Greek architect Elia Zenghelis, one of the co-founders of international architecture firm OMA, has passed away at the age of 89.

Elia Zenghelis, who was also an influential architectural educator and director of Gigantes Zenghelis Architects, died on August 30 2026. Further details have not been made public.

The architect was best-known as a founder of OMA, which he established in 1975 with Rem Koolhaas, Madelon Vriesendorp and Zoe Zenghelis.

Zenghelis (second from right) is one of the four founders of OMA. Photo courtesy of OMA Archives

In a statement shared with Dezeen, Koolhaas said OMA would not exist "without his exuberant talent".

"Elia Zenghelis, my teacher, has died," wrote Koolhaas.

"Today it is hard to imagine the state of euphoria about architecture and about what architecture can do that made him a great example, inspiration and partner in crime," the statement continued.

"His falsetto singing in our small New York living room, bent over a drawing board, designing at 2AM, will remain proof that architecture can make you happy. The generosity he invested – his entire life – in other people's talent is monumental. Our connection at a crucial moment generated the insights and energy to launch our project."

Zenghelis established AA's rulebook

Elia Zenghelis was born in Athens in 1937. He began his career in architecture after graduating from the Architectural Association (AA) in London in 1961.

Shortly after, he began working at Douglas Stephen and Partners, where he worked until 1971 while simultaneously teaching at the AA.

The architect, who taught at the AA until 1987, is cited as one of the key people behind the AA's rulebook and procedural guidelines, and for encouraging more radical, avant-garde discourse at the school.

Read: AA council has put the school "in serious jeopardy" by dismissing director and should resign, says Elia Zenghelis

Four years after leaving Douglas Stephen and Partners, Zenghelis set up OMA, where he led the London office and later its Athens branch.

Elia Zenghelis and his co-founder Koolhaas are known to have shared an interest in Manhattan, with many of the studio's early projects being speculative conceptual projects set in the boroughs.

Among OMA's projects strongly influenced by Elia Zenghelis are the design for the Dutch Parliament Extension in 1978, and the competition entry for the Parc de la Villette in Paris in 1982, which Bernard Tschumi ultimately won.

He also led the design of the Checkpoint Charlie Apartments in Berlin, which were completed in 1990.

Architectural education was his central focus

Elia Zenghelis left OMA in 1987 to establish Gigantes Zenghelis Architects with architect Eleni Gigantes, completing projects such as the Ashikita House of Youth in Japan in 1998.

However, over the course of his career, working in architectural education gradually became his central focus.

Read: OMA co-founder Madelon Vriesendorp wins 2025 Soane Medal for architecture

Following his time at the AA, he succeeded James Stirling as Baukunst Professor at the Kunstakademie in Düsseldorf in 1989 – a post he held until 2002.

He also taught at Berlage Institute, Yale, EPFL and ETH Zurich, amongst other leading architecture schools.

In 2000, this led him to be awarded the Annie Spink Award for Excellence in Education by the Royal Institute of British Architects, and he was later appointed Professor Emeritus at the University of Thessaly in Greece in 2009.

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