LEGENDS Gary Payne, FAIA INTERVIEWED BY FRAN PRUYN, CPSM As part of our ongoing series of interviews with architectural legends, we are proud to present this interview with Gary Payne, FAIA. It was a pleasure to interview him, to learn more about his impact on architecture in Utah schools, and to understand all the contributions he has made to the industry. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Gary, when did you decide to become an architect? When I was a small kid, you couldn’t keep me out of a construction project. I would sit across the street and watch them build a new house. When they locked me out, I’d sneak in and unlock a window so I could get back in any time I wanted. So, at a very young age, I realized I was interested in architecture, but in 1976 at Weber College, I started out in business. I realized very quickly that I did not like business at all. My brother-in-law was the sole proprietor of a drafting studio. He needed somebody to step into his office, so I volunteered. They were not pretty projects in terms of skill level, but I loved them. That got me into architecture school at the University of Utah. I took one year off at Gordon Hashimoto’s recommendation. I’m glad I did that because I went to work for Richard Koehler in Park City. I got some valuable experience and then came back into the program for my final two years. What do you remember most about architecture school? It was difficult, very difficult. I remember being scared to death when they told us architecture school would be 24/7. I was on my own and didn’t have financial support from family or scholarships. When I graduated, I had $40,000 in student loans. When I paid that off, I put in a pool to celebrate. 9
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