12 REFLEXION | 2021-22 | AIA Utah its great acoustic space. “It’s a pageant,” said Kevin. “We had robes and medals and lots of handshaking. My wife and two of my three adult children made the trip out to see it. Mike Stransky and his wife also came to celebrate, as did current and former partners and their spouses. It was really something, and I am at a loss for words to describe it except to say it was fabulous and very humbling. You look around the room at the other people with their lists of accomplishments and wonder what on earth you are doing there. Compared to them, working on some contracts for 14 years doesn’t seem like that big a deal, but maybe they look at me and feel the same way about what I did.” Kevin knows most of the 23 current practicing or emeritus AIA Fellows in Utah, including GSBS’s Mike Stransky, David Brems and Stephen Smith. “They set the standard for what AIA involvement at this firm ought to be,” said Kevin. “But my involvement is at the national level and has been for nearly 15 years. I found my niche working on documents. As a result, many of the Fellows I know are around the country. A lot are involved with the documents committee and ultimately become Fellows as well.” As president of GSBS, Kevin does less architecture than he used to, but he is proud of the work he did on the speedskating oval for the Winter Olympics. He has also worked on many public safety buildings and done a lot of justice facility work, including the new state prison. “When you work on jails, courthouses and police work, the work is — continued from page 11 often focused on negatives: housing and punishment. The new prison has been an opportunity to move the needle on how justice works, and we think that project has a good chance of positively changing the lives of people who are there. We’ve designed it to encourage positive change. That is a big deal to me because our justice system is not working. The recidivism rate is more than 80%. We need to find a different way of impacting people so that breaking the law is not such common behavior.” As Kevin finished the interview, he said, “I live by the philosophy that you are not allowed to complain unless you are willing to invest in changing the situation. The way we can solve problems is through the AIA. Our profession will only improve if we invest in it, our projects and our practices.” As president of GSBS, Kevin does less architecture than he used to, but he is proud of the work he did on the speedskating oval for the Winter Olympics. He has also worked on many public safety buildings and done a lot of justice facility work, including the new state prison. AIA Utah Annual Scholarship Golf Tournament August 22 Jeremy Ranch Golf Club Thanks to all our 2022 sponsors! Plan on joining us for the 2023 Tournament. Title Sponsor: Alder Sales Corporation 2022 Tournament Sold Out.
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