LERNER, RALPH

LERNER, RALPH (1949– ), professor of architecture at Princeton University's School of Architecture and principal of Ralph Lerner Architect PC of Princeton, New Jersey. After earning his bachelor of architecture from Cooper Union School of Architecture, he went on to receive his master of architecture at Harvard University's School of Design. As dean of the School of Architecture at Princeton for 13 years, Lerner supported innovative programs for his students such as the international study program for Chinese and American students. He became known as an organizer of architectural competitions. In 2001, a national competition for the design of an expansion of the Queens Museum of Art in Flushing Meadows was announced by the New York City's Department of Design and Construction. Lerner was the professional advisor. In 2002, as a director of the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) located in Montreal, Lerner served as a curator of an Architecture Prize Competition for the Design of Cities. Lerner became known for his wisdom as a competition advisor in international competitions. In one such competition in 2004, the task was to design a new street light for the City of New York. It was sponsored by the New York Department of Transportation, Design, and Construction. He coordinated the jury, managed 447 registrations, and developed a method to insure fairness. Lerner has spoken widely on architecture in the United States and Asia, where he is known for the design of the Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts Library in New Delhi, India. Among his awards was the 1991 Distinguished Alumnus award from the Cooper Union and in 2004 he won the AIA award for his design of the New Jersey Lower School Building at the Princeton Charter School in Princeton. (Betty R. Rubenstein (2nd ed.)