Ulrik Plesner

Ulrik Plesner (1930–2016) was a Modernist architect born in Florence, Italy to a Scottish painter and a Danish historian. His grand-uncle Ulrik Adolph Plesner (1861–1933) and his stepfather Kaare Klint (1888–1954) were both noted Danish architects. He studied architecture at the Royal Danish Academy, and his work drew significant inspiration from South Asian architectural styles. He spent the early part of his career in Sri Lanka, where his collaborations with the architect Geoffrey Bawa between 1958 and 1967 were key in the development of the country’s Tropical Modernist architecture. He founded his own firm, Plesner Architects, in Jerusalem in 1972, undertaking prominent projects across Israel, such as the Bet Gabriel cultural centre and buildings in Ariel Sharon Park. He served as Jerusalem’s city architect in 1974–75; and as the director of Sri Lanka’s Mahaweli Architectural Unit in 1983, which was responsible for large-scale urban planning along the Mahaweli Ganga river.