Who

The founder of H3 Hardy Collaborations, Hardy is an architect known for his renovations of historic pieces of architecture.

Backstory

Following a stint in the employ of Finnish architecture god Eero Saarinen, the Spanish-born and Westchester-raised Hardy teamed up with architects Malcolm Holzman and Norman Pfeiffer in 1967 to found the firm Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer. Over the course of 25 years at HHP, Hardy made his name restoring classic buildings like the Viceroy Theater in Times Square, the Glimmerglass Opera in Cooperstown, and the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis to their glory of yore. He's also been involved with a number of notable restaurants over the years, too: famed restaurateur Joe Baum hired Hardy to design the Rainbow Room and Windows on the World. In the 1990s, Hardy teamed up with David Rockwell to carry out a well-publicized renovation of Radio City Music Hall. Other notable recent projects include the Atlantic Terminal mall in downtown Brooklyn and a restoration of midtown's Central Synagogue after a fire gutted the landmark in 1998. In 2004, Hardy split from his longtime business partners. He's since been flying solo at H3 Hardy Associates.

Of note

Hardy may be a septuagenarian, but that hasn't slowed him down much. In 2005, he unveiled his well-publicized restoration of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. He also recently finished up his most high-profile residential assignment to date, the 17-story condo building 4 West 21st Street, developed by Daniel Brodsky. These days he's working with LA-based starchitect Frank Gehry on a design for the Theatre for a New Audience, a 299-seat venue at the Brooklyn Art Museum. He's also designing a new theater for City Opera, which will feature 1,800 seats and will cost $350 million.

Personal

Hardy's wife, Tiziana, is a native of Venice and an interior designer. Hardy has two kids, Sebastian and Penelope ("Penny"), who runs a marketing/web design company. The Hardys live on Broadway in Noho.