AREW event explores architecture's impact on skylines.

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The Association of Real Estate Women's (AREW) first luncheon of the new season, Tuesday, October 2, at Club 101, 101 Park Avenue at 40th Street, will feature one the world's most respected architects, Cesar Pelli, FAIA, in conversation with Charles S. Cohen, a leading real estate developer and owner who has carved a special niche in the industry with his ability to reposition and maximize the potential of distinctly located Class A office buildings and design centers in the United States.

The event begins with networking at 11:30 a.m. followed by the luncheon and program until 2 p.m. There is no charge for AREW members; cost for non-members is $110. Reservations may be made at www.arew.org.

Mr. Pelli and Mr. Cohen are ideal partners to discuss the relevance of great architecture and how it can create a ROI for a developer, enhance market positioning, increase a building's prominence and contribute to the enhancement of a city and its skyline.

They are currently working together on the renovation and re-skinning of 475 Park Avenue South in New York City and the newest addition to the Pacific Designer Center, The Red Building in Los Angeles. Scheduled for 2009 completion, The Red Building is the last of a triad (the first being The Blue Tower, the multi-use Pacific Design Center; and second being The Green Tower office building) previously designed by Mr. Pelli with Gruen Associates and owned and managed by Mr. Cohen.

Born in Argentina, Cesar Pelli earned a Diploma in Architecture from the University of Tucuman. He first worked in the offices of Eero Saarinen serving as Project Designer for several buildings, including the TWA Terminal at JFK Airport in New York and Morse and Stiles Colleges at Yale University. He was Director of Design at DMJM and, later, Partner for Design at Gruen Associates, both in Los Angeles. Throughout these years, he designed several award-winning projects, including the San Bernardino City Hall in San Bernardino, California; the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles, California; and, the United States Embassy in Tokyo, Japan.

In 1977, Mr. Pelli became Dean of the Yale University School of Architecture and also founded Cesar Pelli & Associates. He resigned his post as Dean in 1984 but continues to lecture on architecture. Since the firm's establishment, Mr. Pelli has personally originated and directed the design of each of its projects. In 2005, the firm was renamed Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects.

Mr. Pelli believes buildings should be responsible citizens and that a building's aesthetic qualities should grow from specific characteristics such as its location, construction technology, and purpose.

In search of the most appropriate response to each project, his designs have covered a wide range of solutions and materials.

In 1995, the American Institute of Architects awarded Mr. Pelli the Gold Medal, in recognition of a lifetime of distinguished achievement in architecture. In 2004, Mr. Pelli was awarded the Aga Khan Award for Architecture for the design of the Patronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Charles S. Cohen is one of the rare breed of developers with a vision that is clearly and ultimately defined by design. As owner, president and chief executive officer of Cohen Brothers Realty Corporation (CBRC), he has achieved an enviable national reputation for his exceptional business acumen, innovation and creativity.

An entrepreneurial real estate executive, Mr. Cohen is one of the country's legendary commercial real estate owners with a portfolio of over 14 million square feet of prime properties. Beyond his mastery of business transactions, he has brought his impeccable--and innate--taste and style to a wide range of high-profile projects, from office skyscrapers to corporate parks to his newest passion Design Centers.

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Mr. Cohen's remarkable revitalization of the D & D (Decoration & Design) building in New York City was hailed as an unequivocal triumph.

In repositioning this once proud specialty building into a true showcase property, Mr. Cohen turned a seemingly outdated structure into the premier luxury home furnishings center in the country. He has carried that success across the country to the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles; to Texas at the Decorative Center of Houston; and to Florida at the Design Center of the Americas (DCOTA) in Fort Lauderdale.

While breathing new life into commercial properties, Mr. Cohen has essentially refined the role of the "re-developer" through examples such as his remarkable transformation of the vacant 39-story million square foot former Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield office building in Manhattan into a fully leased Class A office tower, and the successful repositioning and redevelopment of the world class Manhattan office building at 623 Fifth Avenue, formerly known as Swiss Bank Tower, into a dynamic multi-tenanted corporate center for elite financial firms and service providers.