James Rossant

• Name — James Rossant • Birth Name — James Stephan Rossant • Born — 17 August 1928 • Birthplace — New York City, U.S. • Died — 15 December 2009 • Place of death — Germonville, Condeau, Orne, France • Education — Harvard Graduate School of Design • Children — 4 • Practice — Mayer & Whittlesey • Significant Buildings — Butterfield House, Ramaz School, Two Charles Center • Significant Projects — Myriad Botanical Gardens, U.S. Navy Memorial • Significant Design — Reston, Virginia, Lower Manhattan, Dodoma • Website — jamesrossant.com

• Illustration — Gund Hall, home of Harvard GSD, where Rossant studied architecture under Walter Gropius and others Born in New York City, Rossant grew up in the Bronx, where he attended the Bronx High School of Science. Rossant's brother was journalist Murray Rossant. He studied architecture at Columbia University, the University of Florida, and Harvard University's Graduate School of Design (under Walter Gropius).

• Illustration — Lower Manhattan pictured (1931), which Rossant and others made new master urban plans in the 1960s After the war, he worked in Italy with Gino Valle (designer of the Cifra 3 clock). In 1957, Rossant joined Mayer & Whittlesey as architect and town planner. His first large design project was the Butterfield House apartment house in Greenwich Village (1962). He also worked on the Lower Manhattan Plan. For Whittlesey & Conklin, he developed the master plan for Reston, Virginia. • Illustration — Lake Anne Plaza in Reston, designed by James Rossant and William Conklin For Conklin & Rossant, his work included the Crystal Bridge of the Myriad Botanical Gardens (Oklahoma City), the Ramaz School (New York City), Two Charles Center (Baltimore), and the U.S. Navy Memorial at Market Square (Washington, DC). • Illustration — Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory at the Myriad Botanical Gardens in Oklahoma City, designed by Rossant and Conklin For 3R Architects, his work included Tanzania's new capital at Dodoma under the sponsorship of the United Nations. He served on New York City's Public Design Commission (formerly the Art Commission of the City of New York). On November 2, 1971, Rossant appeared with Ada Louise Huxtable on the television show Firing Line on discuss "Why Aren't Good Buildings Being Built?" He appeared posthumously from television clips and his wife in interviews as part of Rebekah Wingert-Jabi's 2015 documentary Another Way of Living: The Story of Reston, VA.

Rossant painted all his life and exhibited frequently (last in Paris, 2009). His sculpture includes work publicly accessible on Washington Plaza along Lake Anne in Reston. He published Cities in the Sky in 2009, based on one of his longest series of architectural paintings. He also illustrated several cookbooks by his wife.

Rossant married Colette Palacci while serving in the army in Europe; the couple moved back the US in the mid-1950s. The couple had four children. He died at Germonville, Condeau, in the Orne portion of Le Perche, Lower Normandy, from complications of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Rossant was survived by his wife Colette Rossant (food critic, cookbook author, memoirist); children Marianne (educator), Juliette (author and journalist), Cecile (author and architect), and Tomas (architect); and eight grandchildren.

James Rossant wrote a memoir which he published privately and shared with members of his family. Writings: * * • Articles (various) Drawings: * * *