Louis D. Astorino (born 1948) is an architect in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and the first American architect to design a building in the
Vatican.[1]
Biography
Astorino was born in Pittsburgh to a family of mixed Italian and
Serbian origin. His Serbian cousins influenced Astorino's upbringing and career choice.[2] He received a bachelor's degree from
Penn State College of Arts and Architecture in 1969.[3] In 1972, he started his own firm, L. D. Astorino & Associates.[4] It was later named Astorino.[5]
Astorino was introduced to the international stage in 1996 when
Gateway Clipper Fleet founder
John E. Connelly introduced him as a prospective architect for the
Domus Sanctae Marthae that
Pope John Paul II wanted to build to house cardinals during the selection of popes. Connelly was offering to finance the project. Astorino's design was rejected but he was kept on as supervisory architect. He later designed the adjoining Chapel of the Holy Spirit.[6] Astorino's firm designed the new Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, completed in 2009 at a cost of $622 million.[7]
In December 2014, Astorino's firm was acquired by CannonDesign, which is based in Buffalo, New York.[8]
Astorino, who has a brother Dennis, is of
Serbian origin through his mother.[citation needed]