( CNN ) Michael Graves , an American architect and designer , died Thursday at his home in Princeton , New Jersey , of natural causes , according to his firm . The award-winning architect died `` suddenly and peacefully '' from natural causes , according to a statement from Michael Graves Architecture and Design . He was 80 . Graves was one of the most revered contemporary architects , known for his postmodern designs , and won hundreds of prizes in his field . He started his practice in 1964 , which designed over 400 buildings worldwide . Architecture critics hailed him as one of the original American voices in architecture as he has designed hundreds of buildings for corporations , governments , foundations and universities . Among his noted works are The Portland Building in Oregon , The Humana Building in Louisville , Kentucky , the NCAA Hall of Champions in Indiana , and the Team Disney building in Burbank , California . He has been praised for making buildings functional as well as aesthetically pleasing . For many Americans , Graves might be best known as the designer of household items . One of his best known designs was the Alessi stainless steel teakettle with a red bird at the tip that sang when water had boiled . Graves helped propel Target and its collaborations with designers to massive popularity . His line for Target included practical items from tea kettles and drying racks to whimsical kitchen equipment like an avocado scooper and large bamboo salad tongs . His Target line came with a simple , idealistic premise : `` Good design should be affordable to all . '' His designs were also sold at JCPenney and Black & Decker . He was awarded the National Medal of the Arts , as well as the Driehaus Prize for Classical Architecture . Born in Indianapolis , Graves received his training at the University of Cincinnati and Harvard . In 1962 , he began teaching at Princeton University . In 2003 , Graves became paralyzed from the chest down after suffering what started out as a sinus infection . Graves recalled being severely ill and examining the ugly sheets and bad design in hospitals . He decided : `` It 's far too ugly for me to die here . '' The illness phased in a new chapter in his life . Struggling in hospital rooms made him determined to improve health care facilities and designs , including more user-friendly hospital furniture for patients . `` I would n't have been a health care nut if it had n't been for my paralysis , so something good came from this , '' he told CNN in 2011 . Michael Graves : Why hospital rooms do n't work . Throughout his illness , Graves continued to sketch . `` Whether I was paralyzed or not , I would draw , because drawing for me is like playing the piano , '' he told CNN . `` You 've got to keep practicing , got to keep doing it . It 's not that you lose it , but you do n't draw as well if you do n't draw every day . ''
American architect Michael Graves dies in Burbank at age 80 . Graves designed buildings as well as household items like tea kettles for Target , JCPenney .