We worked through that list in a way that’s pretty remarkable with all those egos and institutions. All of those projects were realized in the order that we established. They had a budget that was a fraction of their demands. That established our credibility, which led to the Open Space Plan, the Salt Lake City Zoning Ordinance, and some of the other things we did that weren’t traditional architectural project stuff. Which projects give you the most satisfaction? There are various ways to look at it. We did the addition to the Cazier Library at Utah State University; it turned out to be a very successful project. When I see the impact of that building on the users and the hundreds and hundreds of students that go through USU and have a positive experience with that building, that’s very satisfying. Then there’s the planning work like the Open Space Plan for Salt Lake City and the Preservation Development Strategies, which have had a long-lasting impact on the community of Salt Lake. Any disappointments? There are the projects you’ve wanted and were thoroughly invested in and pursued for years, and you don’t get them, such as the State Courts Building. We worked for years with that goal in mind, and we didn’t get it. There are also disappointments in some of the construction and people you work with. I was involved in most of the hiring for GSBS. I think I did a pretty good job developing and creating a culture and environment of people who were effective in defining GSBS. But occasionally you miss, and it is disappointing when you feel like you’re investing a lot of emotion in a young person’s career development, and it doesn’t work. But when it works, it’s fabulous. People say, how did you decide to retire? For me, it got to a point where I could say to myself, all right, I’ve had some reasonably good success in the profession, and I could say I hired well, I mentored well. It’s time to get out of the way. When that hit me, it was time to get out of the way. It was an easy decision. What changes did you see in the industry? When we were in school, they talked about these architects as these individuals. We had a book we had to read called The Master Builders by Peter Blake. The master builders were Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies Van Der Rohe and Le Corbusier. The book treated these guys as heroes. Well, architects don’t build anything. Construction people build stuff. These guys weren’t master builders. They were good self-promoters. When you realize the complexity of a building project or process, all the people involved – the people in the design team and the construction team, the people who supply and manufacture the products and all the variety of users – architects are only a part of the process. Granted, they are an important and influential part that can set the direction for the other players to do their roles. It’s the notion that some of these firms had – “It’s all about me, Mr. Architect” – that I had a hard time with. 14 REFLEXION | 2022-23 | AIA Utah
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