#MeToo Claims Toppled Architect Richard Meier. Except They Didn’t
In the aftermath of five published complaints and one reported settlement, his firm, Richard Meier & Partners, did not change its name or lose any clients. And in the end, although it was announced he would “step back from day-to-day activities,” Meier is still working.
When the New York Times published sexual harassment allegations against the star architect Richard Meier in March 2018, his namesake firm was on the verge of completing several major projects. It fell to leadership at the company to deliver the bad news to the owners of those projects. “We called them up, we told them the story,” says Bernhard Karpf, managing principal of Richard Meier & Partners Architects LLP. “We said that there was this thing coming out in the New York Times and that [we] wanted them to be aware of it, whatever’s true or not true.”
Meier immediately announced he would take a six-month leave, issuing a statement that included the sentence “While our recollections may differ, I sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended by my behavior.” Soon after, Cornell University announced it would refuse a major monetary gift from Meier.