2021 Directory

43 The second is the total renovation, including a new façade, of the historic WYOTheater in Sheridan. I had a great client with great ideas, Lynn Simpson, and was able to let my creativity loose on what was basically a blank canvas. The third is the N.E. Wyoming Visitors Center near where I-90 enters Wyoming from South Dakota. This center is the first, and I think only, Net Zero Energy building owned by the state. It features every energy-saving architectural trick in the book; a large array of ground-source heat pump wells; and 50KW of PV panels integrated into the roof design. Because of Wyoming’s freakish political climate, we weren’t allowed to use any wind turbines, but the PV panels turned out to be enough. My unquestionable favorite is the Forrest E. Mars, Jr., building at the Brinton Museum near Big Horn, Wyoming. It continues to be very well received and is a source of great pleasure to me. Forest Mars was the eldest of three children who owned the Mars candy company as a family. They wanted the museum to be a world-class facility, but that was about all they specified. The museum director had a few more requirements: a minimum of windows to prevent ultraviolet light from coming in through the glass and ruining delicate artwork; and the whole place to be built into the hillside to have the least visual impact on the surrounding Big Horn foothills and historic Brinton Ranch House. The museum has a rammed-earth wall coursing through it that is the heart of the building. We did add a bit of Portland Cement and some reinforcing bar, but it really is mainly dirt, gravel and sand. The wall is 250 feet long and 56 feet high, and it’s not likely to be going anywhere soon. When I asked Mr. Mars for approval for the extra $2 million it would cost to build, he asked if a mainly dirt wall would last. The answer was that large portions of the Great Wall of China are made of rammed earth — without any Portland Cement — and they’ve been in place about 2,000 years. What are some of the challenges currently facing the profession, as opposed to when you became an architect? The low-fee bid selection system for selecting architectural firms is a big challenge across the profession, and I would like to see architects work together to make it go away by refusing to submit actual “bids.” The federal government and knowledgeable private individuals use the qualifications-based selection (QBS) system to select architects for jobs. The idea is to select the most qualified firm for the job … what a concept! The architect who is selected then negotiates the fee with the client. The client only goes to someone else if the two parties can’t agree on the fee. There is no downside. Putting a building together involves a ton of work, hours, and experience managing the engineers, landscape architects, and other specialists. High-end clients want the best architect. They know they can figure out the fee, but they also know it won’t be cheap. Unfortunately, the QBS system is sometimes replaced by a selection system based on low fees. The cheapest “bid” wins the job, but it makes sense in a way, as the people who use this system are typically not looking for quality in design. Here’s why this matters: Better firms often won’t participate in low-fee- based selection projects and are not chosen as often if they do, which means lesser-qualified firms end up designing the built environment that influences so much of our lives. As a result, the low-fee system causes problems that hurt both the architectural profession and the general public. How do you feel about the evolution of the architectural industry during your career as an architect? Any architect my age would say using computers to create 3-D imaging and designs has been the big evolutionary step. When I started, architects had to communicate their designs by using two-dimensional drawings and by building small-scale models. That changed in the early 1990s, and now everything is done in 3-D. What criteria would you apply to decide whether a building is “good”? A building has to do many things at once to be good, but we want it to be more than good. We want it to be excellent. Here’s my list: • Fundamentally, it has to function very well for its intended uses. • The amount of energy used by buildings is enormous, so we have to do everything we can to design a net-zero energy building that is environmentally responsible. • It has to be aesthetically pleasing, whatever that means to the architect and the client. That part will vary all over the map. • Occupants have to feel exhilarated to be in and around it. If you ask someone what they think of the building, you don’t want them to say, “It’s fine.” You want them to say, “I love it.” What do you think is the best building in Wyoming? Although I haven’t seen every building in the state, Yellowstone Park’s Old Faithful Inn has to be one of the best. The lobby is crazy fun, and if you get a room in one of the old wings, you just have to love it. What would your advice for a young architect be? Take English literature and writing classes. They aren’t required as part of any architect’s training because the people who put together the curricula don’t understand their importance after graduation. As a result, the number of architects who can’t put together a coherent, well- written letter or proposal is legion. Any last thoughts? Care about the greater community and get vaccinated. b Putting a building together involves a ton of work, hours, and experience managing the engineers, landscape architects, and other specialists. High-end clients want the best architect.