Gene Kohn

He is a co-founder of KPF, architects of buildings worldwide, including One Vanderbilt, rising near Grand Central. “It’s very tall at over 1,400 feet, but it’s not the tallest building in New York, and we weren’t trying to make it the tallest,” he tells the Center for Architecture. “We didn’t want to get into a height war.” And yet KPF created 7 of the world’s 10 tallest buildings. A pretty paradox. Music: Hubby Jenkins.