Alan Ford (architect)

Infobox Architect

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caption =
name = Alan B. Ford
nationality = American
birth_date = birth date and age|1952|12|20
birth_place = Travis Air Force Base, California
current_residence = Denver, Colorado
practice_name = Alan Ford Architects P.C.
significant_buildings = Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Walt Disney World Swan Hotel, Tycon Towers|

Alan B. Ford, AIA, (born December 20, 1952) is an architect and author best known for his work on K-12 sustainable schools. In addition to running his own private practice in Denver, he is design editor of the American Institute of Architects' knowledge base website, Soloso.

Ford's passion for architecture has led him to step outside his profession and into the realm of architectural journalism. He is author of the book "Designing the Sustainable School" and co-author of "A Sense of Entry: Designing the Welcoming School". Ford also regularly contributes original content to the AIA Soloso website and has been published in such prominent journals as "Architect Colorado" [cite journal | last=Ford | first=Alan | author-link=Alan Ford (architect) | title=The Test of Time | journal=Architect Colorado | volume=2 | issue=2 | pages=66 | year=2006] and "World Architecture News" [cite web | last=Ford | first=Alan | author-link=Alan Ford (architect) | title=Architecture and the K-12 learning experience | date=2007-07-06 | year=2007 | url=http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.commentview&comment_id=57 | accessdate=2008-07-02] .

The best known projects to which Ford has applied his architectural expertise are the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library (Donovan and Green) in Simi Valley, California; the Walt Disney World Swan resort hotel (Michael Graves with Alan Lapidus Architects) in Lake Buena Vista, Florida; and the Tycon Towers development (John Burgee Architects with Philip Johnson) in Vienna, Virginia.

Personal life

Alan Ford was born on the Travis Air Force Base in California, where his father was stationed at the time. While Ford was growing up, his family was relocated to Alaska, Georgia and Florida.

By age six Ford had discovered and sought to develop his own creative talent through music. He cycled through various instruments and ultimately began playing guitar at the age of fourteen, which he continued into his twenties. Inspired by the 1970 Atlanta Pop Festival in Byron, Georgia, Ford went on to form the band Nothing (later renamed Free Form). From 1970 to 1972, Alan performed as a professional musician with his band. He began as a rhythm guitarist, often providing backup vocals, but later assumed the role of lead guitarist with occasional spots as lead vocalist.

In 1973, Ford parted from his band and moved to Boulder, Colorado in pursuit of a career in the recording industry. However, upon an unsuccessful attempt at securing a job with a Boulder-based recording studio, he began working at a dental supply company to save money for college.

Ford earned a Bachelor of Environmental Design from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1978 and a Master of Architecture from the University of Colorado Denver in 1980.

Alan Ford is now married with a wife and two kids. They live in an 1896-built Victorian home in Denver’s Park Hill neighborhood. In 2000, Ford and his wife (also an architect) designed their own remodel of the house, which consisted of an 1,100-square-foot addition that received widespread media acclaim. The renovation also earned a 2003 Architect’s Choice Award [cite news | last=Dedrick | first=Jay | title=Spanning the Centuries: 1896 meets 2003 in renovated Victorian | newspaper=Rocky Mountain News | pages=1E, 4E | year=2003 | date=2003-11-22] , sponsored by the "Rocky Mountain News", the American Institute of Architects’ Denver chapter and the city and county of Denver.

Career

Upon receiving his Master of Architecture in 1980, Alan landed a position with W.C. Muchow and Partners Architects in Denver, where he remained for three years. In 1984, Ford moved to New York City where he joined the office of John Burgee Architects and Philip Johnson. He later went on to do work for Alan Lapidus/Michael Graves in 1989, I. M. Pei & Partners in 1990 and Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates in 1991. Alan attributes the cultivation of his fervor for architecture – which ultimately materialized in the form of architectural journalism – to the inspiration he found in Philip Johnson's passion for the profession [cite interview | last=Ford | first=Alan | subjectlink=Alan Ford (architect) | interviewer=Michael Halliburton | city=Denver, CO | date=2008-07-01 | accessdate=2008-07-01] .

In 1993, Ford founded Hutton Ford Architects P.C. together with Paul Hutton, where he was a managing principal until 2007. On June 1, 2007, Ford established a new firm under the name of Alan Ford Architects P.C. [cite web | title=Soloso | url=http://soloso.aia.org/eKnowledge/Help/index.htm | accessdate=2008-07-12] ; however, both he and Hutton continue to collaborate on a number of joint ventures under the entity Hutton Ford Architects, LLC.

Alan Ford continues to practice as a licensed Colorado architect and principal of Alan Ford Architects P.C. He authored the book "Designing the Sustainable School" and co-authored "A Sense of Entry: Designing the Welcoming School" with former partner Paul Hutton [cite journal | last=Ward | first=Rebecca | title=Architect's Homework | journal=Schools of the 21st Century (A Supplement to Architectural Record) | pages115, 117= | date=2008-01 | year=2008] . In addition to his interest in K-12 sustainable school design, Ford has a passion for masonry detailing, which is evidenced by his Park Hill residence and a significant number of past projects [cite journal | last=Leccese | first=Michael | title=Brick by Brick | journal=MyHouse Magazine | volume=1 | issue=2 | pages=67 | date=2005-01 | year=2005] .

Ford has served on the editorial board of the award-winning AIA magazine "Architect Colorado", and as an honorarium professor and guest critic at the University of Colorado, School of Architecture. He is currently design editor of the AIA website, Soloso.

Professional Affiliations

*American Institute of Architects (AIA)
*City Club of Denver Board of Directors 1999-2002
*Council of Educational Facility Planners, International (CEFPI)
*National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB)
*State of Colorado Architect License

Notable Aspects of Career

*Author: "Designing the Sustainable School", The Images Publishing Group, 2007
*Co-Author: "A Sense of Entry: Designing the Welcoming School", The Images Publishing Group, 2007
*AIA Colorado, Design Conference Committee Member, 2003, 2006, 2007
*"Architect Colorado" Editorial Board, 2005-2007
*City Club Board Member, 2001-2002
*Guest Lecturer, University of Colorado, 2007
*Instructor, University of Colorado at Boulder, School of Architecture, 1997
*Instructor, University of Colorado at Denver, School of Architecture, 1998-99
*Juror, University of Colorado, College of Architecture and Planning, 1997

Significant Works

*Mapleton School Feasibility Study
*Staunton State Park
*Spruce Street Place Mixed-use Facility
*Cherokee Ranch Ethics Institute and Conference Facility
*Fort Lupton School District 2001 Bond Issue
*Lowry Office Building
*Morgan Stanley Southwest Region Office and Conference Facility
*Ault Administrative Office and Conference Building, Weld County School
*Ohio State University Classroom Building (designer with Philip Johnson Architect)
*Joliet Learning Center
*1055 Lincoln Green Office Building
*Mead Middle School Gymnasium
*Kent Denver Science and Technology Center
*Alexander Dawson Performing Arts Center
*Green Mountain High School
*Drake Middle School

References

External links

* [http://www.fordarch.com Alan Ford Architects Official Website]
* [http://www.archiplanet.org/wiki/Alan_Ford_Architects_P.C.%2C_Denver%2C_Colorado%2C_USA Archiplanet: Alan Ford Architects P.C.]
* [http://www.amazon.com/dp/1864702370 "Designing the Sustainable School" (Hardcover)] , Amazon.com
* [http://www.amazon.com/dp/1864702389 "A Sense of Entry: Designing the Welcoming School" (Hardcover)] , Amazon.com
* [http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.commentview&comment_id=57 World Architecture News article by Alan Ford]
* [http://http://soloso.aia.org/eknowledge/index.htm AIA Soloso]
* [http://www.aia.org The American Institute of Architects]
* [http://www.pjar.com Philip Johnson Alan Ritchie Architects]
* [http://www.kpf.com/main.asp Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates]
* [http://www.michaelgraves.com Michael Graves & Associates]
* [http://www.pcfandp.com Pei Cobb Freed & Partners Architects]