Antoine Samuel Predock (/ˈpriːdɒk/PREE-dok; June 24, 1936 – March 2, 2024) was an American architect based in
Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was the principal of Antoine Predock Architect PC, the studio he founded in 1967.
Predock first gained national attention with the
La Luz community in
Albuquerque, New Mexico. The first national design competition he won was held by the Nelson Fine Arts Center at
Arizona State University. Predock's work includes the Turtle Creek House, built in 1993 for bird enthusiasts along a prehistoric trail in Texas, the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at
Skidmore College, and a new ballpark for the
San Diego Padres, the
Petco Park. He also worked on international sites such as the
National Palace Museum Southern Branch in Southern Taiwan and the
Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Predock said his design was highly influenced by his connection to New Mexico.[1]
Early life
Antoine Samuel Predock was born in
Lebanon, Missouri, on June 24, 1936.[2] He considered himself an Albuquerque native, though he did not move there until college.[3] Predock credits his mother, who had majored in liberal arts in college, for his artistic inclination, and his father, an engineer, for his technical interests.[4]
Predock first attended the
University of Missouri in
Columbia School of Engineering,[5] then the
University of New Mexico, where he studied engineering, emulating his father. Although he was a successful and academically inclined student, Predock found little fulfillment in his studies in engineering. Upon completing a technical drawing course taught by Don Schlegel, an architecture professor at UNM, Predock began to reevaluate his career choices. After a short hiatus from academic life, he returned to UNM at age 21 to study architecture. Schlegel acted as an advisor to Predock throughout the latter's time in the UNM architecture program. Eventually, Schlegel told Predock that he had taken advantage of all that UNM had to offer and encouraged him to apply elsewhere. Predock did, and was accepted to
Columbia University, where he obtained his B.A. in architecture.[6]
Career
Predock established his first office in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1967. Other offices were established in California and
Taipei.[1][7]
Predock and his firm planned, developed, and collaborated on over 100 buildings and projects. They were featured in over 60 exhibitions, 250 books, and over 1,000 publications.[8] He also held various teaching positions at at least 14 universities, in the United States and elsewhere.[9]
Personal life and death
Predock's first marriage, to Jennifer Masley, ended in divorce.[2] He married his second wife, Constance DeJong, in 2004.[2] Predock was the father of two sons.[2]