Thierry W. Despont, the French architect of eclectic classicism and bon vivante behind lavish houses, died unexpectedly in Southampton, New York, on Sunday, August 13. He was 75.

Born in Limoges, France, to an architect father, Despont studied at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris and graduated in 1972, after the late-1960s upheaval there. He went on to earn a Master of City Planning in Urban Design from Harvard University, and once out of school, Despont joined the New York office of British architects Lewellyn-Davies, where he worked on the redesign of Tehran’s city center for the Shah of Iran.