Adolfo Miralles 1932-2025

Adolfo was born on September 20, 1932 to Jaime and Elena Miralles in Buenos Aires, Argentina. After Adolfo graduated from the Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires in 1951, he went on to study architecture at the Facultad de Arquiectura de la Universidad de Buenos Aires.

While a student he and his girlfriend, fellow architecture student Maria (Manja) van Ditmar, witnessed students being arrested by the repressive Perón government. Together they decided to move to the United States to finish their education. Both got accepted to the University of California and moved to Berkeley in 1955. In 1956 Adolfo married Maria and they graduated together with BAs in Architecture in 1957.

Adolfo and Maria moved to Los Angeles where he worked for the renowned architect Richard Neutra. Later he worked with the esteemed planner Robert E. Alexander, FAIA and architect Robert Kennard, FAIA for several years before starting his own firm Miralles Associates with Maria as partner in 1972. The firm was located in Altadena where his family had moved the year before.

Adolfo and Maria had seven children, Carlos, Maria Andrea, Francisco, Marianne, Mario, Pablo and Diego.

As the lead designer at Miralles Associates, Adolfo did work for a variety of commercial and institutional clients. His important educational facilities include the Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School in Los Angeles, and the Science Bldg and campus renovation at John Muir High School in Pasadena, the alma mater of all seven of his children.

He will be most remembered for his work in transportation, especially the Lake Avenue Metro Station in Pasadena and the Hollywood and Vine Metro Station in Los Angeles. In 1995 Adolfo was made a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects.

In addition to his work and his family, Adolfo was a passionate and tireless worker for humanitarian causes in his communities of Altadena and Pasadena. He was a co-founder of the Golden State Youth Soccer League. He served five years on the Altadena Library Board, the Pasadena Arts Council, and volunteered with the Pasadena Youth Symphony and Pasadena Unified School District.

In 1993 he received a Special Award from the Sierra Club as a leader in the fight to limit the impact of the La Viña housing development in the foothills of Altadena.

In 2006, Adolfo retired and spent his time playing piano, tinkering with broken electronics, model building and playing with his ever growing list of grand and great grandchildren. He survived nine cancer diagnoses in his later years.

In 2024 Adolfo and Maria moved to a small house he designed in Acton, California where he passed peacefully.