Peter S. Carlsen

University of Minnesota - B.Arch '78

What was the most important thing/skill/concept you learned at the School of Architecture?

We all learned to draw and design plans like Ralph Rapson with a certain clarity that reads from across the room. It is a rather remarkable accomplishment for a man that I never had in a studio.

Who made the most lasting impression (most influenced you) and why?

Hearing James Stageberg tell our Grade 2 class, "Some of you have it now...some of you will get it by the time you do your thesis, and some will get it 10 years after you graduate, but you will all become designers." Listening behind John Cunningham as he gave a crit explaining they would give increasingly complex problems revealing a bit more each time, like lifting bumwad off a drawing. Hearing Denis Grebner approach each student in the studio differently, realizing here was a teacher, and the way architecture was taught as problem solving with many answers.

What is your favorite memory from your studio days?

A group structures problem, where each member made a significant contribution to the solution without asking or complaining, allowing us to complete a very polished project in time to get a beer as others in the studio faced an all nighter and having barely begun.

Please identify one (or more) memorable design project that you worked on while a student at the School of Architecture.

A series of projects in the Historic Hill Studio focusing on development around Selby Avenue in Saint Paul.

What major forces (such as individual architects, design philosophies, rendering styles, research methods, etc.) do you remember influencing you significantly as a student?

The idea, no longer in fashion, that buildings should support their neighbors and belong in their context.

Cite an example (be specific) that illustrates how you used the education you received at the School of Architecture to positively impact (or better) your community, city, nation or the world.

I was working on a neighborhood committee that asked the question, "Why not the best for Selby Avenue?" This led to my writing and formatting the Selby Avenue Right of Way Framework that was taken by the mayor and used to implement the reconstruction of 12 blocks of the avenue.

Barbara Lyons Stewart

University of Minnesota - M.Arch '77

What was the most important thing/skill/concept you learned at the School of Architecture?

Problem solving within a specific time period of creating a concept, developing it, and implementing it. This skill has helped me both professionally and personally in every area of my life and was definitely a direct result of my School of Architecture studio courses.

Who made the most lasting impression (most influenced you) and why?

My studio professor John Cunningham. I remember him saying that he brought his firm's receptionists and book-keepers into design presentation rehearsals to teach his presenters to eliminate "architect-speech," and to be able to describe design in a clear and logical way that resonated with non-design clients. His focus on the client's needs instead of the designer's ego remains a key part of my success in marketing and my practice.

What is your favorite memory from your studio days?

Student parties in the Atrium. I particularly remember a dramatic "Midnite at the Oasis" party.

Please identify one (or more) memorable design project that you worked on while a student at the School of Architecture.

None - I've tried to block them out.

What major forces (such as individual architects, design philosophies, rendering styles, research methods, etc.) do you remember influencing you significantly as a student?

The UMN rendering styles were fabulous and it's sad that the unemotional perfection of CAD has replaced the individual expression and exuberance of hand-rendered presentation drawings.

Cite an example (be specific) that illustrates how you used the education you received at the School of Architecture to positively impact (or better) your community, city, nation or the world.

UMN Architecture totally indoctrinated me into believing that our purpose as architects is to move architecture in new directions and "push the envelope." I specifically remember the Director of Design, Jim Stageberg, telling us at an opening assembly that "if anyone wants to design an Italian Villa or a Swiss Chalet, you should walk out that door right now." A few years later I was attending parties at professors' houses and realized that they all lived in Victorian Houses around the Lakes in older neighborhoods, and talked about vacationing in Tuscany. THAT understanding caused me to question why 20-25 yr old Minnesota students, like ALL architecture students I later learned, were pushing envelopes instead of trying to discover what appeals to people about Victorian Houses and Tuscany, and incorporate those qualities into our designs. Decades later, and I have developed 18 Instinct-Based Design Principles and am focused on helping design professionals and healthcare organizations incorporate principles from nature in order to create places that will make people healthier and happier (back to Victorian Houses and Tuscany...)