13 the work we had done for others, we had no resume, no portfolio; we were 29 and 30 years old at the time. Because of Allen’s national historic register experience and Wally’s experience with Burch Beall and Steven Baird’s architecture firms, they decided to specialize in historic preservation architecture. They would become the first firm in Utah to make that their core practice. What were some of the struggles you experienced? At the beginning, the biggest struggle for our small, emerging firm was we had no clients. The Historical Society gave me a one-year contract to continue doing the things that I had been doing for them all along as a consultant. Fortunately, 1976 was a bicentennial year, and the Bicentennial Commission had all these little preservation projects throughout Utah. We secured a number of those, so we were able to survive when we had very little income. We hired Anne Floor; she typed specs on a typewriter; we did all the drawings by hand. We had both started families by then and had three or four kids each, and we both lived in old houses that needed renovation, but it worked. We were able to survive that first year. One of the first clients was the Wheeler Farm Restoration. We competed against the leading lights in the field. We were totally unknown, but somehow, we got that project. That included a historic structures report, then restoring the 1875 Dairy Farm of Henry Wheeler. A historic house and a missing barn needed to be reconstructed because they had been destroyed. All we had were footings and foundations and photos; there was an ice house and several other buildings that were moved or relocated or rebuilt, so it included all kinds of preservation projects. Another early project that allowed us to do new construction was Ancestor Square in St. George. It was a 14-building complex on Main Street in St. George. The client had an existing building that he rented. We advised him to tear that down, keep seven of the historic buildings and let us do seven new buildings using indigenous materials from Pine Valley. How did you structure your firm? At the beginning, we worked together as a team, but within a few years, we both started developing our own teams specializing in different clientele and different kinds of work. I liked marketing and trying to secure new clients; Wally was really good at keeping existing clients happy, getting repeat work from those clients. What changes have you seen in the architectural profession since 1973? It’s become much more technical. When I took my architectural exams, there were 40 hours of exams, five days. The big design exam was held from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. For 12 hours, you designed a building. They gave you a little booklet that had the programming criteria, and by the end of the day you had to have a set of drawings. That was all done by hand, hand drafting. — continued on page 14 Two thousand years ago, Vitruvius devised a formula that reduced the purpose of architecture to three words: utilitas — a building should be utilitarian and functional; firmitas — it should be built solidly; and venustas — it should be beautiful or attractive visually. I think that is still a good basic definition of what architecture is all about. My personal interest was in the beautiful part, the design part, more than the technical part, but of course, you have to have some mastery over all those parts. Now all the drawings are done by computer. There are a lot more agencies weighing in on what is required for a building to be designed and constructed. In addition to OSHA and safety requirements, we have LEED. We have buildings that are sustainable and non-toxic, and energy-efficient. We have buildings that are accessible. We do energy audits, envelope studies. There are a lot of technical overlays that really didn’t exist as much before. When we started, there were no calculators. People were still using slide rules. All of the new technology that has been developed has changed architecture so that it has become a very technical practice. I have to admit that I never got interested in CADD. I have never drawn a single line with a computer. What do you think is the best building in Utah? The Utah State Capitol Building has been rated one of the three most beautiful state capitol buildings in the country. And it is an exceptional building, really; the outside, the inside, the attention to detail, the use of materials, and now that it has been restored, even more so. Another one that is a favorite of mine is the Manti Temple. That building is sited wonderfully; it sits on a hill overlooking My personal interest was in the beautiful part, the design part, more than the technical part, but of course, you have to have some mastery over all those parts.
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