Ira Rakatansky


Ira Rakatansky was a modernist architect from, and based in, Rhode Island. He studied modern architecture under Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Life and work

Ira Rakatansky was born in Rhode Island to Russian emigrants to America, Benjamin and Martha Rakatansky. In 1942 Rakatansky received a Diploma in Architecture from Rhode Island School of Design. He entered the architecture school at Harvard in 1943. In 1945 and 1946 he received his Bachelor of Architecture and his Master of Architecture degrees from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Rakatansky was awarded the Wheelwright Fellowship to work on his master's degree at Harvard.
In 1946 Rakatansky established an independent practice within the office of architect Samuel M. Morino. In 1948 he established a collaborative practice with engineer Samuel Lerner before establishing his own practice in Providence, Rhode Island in 1949.
In 1965 he was president of AIA Rhode Island, a chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Chronology of work

Works built: