Carlos Diniz; Known for Architectural Renderings

Carlos Diniz, an architectural renderer who worked with many of the world’s most celebrated architects, died July 18 in Santa Barbara of complications from heart failure. He was 72.

Diniz was best known for his drawings of large-scale, high-profile developments, such as New York’s World Trade Center and London’s Canary Wharf.

His best drawings were meticulous, often colorful representations of a building and its setting. But he was also capable of more stylized work, such as a dark, brooding ink drawing he made in 1961 for the Bank of America headquarters in San Francisco, reminiscent of the 1920s-era futuristic drawings of Hugh Ferris.

Born in Phoenix on Oct. 16, 1928, Diniz studied industrial design and architecture at the Art Center College of Design, which then was in Los Angeles but later moved to Pasadena. In 1952 he joined Santa Monica-based Victor Gruen Associates.

With Gruen’s encouragement, Diniz left to launch his own rendering office five years later. Locally, his projects included drawings of Craig Ellwood’s Art Center building and Cesar Pelli’s Pacific Design Center. Diniz also worked with Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta, Boston-based Ben Thompson and Santa Monica’s Frank O. Gehry.

Diniz is survived by his wife, Jane; children Paolo Diniz, Marla Rizzuti, Ian Espinoza and Zapata Espinoza; and sister Nina Wysocki.