Thom Mayne presented a keynote address “Nothing stands alone” on the interconnectivity of structures with their function, users, surroundings and environment at the 3rd Holcim Forum 2010 “Re-inventing Construction” held in Mexico City.

Thom Mayne founded Morphosis in 1972 and spent the early part of his career designing small experimental projects before rising to prominence in the 1990s after winning several large public commissions. His buildings, often clad in sheets of textured metal and concrete, are described as having the quality of being unfinished and in motion.

He has remained active in the academic world throughout his career. He was a tenured Professor at the University of California Los Angeles Architecture and Urban Design (UCLA A.UD) 1993-2019.

His prominent built works include the New Academic Building, Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York City; the Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, CA; Diamond Ranch High School in Pomona, CA; the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) District 7 Headquarters in Los Angeles; the Hypo Alpe-Adria Center in Klagenfurt, Austria; Giant Group Campus in Shanghai, China and the Sun Tower in Seoul, South Korea.

He was recipient of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Gold Medal in 2013, and was elected an International Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) for his services to international architecture in 2014.

He studied architecture at the University of Southern California (1969) and the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (1987).