Romaldo (Aldo) Giurgola (September 2, 1920, Rome, Italy – ) is an Italian-American academic architect, professor, and author. September 2 is the 245th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (246th in leap years). ... 1920 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 7 - Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. ... The Roman Colosseum Rome (Italian and Latin Roma) is the capital city of Italy, and of its Lazio region. ... Architect at his drawing board, 1893 An architect, also known as a building designer, is a person involved in the planning, designing and oversight of a buildings construction, whose role is to guide decisions affecting those building aspects that are of aesthetic, cultural or social concern. ...

Giurgola was educated at the University of Rome La Sapienza, received a master's degree in architecture from Columbia University, and has been a partner in Philadelphia firm Mitchell/Giurgola Architects since 1958. He has been a professor at Cornell and at the University of Pennsylvania, then at Columbia, before becoming chair of the Columbia architectural department in 1966. He was awarded the AIA Gold Medal in 1982. University of Rome La Sapienza (Università della Sapienza) is the most ancient university of Rome, Italy. ... Columbia University is a private university in New York City. ... Philadelphia is a village located in Jefferson County, New York. ... For other uses of the name Cornell, see Cornell (disambiguation). ... The University of Pennsylvania (commonly referred to as Penn or UPenn, although the former is the preferred and recognized nickname of the University) is a private, nonsectarian, research university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ... The AIA Gold Medal is awarded by the American Institute of Architects conferred by the national AIA Board of Directors in recognition of a significant body of work of lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture. ...

The first important building of Mitchell/Giurgola was the Wright Brothers Memorial Visitor Center (1957) for the US National Park Service, a building that brought them national attention for three reasons. It was among the first of those NPS visitors' centers, which became an building type unto itself. The design was consonant with a certain aesthetic preoccupation with aviation, flight, technology and space travel of the time, the same Zeitgeist that produced Saarinen's TWA Terminal at Kennedy International Airport. And it was seen as a break with strict modernism tenants in its respect for the site and the program, as opposed to what Guirgola called "the imposition of abstract forms". The National Park Service (NPS) is the United States Federal Government agency that deals with all National Parks, many National Monuments, and other conservation properties with various designations. ... Zeitgeist is originally a German expression, which means the spirit (Geist) of the time (Zeit). It denotes the intellectual and cultural climate of an era. ... Eero Saarinen (August 20, 1910, in Kirkkonummi, Finland – September 1, 1961, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States) was a Finnish-American architect of the 20th century famous for his simple sweeping and arching shapes. ... John F. Kennedy International Airport (IATA Airport Code: JFK, ICAO Airport Code: KJFK) is the main international airport in New York City, and is one of the largest airports in the world. ... Le Corbusiers Villa Savoye, 1929-30: The modern style is noted for its rigorous geometrical forms. ...

In Philadelphia Guirgola had formed a relationship with Louis I. Kahn, who held simliar views. In April 1961 the architectural critic Jan Rowan grouped Guirgola, Kahn, Robert Venturi, George Qualls, Robert Geddes and others into "The Philadelphia School". Guirgola has published several books on Kahn's work and philosophy. Louis Isadore Kahn (February 20, 1901 - March 17, 1974) practised as an architect in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and taught architecture there and at Yale. ... Robert Venturi (June 25, 1925 -) is a Philadelphia-based architect who worked under Eero Saarinen and Louis Kahn before forming his own firm with John Rauch. ...

After winning the 1980 international competition for the landmark Australian Parliament House in Canberra, Guirgola moved to Australia and practices there.

Major projects:

• United Fund Headquarters Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1971)
• Columbus East High School, Columbus, Indiana (1972)
• Lang Music Building, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania (1973)
• Tredyffrin Public Library, Strafford, Pennsylvania (1976)
• Life Sciences Building, on the campus of Columbia University (1977)
• Australian Parliament House, Canberra (1981-1988)
• INA Tower, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Layfayette Place (now Swissotel), Boston, Massachusetts (1985)
• Casa Thomas Jefferson, Brasilia, Brazil
• Penn Mutual Tower, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania