Steven Bloomfield MArch ’72/MCP ’73 firm recognized for work on Peters Cartridge Factory
Steven Bloomfield MArch ’72/MCP ’73 and his firm, Bloomfield/Schon, were recognized by the State of Ohio for their renovation and repurposing of the Peters Cartridge Factory into a mixed-use community. This is the firm’s fifth major historic renovation project. The Peters Cartridge Factory was built in 1918 with the original purpose being to make cartridges and armaments but is now a unique apartment building with 134 units “that offer urban living in the suburbs with lifestyle amenities.”
Visit the Peter Cartridge Factory Website for more.
posted December, 2021
In Memoriam: John C. “Jack” Portman III MArch ’73
Below is an excerpt from Portman Architects’ website.
Son of famed Atlanta architect John Calvin Portman Jr. and Jan Portman, John C. “Jack” Portman III MArch ’73 was born November 3, 1948 in Atlanta, Georgia. Jack graduated from The Lovett School in Atlanta, then earned a Bachelor of Architecture from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Master of Architecture from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. He began practicing architecture in 1973 at John Portman & Associates, rising from an Apprentice Architect to become Chairman of the firm, now known as Portman Architects.
Jack took over leadership of Portman Architects following the death of his father, John C. Portman Jr., in 2017. While exceedingly successful as a real estate developer, Jack was passionate about being an architect, particularly the creation of meaningful architecture with a focus on culturally sensitive design. He once said, “The challenge of the architect is to do something that seems to belong where it is situated.” Throughout his nearly 50-year career with the Portman Companies, Jack pioneered their international expansion, helping to transform the enterprises into the globe-spanning real estate design and development firms that they are today.
Link to the full text.
posted August, 2020
In Memoriam: Jim O’Hara MArch ’73
James John (Jim) O’Hara III MArch ’73, of Hollywood, FL died unexpectedly in his home in the early morning of July 11, 2019. Jim was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. Upon graduation from the GSD, Jim remained active in the Harvard GSD community, serving on the Alumni Council and engaging with the South Florida chapters in recent years. As a manager of International Design and Construction for several global companies, Jim’s work took him all over the world. Whether in India, China, South America or Paris France, Jim may have arrived as a stranger, but always left with lifelong friends. When he was not traveling for work, he traveled extensively for pleasure with his favorite travel companion and wife of 47 years, Mary Jo. Jim’s true joy and passion was his family. As a proud father, Jim provided endless support, encouragement, and unconditional love to his children.
A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Bernadette Catholic Church in Hollywood, FL on Tuesday, July 16 at 2pm.
In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to an architecture scholarship at St. Benedict’s Preparatory School (Newark, NJ) in Jim’s name.
For the full obiturary, click here.
posted July, 2019
In Memoriam: John P. Grossmann MArch ’73
John Peter Grossmann MArch ’73 passed away on Aug. 24, 2018, surrounded by his family. Born July 8, 1947, John was a serious man who delighted most in art, ideas and a very select and very lucky few people. He was a truly original person who led a meaningful and intentional life, and his influence continues to reverberate in the lives of those who knew him. John was the owner and principal of Grossmann Design Group (GDG), an architecture firm operating in the Bay Area since the 1980s that specialized in developing solutions to design and construction problems. GDG’s clients included the Federal Government, the State of California, municipal governments and many private clients. Notable projects included the City of Pacifica’s Community Center and Police Department, and historic renovations to the Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center. Prior to founding his own firm, he worked at Wallace, Floyd, Ellenzweig, Moore, where he was the project architect on Disney World’s Epcot Center in Orlando, Florida. John was an artist, and his mixed-media works adorn the homes of his family and his friends. John was an avid — and critical! — consumer of photography and books, and, somewhat surprisingly, a huge sports and country music fan. John got his B.A. in philosophy from UMass Boston and his master’s in architecture from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. He owed his lifelong belief in working toward an end to war and for tolerance towards all people to his parents, Walter and Maria Grossmann, who were historians and librarians at Harvard University and members of the Society of Friends. John is survived by his wife, Mary, his two daughters, Heather and Laura, and his sisters, Carol and Barbara.
This obituary was also published in San Francisco Chronicle on Dec. 20, 2018.
posted March, 2019
Dr. K. Locana Gunaratna MCP ’73 Completes Accident and Emergency Hospital in Batticaloa; Publishes Book
Dr. K. Locana Gunaratna MCP ’73 recently completed the Accident and Emergency Hospital in Batticaloa, the capital city of the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. The project is a Public Private Partnership between the Government of Sri Lanka and a non-profit foundation supporting a National Trauma Service in Sri Lanka based in Australia. This Accident and Emergency Hospital is located within the Teaching Hospital campus. Parts of the province frequently experience cyclonic conditions and floods. It was also severely damaged by the 2004 Tsunami and the recently concluded civil war.
The project is a specialized facility meant for patients who have sustained injuries through serious accidents and is capable of dealing with mass traumas. It provides for emergencies through its high-tech diagnostic and treatment facilities. These include ultra-sterile operating theaters with recovery areas, and, short-stay wards for men and women. Patients after emergency treatment can be transferred, if need be, to other appropriate wards of the Teaching Hospital Complex. The project won a ‘Gold’ award from the Green Building Council of Sri Lanka, a body affiliated to the World Green Building Council. It is the first hospital in this country to win such an award.
Gunaratna and his firm, Gunaratna Associates, which is based in Colombo, are committed to Green building.
Additionally, Gunaratna recently published a book, Towards Equitable Progress, a collection of essays presented from the perspective of a spatial planner whose working life has been immersed in South Asia. It concerns some of the serious challenges that need to be confronted in the South Asian context, including the externalities and ethical questions that arise in the process of development.
posted January, 2019
Alumni Work Recognized with 2017 ASLA Professional Awards
The work of Harvard University Graduate School of Design alumni is well represented in this year’s American Society of Landscape Architects Professional Awards, which recognize the best of landscape architecture from the United States and around the world. Winners received their awards at the ASLA Annual Meeting and EXPO in Los Angeles last October. Those honored include:
GENERAL DESIGN CATEGORY
Honor Awards
Andrea Cochran MLA ’79, Megumi Aihara MLA ’07 (Windhover Contemplative Center)
Mikyoung Kim MLA ’92 (Chicago Botanic Garden: The Regenstein Learning Campus)
RESIDENTIAL DESIGN CATEGORY
Award of Excellence
Andrea Cochran MLA ’79, Lin Peng MLA ’12 (Birmingham Residence)
Honor Award
Andrea Cochran MLA ’79 (Telegraph Hill Residence)
Stephen Stimson MLA ’87 (Northeast Harbor, a Restoration on Mount Desert Island)
Reed Hilderbrand LLC Landscape Architecture, led by by Principals Gary Hilderbrand MLA ’85 and Douglas Reed MLA ’81 (Proving Grounds – A 20-Year Education in American Horticulture; Agrarian Modern – The Recovery and Renewal of Manatuck Farm)
Bruce Jett MLA ’92 (Northpoint Apartments)
ANALYSIS AND PLANNING CATEGORY
Honor Award
Charlotte Barrows MLA ’06 (The Olana Strategic Landscape Design Plan: Restoring an American Masterpiece)
Leo Alvarez MLA ’81, Ralph Johnson MArch ’73 (Waterfront Botanical Gardens)
Reed Hilderbrand LLC Landscape Architecture, led by by Principals Gary Hilderbrand MLA ’85 and Douglas Reed MLA ’81 (Conservation at the Edge – Prototyping low-intervention conservation in the Patagonian wilderness)
Gordon Gill MArch ’93 (Positioning Pullman)
Katharyn Leah Hurd MLAUD ’12 (Texas Capitol Complex Master Plan)
COMMUNICATIONS CATEGORY
Charles Birnbaum LF ’98 (The Landscape Architecture of Lawrence Halprin)
More information, including the full list of 2017 winners.
Photo: Windhover Contemplative Center at Stanford University, Andrea Cochran Landscape Architecture.
posted November, 2017
Society of Architectural Historians to Honor Ralph Johnson MArch ’73, Sharon Johnston MArch ’95, Mark Lee MArch ’95
The Society of Architectural Historians will present the SAH Awards for Architectural Excellence at its 8th Annual Awards Gala on November 17, 2017, at The Racquet Club of Chicago. Those being honored by SAH include architect Ralph Johnson MArch ’73, Global Design Director at Perkins+Will, and architects Sharon Johnston MArch ’95 and Mark Lee MArch ’95, founders and principals of the architecture firm Johnston Marklee.
Ralph Johnson MArch ’73 will receive the Award for Excellence in Design, Planning, and Sustainability. His projects have been honored with more than 150 design awards, including eight national Honor Awards, more than 50 regional Honor Awards from the American Institute of Architects and a Progressive Architecture Design Award. He was honored in 2015 as a newly elected member of the National Academy—one of the highest honors in American art and architecture.
Sharon Johnston MArch ’95 and Mark Lee MArch ’95 will receive the Award for Excellence in Public Engagement with the Built Environment. Their firm, Johnston Marklee, has been recognized nationally and internationally with over 30 major awards and numerous publications.
Read the full press release.
posted November, 2017
Steve Calhoun MLA ’71 and Rodney Wulff MLA ’73 Featured in Landscape Australia
Steve Calhoun MLA ’71 and Rodney Wulff MLA ’73, founding directors of landscape architecture at Tract (Melbourne), are the focus of an article in Landscape Australia. Dubbed the “odd couple of landscape architecture,” Calhoun and Wulff discuss meeting as MLA students at the GSD, their decades-long partnership at Tract, and the future of the industry. Additionally, Calhoun offers an anecdote on the passion of landscape architects gleaned from an event at the GSD in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Landscape Architecture at Harvard. Read the feature here.
posted March, 2017
Ralph Johnson, FAIA, MArch ’73 Elected to the National Academy
Ralph Johnson, FAIA, MArch ’73, Global Design Director for Perkins + Will, has been elected to the National Academy, an honorary association of artists and architects. “The election of these artists and architects is in recognition of their immense influence and impact on the American cultural conversation, as well as of the profound contributions each will continue to make in the years to come,” said Bruce Fowle, president of the National Academy, in announcing this year’s class of inductees. Read the full announcement here.
November 2015
posted December, 2016