Hejduk, John Quentin

▪ 2001

      American architect and educator (b. July 19, 1929, New York, N.Y.—d. July 3, 2000, New York), attracted attention with austere designs that were often intended to evoke dark psychological states or to explore the relationship between public and private space. After studying at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, New York City, and the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, Hejduk earned his M.A. from Harvard University's Graduate School of Design in 1953. He taught briefly at the University of Texas at Austin before returning to New York City in 1956 to work for a number of leading architects, including I.M. Pei. Hejduk began teaching at Cooper Union in 1964; in 1975 he became a dean of the school, a position he held until his retirement in 2000. Among his notable works were the Berlin Tower and Garden Apartments (1988) and his redesign of Cooper Union's Foundation Building (1975). The bulk of Hejduk's work, however, consisted of theoretical projects, which he executed in the form of intricate, poetic drawings. Hejduk's drawings were collected in 21 published books, including Mask of Medusa: Works 1947–1983 (1985).

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