Paul-Philippe Cret was the architect who designed the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA).

He was born Oct. 23, 1876, in Lyon, France, and enrolled in the architecture school at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts (French for “School of Fine Arts”) in Lyon in 1893. While there, he honed his technique in the classical Beaux Arts style and took home the Prix de Paris (“Paris Prize”) scholarship in 1897.

In 1903, Cret accepted a job as assistant professor of architectural design at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Architecture. He would stay there until 1937, though took a number of commissions on the side.

In 1914, Cret was visiting France when World War I broke out. He enlisted and was awarded the Croix de Guerre (“Cross of War”) and made a member of the Légion d’honneur (“Legion of Honor”) in 1925 for his service.

After the war, Cret returned to the United States, where he was appointed consulting architect for the American Battle Monuments Commission. Among his works in this role was the World War I Chateau-Thierry American Monument (dedicated in 1937) in France. In 1940, he joined the U.S. Commission on the Fine Arts.

Among his post-war commissions was the DIA, which shares design similarities to another significant job of his, the Pan American Union Building in Washington, D.C., which he designed with Albert Kelsey. That building, opened in 1910, is currently the home of the Organization of American States. He also designed exterior work for the Federal Reserve Board Building and bas relief panels for the Folger Shakespeare Library and others.

He died Sept. 8, 1945, and was buried at Woodlands Cemetery in Philadelphia.