Sathirut Nui Tandanand

I wish to congratulate the University of Minnesota School of Architecture on the Centennial Anniversary. During my time studying under Dean Ralph Rapson, I have had fond memories of the school and still cherish the friendship with my classmates.


Unfortunately, I am unable to attend the celebration due to prior commitments. It is very disappointing not to see my Professors and friends that I truly miss again.


I wish you all the success with the Centennial Celebration and the fabulous events and activities. Once again, Congratulations to the University of Minnesota School of Architecture.


Respectfully yours


Sathirut Nui Tandanand, Class 79
President Elect, Architects Regional Council of Asia (ARCASIA)

Michael J. Joyce

University of Minnesota - B.Arch '73

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

The design process and the importance of drawing.

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

Dennis Grebner. He had a clear headed and logical approach to the design process.

What is your favorite memory from your studio days?

Foam cor chair competition.

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

Thesis.

Julia W. Robinson

University of Minnesota - B.A. Arch '71

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

How to handle a large number of architectural variables at once and come up with an appropriate design.

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

Clare Cooper Marcus, Amos Rapoport, John Zeisel, Oscar Newman, Irving Altman and the other guests in the seminar on housing organized by Roger Clemence and Evelyn Franklin in 1975, I believe. I participated in this several years after graduating and it led to my study of anthropology and all the later research I have done on such topics as architectural programming and housing.

Charles A. Kubat

University of Minnesota - B.A. Arch '70, B.Arch '70

MIT - MCP '77

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

Organized thinking and problem solving in a creative way, and communicating that thinking.

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

Ralph Rapson for his leadership of the school and open minded approach to design, Dewy Thorbeck for his introduction to creative collaborative interdisciplinary practice, Roger Clemence for his leadership of the community outreach studio and mentorship of us as first participants in a new and mind expanding experiment, and his quiet and supportive personality. Also, Professor Iskander opened my eyes to "planning," Dennis Grebner for his attention to drawing and design, and Milo Thompson for his focus on design.

What is your favorite memory from your studio days?

Our late night (mid-morning 3am) marches and antics around the upper level of the main courtyard to break up a long over-nighter. Everyone spray gluing tissue to boards in the hallways 30 minutes before final presentations and the sounds of Janus Joplin and Creedance wafting through the studio late at night.

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

A master plan and urban housing for the island in the Mississippi River in downtown St. Paul, 

an interdisciplinary regional commercial development master plan for the suburb of Hopkins, the Europe study tour showcase of Spain (our location that year), various projects for the Minneapolis Model City Program in our outreach studio including my thesis for a Communications System and Coordinating Center for the Program

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

My experience in the studio seeing the rendering and sketching work of Ralph Rapson and older students inspired me to master my own technique. My trip to Spain with our class was the beginning of a monumental summer travel and personal growth experience that has influenced the rest of my career and life. My experiences in the outreach studio led me to help found and work in a Community Design Center in Denver and has influenced my entire career in working with clients, neighborhoods, and larger communities.

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 see my education as having prepared me to not just design buildings, but to influence the creation of great neighborhoods, villages, and entire planned communities both as a designer and a client for creative community solutions. These have opened the opportunities for richer lives in the places I have helped create in Kingwood, TX; Memphis, TN; and Las Vegas, NV.

Rolf M. Kemen

University of Minnesota - B.LArch '73, BED '74, B.Arch '76

Harvard University - M.Arch '79

New York University - MBA '85

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

The most important learned skill was the development of a process oriented approach to solving design problems and identifying solutions. I applied this process orientation to many different types of non-design problems to generate rational alternatives and optimal solutions.

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

Design critics as a group. Their focus was to develop the ideas and concepts that you were working on, however rudimentary and poorly conceived, into a rational and well-developed design.

What is your favorite memory from your studio days?

All-nighters. Fun at the time, but realizing today how productivity drops exponentially during all night. Design charrettes helped me develop a more result-oriented work discipline so I could avoid all-nighters during my career.

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

Architectural thesis on the Coca-Cola site on the riverfront in Minneapolis. It has been fun to see the riverfront develop over the past 30 years.

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

Working in a studio setting. The role of collaborative work and exchange of ideas in a studio setting fosters new concepts and improved strategies for implementation. I have used this experience to my benefit many times throughout my career.

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 developed the methodology and analysis that enabled the administration of the Minneapolis Public Schools, after 40 years of trying, to confirm to the Board and the taxpayers of Minneapolis that it was more cost effective to build a new headquarters facility than remain in the four locations that were being used to house HQ functions.

Wayne B. Holtan

University of Minnesota - B.Arch '77, BED '77

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

Design organization and process.

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

Third year design studio of building methodology and how to approach and resolve design problems.

What is your favorite memory from your studio days?

My thesis project, which was good and bad. The many hours in the studio on hot June days and nights with someone installing a "through the door" AC unit in the studio space.

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

Working on the "green" house before sustainable design was an advertising buzz word in an environmental design class.

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

Our study abroad trip to Italy in our 4th year design studio in '76, chaperoned by Ralph Rapson. What a memorable opportunity that was to have personal time with the head of the school and learn a little more about his personal career, his quick wit, hearing stories of his escapades at Cranbrook, meeting some of his previous graduates in Rome, and always his sketches. I appreciate it more now on reflection than when we were actually there.

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.

In some small way, and some bigger than others, I think every project I have done had a positive impact on our community. We learned to design, not just take the first solution, and work to the best solution possible.

Doug P. Westby

University of Minnesota - B.Arch '73

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

Creative analytic problem solving.

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

Tom Hodne saw some potential in me that he encouraged.

What is your favorite memory from your studio days?

I made life long friends there.

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

The Spring quarter study abroad in Europe was an eye-opener for me. It was by far the most memorable activity from my school days.

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

Ralph Rapson was a giant influence on the school and my development as an architect.

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.

My career focused upon the design and planning of hospitals which wasn't a glamorous building type, at least when beginning in 1973. Eventually, evidence based design studies verified that attention to architectural features, such as clear organizational planning, daylighting, artwork, plant materials, etc., will crate a positive physical environment that can positively impact a patient's recovery and well being! The benefits to staff are also well accepted now. It's all that an architect wants to hear!

Bruce Toman

University of Minnesota - B.Arch '76

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

The importance of quality design, the abstract beauty of the plan, teamwork, quality, interdisciplinary teamwork, and Friday night at "The Mixers."

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

My classmates, Ralph Rapson's inspirational leadership, and an excellent broad cross-section of fine Minneapolis architects on the faculty such as David Bennet, Thomas Hodne, Joe Blair, John Rauma, Milo Thompson, Leonard Parker, and Carl Graffunder. Also, committed professors John Myers, George Winterowd, Walter Vivrett, and Gunter Dittmar. They taught me knowledge, design, style, and quality.

What is your favorite memory from your studio days?

Charrettes, teamwork, and camaraderie.

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

Student housing replacement facility on the East Bank of the U of M and 

Architectonic projects.

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

Being taught to draw and letter, which is a lost art that architects still need to be able to do despite the development of BIM and even if it is mastering the art of drawing well on an iPad. Ralph Rapson's drawing ability was our inspiration. Alonso Hauser told us, "If Ralph can draw so well, you all can learn to draw, just like Ralph did." Although I did not work as a "project designer," three years into my career the ability to plan, draw, and render a plan and section made it easy for me to become a licensed architect (pass the exam in the days of a 12 hour design and draw exam design exercise) and to illustrate the principles of the technology of architecture for which I have become most valued. My appreciation for design made me an integral contributor to the projects on which I worked in the aesthetic development of the details and technology of well executed projects.

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 have spent most of my career working on large teams and developing large scale projects in detail. That has transcended into the detection of the technical development of projects and leadership of younger architects in several firms. My impact on this world has been in trying to influence as many architects as possible to understand the importance of the abstract beauty of everything we do in the technical execution of projects, all qualities of design which I learned at Minnesota. As our profession has transitioned from drawings into building information modeling of highly sustainable energy efficient buildings, I have managed to remain a leader of our transition and a trainer of young architects who are producing good buildings. Many of my contemporaries who did not have the advantage of the design, process, and team training which I learned at Minnesota have faded or are fading from relevance in our industry. We as American trained architects remain the leaders of high quality design and performance buildings throughout the world. Based on what I learned at the School of Architecture I understood why Rem Koolhaus wanted to express the user program and interrelationships which generated the shape of the CCTV tower in Beijing. When my firm was hired as a consultant to Rem to develop the vertical transportation systems (elevators) within the CCTV tower, we understood the aesthetic parameters in fitting the required number of elevators within the tower space available, but this was no small challenge. I understood the design requirements of this technical challenge and in my small part, a radical new building form resulted. On the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, I understood the importance of the design statement which Richard Meier was making in my work developing the design and details of the enclosure system for this historic landmark museum which will perform for 50+ years.

Craig A. Hess

University of Minnesota - B.Arch '72

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

Problem solving, which included thinking outside of the box.

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

This is a toss up between Ralph Rapson due to the depth and breadth of his experience as a modernist architect and Roger Clemence due to his commitments to students and the community through his involvement in the Urban Education Center/Community Design Center.

What is your favorite memory from your studio days?

Being in the second floor studio space above the Steak House at Oak and Washington Avenues that included many late nights or all nighters. It was a small studio group and close to each other.

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

I was on a team and perhaps became the defacto team leader for the small group one summer who won an AISC design competition. During the summer, we had to execute the steel lattice structure we designed. We were unsuccessful in completing it due to our design not accommodating all the intersections that had to occur. In spite of an unsuccessful completion, I still found this to be a significant and meaningful learning experience.

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

I was in awe with many students who had much better free-hand sketching and rendering skills than I did. It drove me to strive to improve my own skills. Without a doubt the social turmoil of 1968-1970 disrupted the learning experience, but in itself was a learning experience. It had a huge impact on where I thought design skills needed to be used.

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.

Immediately after graduation, I worked for 2 years at the Community Design Center and provided design services to many inner city and some rural MN clients who would not have received such service without the CDC. For the last 15 years I have been heavily involved in delivery of multi-family housing projects including many in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area. These help build communities and families.

F. Joshua Millman

University of Minnesota - M.Arch '79, MBA '80

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

Organizing ideas, project management, and understanding that careless mistakes in the details can ruin the effect of the whole project.

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

Kay Lockhart forced me to be organized. 

What is your favorite memory from your studio days?

A semester of receiving a new project every Monday and submitting every Friday.

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

Re-imagining Hennepin Avenue. 

Richard A. Morse

University of Minnesota - B.A. Arch '78, B.Arch '80

Columbia University - M.Arch '81

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

Analysis of issues. 

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

Val Michelson.

What is your favorite memory from your studio days?

Watching Saturday Night Live in the studio while working on Monday's design project.

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

The cardboard chair. 

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

Living in New York City for graduate school. 

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.

c

Jan R. Gill

University of Minnesota - B.Arch '78

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

Humility. I am unemployed and a victim of the recession. One learns to stick to it, however wisdom finally agrees to quit, which I have done. Early retirement for me.

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

I learned the most from my fellow students Tom, Gary, and David, and seeing how each of us dealt with school. 

What is your favorite memory from your studio days?

Some of the stories. Glenn was explaining how no one could detail like Mies and how awesome it was, but no one liked Mies at the time. Tom answered, "He can work in my office and do the detailing."

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

My entry for the Aluminum in Architecture contest.

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

The desire to immediacy.

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.

Many good ideas are wasted in this world. Politics seem as important as design.

Craig D. Wolfgram

University of Minnesota - BED '75, B. Arch '76

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

Conceptual design, sketching, and presentation skills.

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

Buckminster Fuller for the grand visions he created and the need to think big.

What is your favorite memory from your studio days?

Friendships and collaboration with studio friends, and some remain to this day.

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

The underground bookstore. They actually built something from concepts the students worked on.

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

Ralph Rapson's modernist design philosophy and his emphasis on drawing skills. 

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.

Schematic design of a school in Tanzania and concepts used for a safe learning environment for children. 

David P. Bowers

University of Minnesota - B.A. Arch '68, B.Arch '74

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

Organization of information and processes, and design thinking.

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

My most lasting memory has to be a class trip in 1973, led by Val Michelson, to Greece and Holland. Val energized my interest in architecture and its potential to positively effect the built environment.

What is your favorite memory from your studio days?

Again, the highlight of studio for me was our class trip to Greece and Holland in '73. A close second would have to be John Myer's 1967 studio with emphasis on city planning issues. These two studios gave me a great macro design foundation in planning issues that re-occurred often over my career.

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

My most memorable project had to be the design of an energy conscious future in an era of increasing energy scarcity for Val Michelson's Structure in Design class. It was my eye-opener into a future that would of necessity be very different from our past. Val's class challenged us to think of how that future could be achieved in the context of design. The Minnesota Zoo was another of my most memorable projects. I was just a beginning design student and not at all experienced, but this project really showed me the possibilities of design.

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

Again, Val Michelson's organized approach to design and design thinking, though it would be 20 years before we actually had words to describe design thinking, were very influential for me. Leonard Parker built on this foundation with a studio that translated these concepts into a work flow on projects that pulled the ideas together for me and made them practical in every day design problem solving.

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.

Early in my career I wrote a master plan, under the guidance of Val Michelson, for Itasca Community College in Grand Rapids, MN. The plan was intended to guide the college through various building projects as it expanded its campus. Several years later, we had the opportunity to design and build many of these projects. Similarly, I undertook a study of the Sullivan bank in Owatonna, MN, with the goal being to research the original design of the building, document the changes made to it over the years, identify materials original to the building, and their disposition, if removed, with the intent to guide future remodeling and restoration work in the building. As part of this work I invented a building-centric relational database in analog form several years prior to the publication of commercial digital relational data bases. My data base of the building has guided several remodeling and restoration projects on the building over the years.

William R. King

University of Minnesota - BED '79

What was the most important thing/skill/concept you learned at the School of Architecture?
Organizing a problem and then solving it.

Who made the most lasting impression (most influenced you) and why?
One
of the more cryptic professors made a disparaging
comment on the entire discipline of landscape architecture to which he
mentioned that a lot of bad architecture gets covered with nice plant
material and now we're doing green roofs, living walls, etc. - too funny. Also,
I think James Stageberg mentioned that attending the School of
Architecture will be "the hardest you will ever work in your life, so
know that when you leave" - totally true!

What is your favorite memory from your studio days?
Getting
accepted...and then graduating. I did enjoy my time at the School of
Architecture and it was a great education - no question. It cost me a
grand total of $4,500 for four years plus beer, books, and materials. I
paid for it working 3 part-time jobs and lived low on the West Bank in
my own apartment. Might still be possible if the tuition's only about
$15,000 per year for in-state residents.

Please identify one (or more) memorable design project that you worked on while a student at the School of Architecture.
Class group design competitions - still friends to this day with some.

What
major forces (such as individual architects, design philosophies,
rendering styles, research methods, etc.) do you remember influencing
you significantly as a student?
Nothing special in particular
except my night class architectural drafting instructor named Alex, the
"fastest hand in the West." I learned everything about craft from him
and it has served me well all these years. Computers can only mimic what I can draw by hand, just a lot faster.

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.
Environmental impact learning in my time emphasized "life cycle" cost when measuring the merits of one item over another. The fact that a Chevy Suburban is more "environmentally correct" than a Prius is irrelevant today which is really too bad. We had eliminated "heavy metals" from the homes we lived in and now they're back. I single-handedly stopped the creation of another "Landmark District" application for the small Connecticut town I live in just days before the vote was taken. I taught my little daughter that land ownership rights are worth fighting for and your neighbors aren't as dumb as you think they are once they get the details. Vote went from "done deal" to overwhelmingly against. Sweet!

Craig E. Rafferty

University of Minnesota - B.A. Arch '68, B.Arch '70

MIT - M.Arch

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

Design sketching, logic in thought process, and presentation skills. 

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

I remember with great fondness Tollefson, Robinson, Roney, Richter, Kell, Zuber, Stebbins, Ankeny, Sullivan, Sandell, Margolis, Vano, Cox, Piersol, and others as fellow students. The faculty consisting of Ralph Rapson, Leonard Parker, James Stageberg, John M., Denny G., Kay L., Richard M., and Dewey T. hold a special place and a warm thanks for all they gave.

What is your favorite memory from your studio days?

In general it has always been a great memory to recall the competitive, yet openly cooperative nature of the design studios and the challenge of convincing the jury that your solution was the best way to solve the problem.

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

CCL - The City Center for Learning project that consumed almost 1.5 years of time worked on it.

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

Ralph Rapson was very influential. The ability to draw and define concepts, to explain project logic, and to create a meaningful expression were the most valuable tools. These continue to be the most valuable throughout my career. However, George and Dick Rafferty have left the most indelible impact on me. They made a spot for me within their company, treating me with equal status almost from the moment that I joined the firm after graduate school at MIT.

Nancy J. Leask

University of Minnesota - B.LArch '77

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

Having the freedom to explore all kinds of design whether it was architecture, landscape, interior, furniture design, etc.

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

Peter Olin, because of his great sense of humor and he was a good leader and teacher.

What is your favorite memory from your studio days?

Walking down the hall in the main engineering building with Linda Zylman and teasing the engineering students!

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

To tell the truth, it's been so long I can't remember!

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

Fellow students and teaching assistants, particularly Marjie Pitz.

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.

It surely helped to get a job in '78 when there weren't many out there to be had!

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.

Barton R. Becker

University of Minnesota - B.Arch '71

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

Explore many concepts and follow your heart.

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

Ralph Rapson was the most important person and made the biggest impression during my stay. He was positive, encouraging, and inspiring. I think it is VERY IMPORTANT that faculty practices architecture outside of the University as well.

What is your favorite memory from your studio days?

All nighters. 

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

My thesis project was a library set on a green landscape with hard surface pavilions required under a 12 story-high glass covered space frame pyramid.

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

Ralph Rapson and those in his office.

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 consider the architecture I do to be the best solution that is possible considering the client, budget, and other constraints. I always try to push.

Amit K. Maitra

University of Minnesota - M.Arch '70, MPA '76

University of Calcutta, India - B.Arch '69 

Case Western Reserve University - Doctorate '06

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

Analysis and planning, including systems research and analysis as well.

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

Ralph Rapson, because of his freedom of expression in planning and architecture.

What is your favorite memory from your studio days?

Planning the future of Minneapolis.

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

Planning the City of Dreams.

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

Ralph Rapson introduced me to the interdisciplinary approach to architecture, city planning, and to all disciplines that I would study and practice throughout my career in Enterprise Architecture. He was a profound impact on my overall growth.

I am married to Julie from St Louis, MO, where the famous Gateway Arch designed by Eero Saarinen stands as a monument to his expressionism and the technical marvel in concrete shells. I also live close to Washington Dulles International Airport, another famous Eero Saarinen design known for its use of catenary curves in the structural designs. My life's general philosophy was shaped, molded, and influenced by Saarinen's simple, sweeping, and arching structural curves.

John Lautner's dramatic, bold geometry and exciting use of materials serve as inspiration for my personal residence. His walls of glass place no barrier between the shelter within and the outside world.

Philip Johnson showed me how to appreciate aesthetic embrace of structural elements of a building.

I totally embrace Frank Lloyd Wright's philosophy of organic architecture which promotes harmony between human habitation and the natural world. His design approaches are so sympathetic and well integrated with its site that building, furnishings, and surroundings become part of a unified, interrelated composition. When I visit Frank Lloyd Wright's buildings, I always feel I am in the embrace of the whole environment.

Richard Neutra designed the house for a well known oncologist whom I was visiting in LA in the mid '90s. The house was surrounded and embraced by a pool that flowed through the house and then flowed out to and over the edge of the structure to reflect the serene and unobstructed beauty of the blue sky and water. Sitting inside that living room, I felt the serenity and peace.

Le Corbusier and Oscar Niemeyer inspired me with the undulating concrete curves of their projects.

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 used my interdisciplinary approach to review and analyze plans for national plans and programs. See my blogs here.