The New York Academy of Sciences is saddened by the loss of noted architect Hugh Hardy. Mr. Hardy will best be remembered by the Academy as the designer of our headquarters at 7 World Trade Center and its many unique features. Of particular note is the full use of the trapezoidal shape of the floor space that reflects not only the design of the building itself but the original Lower Manhattan grid that combines a north-south orientation, with the original Dutch orientation based on the Hudson River. It was Mr. Hardy’s team who designed the DNA carpet in our main auditorium, the digitized trompe l'oeil version of the French 19th century painting of Galileo’s Trial Before the Pope in our executive office hallway, as well as the wall of flowers mural in primary colors that brightens the general Academy business offices.
Mr. Hardy was involved with many of New York’s most iconic landmarks including the restoration of Radio City Music Hall and New Victory and New Amsterdam theatres near Times Square, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music, as well as many notable buildings in other cities such as the Denver Performing Arts Center, the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and the Greensboro Performing Arts Center in North Carolina. His book Theater of Architecture looks at 20 projects in New York City and beyond and explores the various aspects that influenced their respective designs.