The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. Photo: J. Albert Diaz

Architect César Pelli, known internationally for his innovative skyscrapers and in Miami for the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, died at 92.

Pelli, who received hundreds of awards for his work and numerous honorary degrees, designed some of the tallest buildings in the world, including the 88-story Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Petronas held the record for the world's tallest buildings from the late 1990s to the early 2000s and still are the tallest twin towers. His focus at the time was on office towers, including One Canada Square in London and the Plaza Tower in Costa Mesa, California.

After that, Pelli designed many cultural and civic buildings, including the Arsht Center, Miami's signature theater, music and dance venue.

The center has several halls on Biscayne Boulevard between Northeast 13th and 14th streets north of downtown. There are the 2,400-seat Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House, the 2,200-seat John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall, the 300-seat black box space and the 270-seat Peacock Rehearsal Studio.

The historic Sears tower was incorporated into the center as the site of the Café at Books & Books bookstore and restaurant.

Other notable Pelli buildings include the retail and office complex World Financial Center, also called Brookfield Place, in New York; the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo; San Francisco's tallest building, the Salesforce Tower, completed last year; and the 14-acre Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, California.

Pelli was born in Argentina, where he completed his initial architectural studies at the Universidad Nacional de Tucumán and started his career designing low-cost housing in Argentina. He moved to the U.S. in 1952 and obtained a master's degree from the University of Illinois School of Architecture.

Pelli served as dean of the Yale School of Architecture and started his own company, Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects in New Haven, Connecticut. He was named one of the 10 most influential living American architects by the American Institute of Architects in 1991.

Pelli, who died at home in New Haven, is survived by his two sons, Denis and Rafael.