol and Matisse constituted the leading members. He was mobilized as a reserve directly before the outbreak of the Second World War, but was discharged in 1941. Later from 1942 he fought within the Navales Francaises Libres, lead by De Gaulle. He was awarded the Médaille de la Reésistance by De Gaulle himself, in 1945. Following the war he played a leading role in the founding of the most significant international architectural society, the L'Union Internationale des Architectes (UIA) (1948, Lausanne). He was elected the first general secretary of the Society. He was reelected up until 1969, and received the honorary presidential post of the UIA at the time of his retirement. Between 1948 and 1954, following the war, he organized and led the reconstruction of the Rhône delta region. He worked in a number of countries such as France, Germany, Tunisia, Mexico, Luxemburg, Israel, and Italy, as city designer,. Many of the buildings designed by him were erected around the world, for instance the 10th Pius Basilika, the pilgrimage temple of Loudres, the Central Bank of Tunisia, and the University Library of Bonn. Vágó was the professor of the St-Luc Architectural University, as well as International Summer University of Saltzburg. He was furthermore the head of the Industrial Design Council between 1963 and 1965, and has been the member of the highly respected international committee of architectural critiques. He has also been a member of the French Architectural Academy since 1981, as well as the vice-president of the International Architectural Academy since 1983. He is the honorary professor if the University of Applied Arts of Budapest, and a member of the Hungarian Academy of Arts since 1994. He has always upheld close and direct ties with Hungary, Hungarian architecture, and the society of architects, and has done a great deal for the popularization and recognition of both Hungarian architecture and the architects of Hungary.