Century Lives

What is it about architecture that celebrates longevity?

The world’s most famous architect, Frank Gehry, was actively at work until his death at age 96, finishing his Guggenheim Museum in Abu Dhabi and still designing the greatest works of his career. Masters Frank Lloyd Wright and Phillip Johnson also worked into their 90s and were even more prolific than Gehry.

In this special series, Century Lives introduces Victoria Newhouse, a renowned architectural historian. At age 87, Victoria chats with her contemporaries: the late Frank Gehry, Rem Koolhaas, Moshe Safdie, Peter Eisenman, and Raj Rewal—all renowned architects and all in their 80s and 90s.

In this episode, Victoria Newhouse talks with 93-year-old architect, theorist and professor Peter Eisenman, who holds a place in architectural history as one of the New York Five, and the founder of Deconstructivism. He’s the recipient of the Gold Medal from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. And he has made a lifelong commitment to teaching, serving on the faculty of Yale, Princeton, Harvard, Cooper Union and Cambridge. He now teaches at Cornell University in Manhattan, where he plans to adapt his newest course on the genealogy of architecture as the subject of his 28th book.

What is it about architecture that celebrates longevity?

The world’s most famous architect, Frank Gehry, was actively at work until his death at age 96, finishing his Guggenheim Museum in Abu Dhabi and still designing the greatest works of his career. Masters Frank Lloyd Wright and Phillip Johnson also worked into their 90s and were even more prolific than Gehry.

In this special series, Century Lives introduces Victoria Newhouse, a renowned architectural historian. At age 87, Victoria chats with her contemporaries: the late Frank Gehry, Rem Koolhaas, Moshe Safdie, Peter Eisenman, and Raj Rewal—all renowned architects and all in their 80s and 90s.

In this episode, Victoria Newhouse talks with 90-year-old Raj Rewal: one of the most distinguished Indian architects of all time. He is the architect of Delhi’s most important Modern buildings and with many masterpieces published in the History of World Architecture. His work, recently displayed at an exhibition of Post-Colonial architecture at MoMA, is displayed in the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale. Raj talks about his latest creative passion – miniature paintings and drawings inspired by historical Indian works of art.

What is it about architecture that celebrates longevity?

The world’s most famous architect, Frank Gehry, was actively at work until his death at age 96, finishing his Guggenheim Museum in Abu Dhabi and still designing the greatest works of his career. Masters Frank Lloyd Wright and Phillip Johnson also worked into their 90s and were even more prolific than Gehry.

In this special series, Century Lives introduces Victoria Newhouse, a renowned architectural historian. At age 87, Victoria chats with her contemporaries: the late Frank Gehry, Rem Koolhaas, Moshe Safdie, Peter Eisenman, and Raj Rewal—all renowned architects and all in their 80s and 90s. 

In this episode, Victoria Newhouse talks with 87-year-old Israeli-Canadian-American architect Moshe Safdie, who remains unstoppable with new projects from Singapore to Bentonville, Arkansas. He’s the recipient of the Gold Medal, the highest honor, from both the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and the American Institute of Architects. Moshe discusses his Marina Bay Sands complex in Singapore, where expansion is about to begin on what’s become Singapore’s national landmark. The huge hotel’s three towers include a casino, a conference center, a shopping mall, an art museum, and a spectacular rooftop infinity pool that overlooks the scenic bay.

What is it about architecture that celebrates longevity?

The world’s most famous architect, Frank Gehry, was actively at work until his death at age 96, finishing his Guggenheim Museum in Abu Dhabi and still designing the greatest works of his career. Masters Frank Lloyd Wright and Phillip Johnson also worked into their 90s and were even more prolific than Gehry.

In this special series, Century Lives introduces Victoria Newhouse, a renowned architectural historian. At age 87, Victoria chats with her contemporaries: the late Frank Gehry, Rem Koolhaas, Moshe Safdie, Peter Eisenman, and Raj Rewal—all renowned architects and all in their 80s and 90s.

In episode 1 , Victoria Newhouse talks with Frank Gehry in one of the final interviews of his life. He died just a few months after this conversation, at the age of 96. Frank and Victoria had a friendship spanning more than 40 years, traveling the globe together to visit his buildings. Frank discusses his $1 billion Guggenheim Museum about to open in Abu Dhabi, and other pivotal moments in his extraordinary career.

Look around you: Our communities are filled with people in their 60s, 70s, 80s, even 90s, doing things that would have been unthinkable at their age a generation ago. By 2030, the entire Baby Boomer generation will be 65 and older.  By mid-century, more than 80 million Americans will be over the age of 65.  By any prevailing definition, the United States will be a country full of older adults.  But what does it mean to be old in an era of much longer life?   

Welcome to Century Lives: The New Old, from the Stanford Center on Longevity! I’m your host, Ken Stern. In this season, we interview six extraordinary people who are challenging the way we think about aging—and inspiring new ways we can live our supersized lives.

Today: Margaret Cho. She is a Korean-American comedian, actress, musician, advocate, and entrepreneur. Most of us know her from her stand-up, where she pokes fun at topics like race, sexuality, body positivity, and politics. Decades after her network debut, she’s still using comedy as activism.