14 REFLEXION | 2021-22 | AIA Utah Interviews with Local Legends Niels Valentiner, AIA Niels Valentiner is the founding principal of VCBO Architects. A Denmark native, Niels immigrated to the U.S. in 1965, attended BYU, and after his mission in Denmark with the LDS Church, he transferred to the University of Utah, graduating in 1973. He started Valentiner Architects right out of university, and has grown his firm to ninety professionals in two offices, Salt Lake and St. George. Almost 50 years since Valentiner and Associates opened, Niels continues to work at his profession and avocation – Choice Humanitarian, a non-profit whose mission is to eliminate extreme poverty. What prompted you to become an architect? I grew up in Denmark. I was in the last year of Gymnasium, and we were supposed to have some idea where we would go after that; we should interview a person in that profession. I had some interest in architecture, but more in art — I was studying painting and sculpture. I talked to an architect. As we were contemplating immigrating to the United States, I asked him if he thought I should study at the Academy in Denmark or in the United States? He said he thought the United States would be a good experience. The path of architecture was set at that point. I was planning to go to UC Berkeley, but Berkeley was a big (political) mess in 1965. So, as I had connections with the Mormon Church, I went to BYU for the first year and a half. In ’67, I went back to Denmark on an LDS mission, then came back and transferred to the University of Utah. I finished my degree in art, then did a master’s degree in architecture. While I was in school, I worked for Don Panushka. I went to talk to him, and Don said, “Show me some of your work.” Of course, I had nothing. I went home and asked a friend who was in school a year or two ahead of me to give me some plans I could copy over. I copied them over, then came back a week later and showed Don. (This was) very bad, but he needed someone to do drafting so I worked with him for a while. After that, I worked for Enteleke, as well as with a group of other architects. When did you decide to form Valentiner Architects? After graduation in ‘73, I started the firm right out of school. I took the one-week exam and hung my shingle out on the door — Valentiner and Associates. I had to look important, so I put “Associates” after Valentiner. That’s the problem when you start a firm: you have to look like somehow you know what you are doing. How did you do it? How did you look like you knew what you were doing? I must admit I would not recommend starting out that way, right out of school. It would have been smarter if I had gotten more experience: five or ten years. I had two or three years working for architects that qualified me to get my license, so I had some of that background. I would not recommend that — but that is what I did. I had to learn very quickly how to put BY FRAN PRUYN AND PHIL HADERLIE
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODQxMjUw