hallways. I was always trying to think of things to enhance the experience throughout the building. What is your favorite architectural style? I love the Renaissance style, but you can’t realistically afford to build that way today. Most of my projects are more in the modernism style. I never wanted to design anything that was, per se, a monument to me. Every project and every building had to fit within its confines — it had to fit on the site and within the surrounding community. If I had to add on to a building, I would do my best to find the same materials that were used in the previous construction and use the same style of architecture. I didn’t want it to look like it was an addition. It needed to look like it was part of the original construction. What type of project do you enjoy designing most? There are two types of projects I had the most fun with because they challenged my mind. First would be correctional work. I always had to be thinking: How do I keep the public safe? How do I keep the staff safe? But conversely, how do I keep the inmates or prisoners safe from themselves and each other. I was always having to think, if I do this, can somebody use it as a weapon or arm themselves? I always had to be thinking ahead and that really challenged my mind. I designed the county jail in Basin, Wyoming. When it was finished, I remember somebody saying, “That is such a cool building. It actually looks like a library. I would never have known it was a jail.” That was a huge compliment. The second type of project I enjoyed was healthcare. Healthcare is something that is forever changing. In Wyoming, buildings go in cycles. The jails were built in the 40s and 50s, and now don’t comply with current standards. So now we are rebuilding all the jails. Hospitals were designed during the same period and medicine isn’t done the way it was back then. So we would get a hospital building with all these empty rooms because today everything is outpatient as much as possible. I had to figure out how to adapt the unused spaces into useful space that worked with current practice. It was challenging in a different way because you’re trying to help people and build an environment that is good for healing, which again, includes natural light, in my opinion. Which architectural projects have been your favorites? That’s hard because there were so many, and each one has merit. If I had to pick, I’d say the restoration of the Wyoming State Capitol. I was on a team hired for the project. I was the Wyoming resident Architect. I was very involved in the early planning, schematic design and all of the studies and the historical research. It was over a $300 million project. It’s very rewarding to go see it now that it’s completed. What career accomplishment are you proudest of? I’m really proud that, at one time, Plan One was the largest firm in the state and had 30+ employees. Another would be my body of work and its diversity. Throughout my career, I learned that designing a building is almost like developing a child. From the very beginning, you can see this building based on what the owner has told you and their requirements. You come up with the design, the building gets built, and then you get to see people enjoying it as it was intended. 33
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