Jazz son
Ricardo Merrill Scofidio was born on April 16, 1935 in New York City, Earle and June (Matthews) Scofidio. He has a brother, Basilio. His father was a jazz musician who played saxophone and clarinet, and he was black, “but he insisted on dying days, he was Italian,” Mr. Scofidio told Arthur Lubow an article in the 2003 New York Times magazine.
He added: “When I was a kid, I was told that I couldn’t see it.”
He attended Cooper Union School of Architecture, then attended Columbia University, and received his bachelor’s degree in 1960. He began teaching in the Cooper League in 1965.
In 1955, he married Allana Jeanne Deserio, and he had four children. They divorced in 1979. In addition to sons Ian and Gino, he has two other sons Marco and Dana. Six grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. He lives in Manhattan.
By the late 1970s, Mr. Scofidio was not satisfied with his marriage and career. He said trying to practice architecture, in 2003, he spent “flying more time with clients” rather than design.
“It was a big frustration,” he added. “That was when I realized I had to change my life.”
After Ms. Diller joined his architecture studio, he made a change. The romantic entanglement was delayed because “she is a student and I respect that.” But after she spent a semester thinking, they moved in together. “It means giving up everything and starting over,” he said. “It’s like shedding skin.”
In the early days, Diller + Scofidio was known for designing drama and dance backgrounds and installation art. In 1993, the couple installed a screen on Times Square, with a woman’s mouth watching in extreme close-ups, muttering to passers-by: “Hey, do you want to buy a ticket to heaven? Do you want to buy a new lifestyle?”
