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The acclaimed Latvian-American architect Gunnar Birkerts (Gunars Birkerts) has passed away, the Latvian National Library's marketing manager Anna Muhka confirmed to LETA.

Birkerts was born on January 7, 1925 in Latvia, but had to flee the country in 1943. He traveled to the United States after graduating from the University of Stuttgart in 1949.

In the United States, Birkerts worked for several architecture and design firms. In 1954, he won the Young Designer of the Year Award from the Akron Museum of Art. In the 1960s, Birkerts also worked as a professor and guest lecturer at several universities.

Birkerts was an honorary professor at the University of Michigan, University of Oklahoma and the University of Illinois, and the Architect-In-Residence at the American Academy in Rome. He was a member of the Latvian Union of Architects, honorary member of the Latvian Academy of Sciences and a foreign member of the Riga Technical University.

Birkerts has designed many notable buildings, including the Federal Reserve Bank in Minneapolis, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and many others.

In Latvia, Birkerts is best known for designing the Latvian National Museum of Art, also known as the Palace of Light.