Bill Blanski - post celebration note

Friends

We had a very nice gathering at The Republic Bar in Minneapolis on Friday night (after the celebration in Rapson Hall).


These are the folks who joined in:


Chris Zagarias, Sue Britt, Ann Schley, Bill Wittrock, Art Bartels, Jim Wilson, Roald Gunderson, Hani Ayad (MArch, and Spouse Mary), Norman Barrientos (and spouse Lisa), Bill Blanski, Mark Brennan ('86), Mina Adsit ('86) and Steve Prater (MArch).


One main conclusion - we need to do this more often!


Be well -

Bill

Post-Centennial Note to the Class of 1984

Hello Class of '84,




It was great to see some of you at the Centennial reception and gala events last week and I hope to see more of you in the future.




For those of you who attended and for those who didn't, I am providing you with a link to some photos I took. I have also posted a few photos from way back in 1981 from studio days.




In Facebook I have set up a shared Album for anyone, even if you are not on Facebook, to browse through. Please feel free to tag Names onto the photos and if you want, add some photos.




https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.735254333156977.1073741839.100000172509723&type=1&l=2e4c3f3abf




Also, I am providing you with my Dropbox folder for higher quality resolutions of the same pictures. In this link I also included a few pics of the historical student drawing collection which was exhibited at the Reception. Very inspiring as they make you want to get out the old Pilot Fineliner.




https://www.dropbox.com/home/Photos/UMN%20School%20of%20Architecture%201980




I look forward to seeing everyone at future School events.




Norman Barrientos

norman@barrientosdesign.com

office 414-271-1812 ext 1

www.barrientosdesign.com

Scott Adams

University of Minnesota - B.Arch '80, BED '80

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

Communicating with drawings.

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

George Winterowd for his love of architectural history.

Gregory E. Nook

University of Minnesota - M.Arch '81

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

Creative problem solving.

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

Milo Thompson and Leonard Parker for their compassionate teaching skills and the ability to find ways to motivate diverse ideas and individuals. Mark Fisher (now deceased) because he cared so much. Craig Mulford because he was the most organized student that I have ever known! Always done thoroughly and ahead of schedule...by a full day!! Bill Chilton because he brought his friendship, talent, creativity and organization to all that he did. Roger Clemence and Steve Weeks because they cared enough to allow me into the school and guide me through it!

What is your favorite memory from your studio days?

One Sunday afternoon I was in studio working on thesis with a half dozen or so students. Manos Ginnis was standing at the window looking towards Northrup and said, "There is a dead man in the bushes!" (Now do this with his accent in mind.) We all were detached and indicated "Yeah, sure."  Manos was persistent, over and over we would hear, "Hey you guys, there is a dead man in the bushes!!"  We still ignored him. This went on for about 5 minutes before finally he had us all at the windows looking and we concurred...that may be a dead man lying motionless, face down in the flowers across the street. Manos cautiously went outside as we all watched and carefully crept up on the still body only to have the physical plant employee get up, pull his arm out of the sprinkler valve pipe and announce gleefully, "One more sprinkler line turned on!" I got to say, we all were secretly a bit disappointed because we liked the distraction drama of a potential corpse. So next time you see Manos say, "Hey you guys, there is a dead man in the bushes!!!"

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

Thesis and "Housing as Urban Regenerator."

 

Richard A. Carter

University of Minnesota - B.Arch '82

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

Problem solving.

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

Having Gunter Dittmar teach us how to draw a "straight" line the first day of Grade One. Garth Rockcastle's Grade Four studio where we had to draw with rapidogragh ink on vellum.

What is your favorite memory from your studio days?

Staying up very late, making models. 

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

My thesis, the Downtown Minneapolis YMCA.

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

Jerry Zuber's trees and people.

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 focused my entire career on Green Building and reducing climate change at building, organization, and community scales. My education at the School of Architecture and the people who were my advisers, including Garth, Mary Guzowski, Steve Weeks, and Julia Robinson, guided me in that direction.

Anthony S. Desnick

University of Minnesota - B.Arch '80

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

Creative problem solving. 

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

Jerry Allan who was a 3rd year design critic.

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

My 2nd year Minnegasco competition for Nicollet Island Master Plan and Pine Ridge Reservation High School and Community Center, which was my thesis.

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.

Services on many community organizations, such as Twin Cities Transit Leadership Group, Minneapolis Arts Board, St. Paul Ford Plant Planning Task Force, Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District Infrastructure Committee: Downtown 2025.

Joan H. B. Price

University of Minnesota - B.A. Arch '88

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

Buildings should interact with human nature and foresee new technologies and all possible needs with simplicity to maintain a timelessness.

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

Patricia Mack for getting me involved with the all women's built Habitat for Humanity home project in Minneapolis.

What is your favorite memory from your studio days?

Team projects where we built models - one was the mouse trap game and another was pumpkin carving, Pink Flyod the Wall came in first that year. These were interesting because of the discussions afterwards of the process different groups used.

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

Airline Convention Display. There are marketable designs and interesting designs that may or may not be marketable...if you can't get the backing of the money/funding then you haven't made that external human connection that will make it architecture. Sometimes that artful design has to get out of you and onto paper but if not marketable, it just stays art...that or you're just ahead of you time and the technology might develop to make it marketable.

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

This one student who decided to draw one perspective a day and each day he started a fresh new one, leaving the one before it at whatever stage he had got to. Over the years his skill became masterful.

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

Educating developers on universal design and the benefits of one hundred percent accessible, instead of just the minimums, saves in the construction cost by producing in bulk. In having well designed features that are adaptable improved the desirability of the units and lessened turnover rates.

Ross Asselstine

University of Minnesota - B.Arch '83

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

Question everything. Try to work on the most challenging projects possible. Find a passion and learn as much as possible all the time.

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

The men I worked with on construction sites and my engineering professors. I love architecture but the others guys made me unique in the field.

What is your favorite memory from your studio days?

The camaraderie. We were all close like no other degree because of the process.

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

Energy and transport issues were a great parallel on some assignments and the Marble Mover was hilarious.

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

Wright, Johnson, and Hippie Naive architecture.

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.

Architects have to lead teams. Group projects pretty much suck, but they are absolutely essential because if you can't lead and learn to lead, you will never be an architect.

Gail D. Manning

University of Minnesota - M.Arch '84

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

Hard work and speaking in public.

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

Lance Lavine for his gregarious, interested demeanor. 

What is your favorite memory from your studio days?

Support of friends and colleagues.

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

UM Itaska State Park buildings.

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

Iterative nature of the process.

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.

Education served to better represent building owners.

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. 

Christopher J. Monson

University of Minnesota - B.Arch '87

Harvard University - M.Arch '93

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

The process of iteration is the basis for creating good design. 

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

Milo Thompson always represented to students the best that an architect can be; thoughtful, smart, reflective, and curious.

What is your favorite memory from your studio days?

Having classmates care enough about you and your work to call you out of bed at 3am to get you back working in the studio.

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

Thesis project.

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

Post-modernism was big in the mid '80s and all the modernists on the faculty were rethinking their styles. Unfortunately, there were a lot mixed messages to students during that period. I will never forget James Stageberg frustrated and telling a student at a project jury, "Just look at some magazines!"

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.

The number of adjunct instructors at the School of Architecture influenced my understanding of how vital architectural practice was to society.

Terry G. Wendt

University of Minnesota - B.Arch '86

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

Problem solving and design process.

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

Dennis Grebner was one of the few faculty members that got what I stood for and recognized my potential. 

What is your favorite memory from your studio days?

Belonging to the brotherhood of architecture students slaving away at all hours of the day and night in studio and all the stress relieving hijinks we engaged in. We had more fun than students should be allowed to have...

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

My thesis project sure ranks high on the list.

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.

As an Engineer Officer in the US Army, I have supervised the construction of many projects in the eastern US, Panama, and Puerto Rico. I designed a stable at Ft Belvoir, VA, for the ceremonial horses used by the 3rd US Infantry, the Old Guard, during burials at Arlington. I oversaw construction of a Little League press box & refreshment stand in Chambersburg, PA. As the staff architect for WISDOT, I have planned and help design functional facilities from which DOT staff deliver services to the citizens of Wisconsin.

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.

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Anil A. Bhaskaran

University of Minnesota - M.Arch '88

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

Architectural design skills and presentation skills.

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

Professor Garth Rockcastle for making presentations based on unique themes in architecture, such as 'Semiotics,' 'Intentionality,' and 'Interpretation.'

What is your favorite memory from your studio days?

Sleepless nights, being mostly broke, hard work, and snow (tons of it).

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

Urban Renewal project of Nicollet Mall with awesome team work, cool presentation at the end of the quarter, and great review by the jury.

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

Leon Krier for his ingenuous ideas in urban design, Michael Graves for his innovative approach to post modern architecture, and the rendering styles of Charles Moore and Leon Krier.

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 could contribute substantially to Bangalore, the city that I live in and its urban architecture. One of the buildings that I designed, "Jal Bhavan," was selected to be featured among other landmarks in a book titled "Bangalore," authored by the Scandinavian journalist Coni Horler and Sandeep Madhavan. I have been able to bring in innovative architectural design ideas in housing meant for middle class Indian society. I have also been able to design and execute a few projects, the designs of which are based on two of my favorite themes, poetry and fantasy in architecture, the seeds of which were planted in my mind during my days at U of M.

Helen I Mittelstadt

University of Minnesota - B.Arch '89

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

Teamwork, long hours, concept of the deadline, and rendering skills.

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

Ralph Rapson and his incredible hand and James Stageberg, because he was encouraging and brilliant.

What is your favorite memory from your studio days?

All nighters with beer cans hanging out the windows.

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

Intergenerational student housing.

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

Architectonics, Ralph Rapson, James Stageberg, Michael Graves, and Predock. 

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 use graphic skills learned to volunteer teaching drawing to underprivileged kids.

 

Scott J. Newland

University of Minnesota - B.Arch '83

What was the most important thing/skill/concept you learned at the School of Architecture?
Lateral thinking, which is the process of looking at problems from different points of view and at different scales (as opposed to linear thinking) in order to approach a solution with as little carryover of initial preconceptions and prejudices as possible. As someone who tends to go toward the linear and logical, this concept of lateral thinking has proven helpful over and over since school.

Who made the most lasting impression (most influenced you) and why?
Two fellow students immediately come to mind: Elizabeth O'Donnell and John Rode. From each of them, in my first and second years of being in the design studio, I was fundamentally impressed with their designs and how beautifully they were drawn. I consider the experiences gained from interactions with peers more lasting than lessons learned from the staff.

What is your favorite memory from your studio days?
Simply being in the studio with others, working on designs, and being able to share ideas and see different ways of approaching any given problem.

Please identify one (or more) memorable design project that you worked on while a student at the School of Architecture.
In 2nd year studio with Stanley Fishman, we had the assignment to design a replacement for the movie theater in Dinkytown; a new double-screen facility. It was memorable to me because I started feeling like I had a unique design solution I liked that received much encouragement and support from fellow students, and that I presented with what I considered innovative presentation board formatting. It was also a project that still shows the strong influence of Frank Lloyd Wright, a clear hero of mine at the time. Another project that was memorable was an early, abstract problem in 1st year studio with Ray Geiger. The problem, as I recall, was to develop a model that conveyed the essence of a wall, a door, and a window using architectonically-developed geometry. It wasn't like anything I'd done before and it was a good experience, with a solution that I still like.

What major forces (such as individual architects, design philosophies, rendering styles, research methods, etc.) do you remember influencing you significantly as a student?
Influential architects at that time, for me, included Rapson, Wright, Aalto, Kahn and engineers such as Nervi and Morandi. High tech design approaches were the most compelling to me, and it was hard not to be influenced to some degree by Post-Modernism. There were many drawing styles that had a profound influence on me in school, from Ralph Rapson and Frank Nemeth's renderings to some of the loose, colorful pen and colored pencil work of some students, to my professional mentor at the time, Michael Plautz.

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.
The Foreign Study program was formative for me in that the 2 1/2 month experience in China allowed me to experience a radically different culture and meet peers from the culture. From that experience, and from a return trip I made 5 years later on my own to follow up with 2 Chinese students, I have shared lessons both ways - publishing an article on Chinese architectural developments in Architecture Minnesota, sharing with my Chinese colleagues parallels and difference between our respective professional contexts, etc. Through all of this, I have been able to more effectively work with my own clients to whom the U.S. is not their birthplace, and to see our own community in a more global perspective, something that is increasingly important today.

Tom L. Hysell

University of Minnesota - M.Arch '87

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

Leadership and the ability to think critically through a problem.

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

Dick Morrill, for communicating that we need to love what we do.

What is your favorite memory from your studio days

Getting late night ice cream cones from the Big Ten for the studio (they didn't melt since it was twenty below) and the China foreign study trip in '85.

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

The interior of a hotel lobby and my thesis, Media Arts Center on the West Bank, were memorable due to the difference that scale does, and does not, make.

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

From outside lecturers and the influences of inside practitioners, we were able to know that the practice is broad and design really matters.

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.

Through my roles on boards of non-profit organizations, such as the Minnesota Museum of American Art, I have been able to give back by helping and bringing my architectural expertise.

Gregg F. Gossens

University of Minnesota - M.Arch '80

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

The joy of design from Ralph Rapson and his dedication to quality work, and of course good times with my studio-mates.

What is your favorite memory from your studio days?

Camaraderie of the studio.

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

Redevelopment projects in Lower Town of St. Paul. 

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 my single most influential force. His philosophy of design and dedication to socially responsible design thinking had a big impact on me. Of course his drawing abilities and love of drawing have stayed with me to this day.

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.

Always to think about "the next biggest thing" in a design project.

David G. Arkin

University of Minnesota - B.Arch '88

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

Collaboration is key for integrated projects.

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

Dale Mulfinger, because he taught me that the process and people are as important as the end product.

What is your favorite memory from your studio days?

Listening to the soundtrack to Monty Python and the Holy Grail night after night, and other shenanigans not fit to print.

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

My thesis was a proposal for the light rail in the Twin Cities, laying out several lines and proposing that the first to be installed should be the connection from downtown Minneapolis to the Airport - which ended up getting built first. I designed two stations along that corridor and thanks to a lot of help from dear friends, I pulled off the design in the final weeks, including two models which were the only things I pointed to in my final presentation, apparently a first.

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

I recall participating in lively debates over the perils of parking lots in front of urban buildings, which culminated in organizing a protest of some developments near campus. This had students engaged with Minneapolis City Planners, who were very generous with their time and supportive of our positions.

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'm starting my ninth year as a Planning and Zoning Commissioner for the City of Albany in California. Our firm has been promoting ecological design from the outset; I helped found and currently serve on the Board as an Outreach Coordinator of the California Straw Building Association (CASBA). I served as national president of Architects Designers Planners for Social Responsibility (ADPSR). In 2010 Joe Lambert, Ken Smith, and myself re-established the SPQR Fellowship at the U of M College of Design.

Timothy D. Pellowski

University of Minnesota - B.Arch '83

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

Perseverance, teamwork and camaraderie, 3-D design investigation as a means to creative problem solving, and an appreciation for well-crafted and refined design presentation materials.

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

R. Buckminster Fuller who spoke at the Alpha Rho Chi Convention we had hosted at the school in '79. I was amazed by his energy and intelligence. He talked about sustainability long before the term was coined.

What is your favorite memory from your studio days?

I'm proud to have been a part of the '81 contingent from the School of Architecture that went to the People's Republic of China. We set up a studio at Tianjin University, traveled around the country, and learned watercolor painting from a master. The Chinese architecture students and professors we met were among the most considerate and thoughtful people that I have ever met.

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

I really enjoyed most of the projects I worked on in the studio. The Minnesota History Center Project in Grade 3 (1980) stands out. My studio crit, Dewey Thorbeck, gave me a lot of encouragement to follow through on the idea of building the museum as a bridge over I-95.

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

I gained a deeper appreciation of Ralph Rapson's renderings and the whole "Minnesota Style" in Professor Grebner's architectural drawing class. Professor Grebner also introduced me to Christopher Alexander's Pattern Language. Although I did not agree with everything Alexander wrote, it helped me organize my thought process and develop a stronger rationale for my projects. When I came to the U of M, I thought the world revolved around Frank Lloyd Wright, but Professor Dittmar introduced me to Alvar Aalto and a number of other European and Asian architects that significantly broadened my perspective.

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 remember that we often bemoaned group projects in the design studios. Yet, I feel those experiences have helped me be a much better participant in community groups and volunteer organizations. Specifically, I served a term as president of a cooperative apartment association in Washington, DC. My experiences in the school gave me the confidence to attempt building a consensus among members with divergent opinions and make many necessary improvements to an aging building.