November 15, 2007
UW College of Architecture and Urban Planning announces Roll of Honor inductees
The UW College of Architecture and Urban Planning will celebrate its three latest inductees at a Roll of Honor event the evening of Jan. 15, 2008, in Architecture Hall.
Elizabeth Ayer (1897-1987) was the third UW architecture graduate (and the first woman to graduate in architecture), and is believed to have been the first female registered architect in Washington state. She’s also the first woman to be listed on the Roll of Honor.
Ayer had a long career, initially as an associate with Seattle architect Edwin Ivey. After Ivey was killed in a car accident in 1940, Ayer assumed his practice and later took UW graduate Roland Lamping into partnership (Ayer & Lamping, 1941, 1950-69). Primarily a residential architect, Ayer designed more than 100 houses as well as other buildings during her career.
Fred Bassetti (b. 1917) is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects recognized for his contributions to Northwest architecture. He is a UW graduate (Bachelor of Architecture, 1942) who received his Master of Architecture degree from Harvard University in 1946.
Beginning in the late 1940s, Bassetti contributed significantly to development of modern architecture in the Pacific Northwest. His many buildings include student housing at Central Washington University and Western Washington University; several buildings in Pike Place Market; the Henry Jackson Federal Office Building, Seattle (1964); the Seattle Aquarium (1971); the U.S. Embassy in Lisbon, Portugal (1983); and the Seattle Municipal Tower (1991).
From 1947 to 1962, Bassetti partnered with fellow Seattle architect Jack Morse; from 1962 to 1985 he headed Fred Bassetti & Co; and from 1985 to his retirement about 1992, the firm was known as Bassetti, Norton, Metler, Rekevics. Today, the successor firm is known as Bassetti Architects.
Bassetti’s work was published nationally, and his firm received numerous design awards. He occasionally served as a guest studio instructor at the UW and other schools. Bassetti was deeply involved in Seattle urban design and preservation from the 1960s to the 1980s. He worked, for example, with Allied Arts of Seattle, a network of residents concerned about the arts, urban design and historic preservation. Bassetti is also an AIA Seattle Gold Medal winner.
Norman J. Johnston (b. 1918) is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects noted for his commitment to teaching, scholarship and the community.
He received a bachelor’s degree in art from the UW in 1942, then a Bachelor of Architecture degree at the University of Oregon (1947), followed by a Master of Urban Planning degree (1959) and a doctorate (1964) from the University of Pennsylvania.
Early in his career, Johnston practiced as an architect, worked for the City of Seattle as a planner and taught at the University of Oregon. He came to the UW in 1960 as a faculty member in architecture and urban planning, and taught until his retirement in the early 1990s.
Author of five books and numerous scholarly articles, Johnston served as associate dean for 16 years. He was key in creating the college’s visual resources collection and in broadening its book collection. Johnston’s love of the UW campus is reflected in his many years of service on the UW Landscape Advisory Committee and his support of the Architectural Commission.
Johnston served on the Architectural Registration Board in the 1960s and was a founding member of Allied Arts of Seattle. He was an advocate for anti-billboard legislation in Washington state and for 18 years served on the Washington State Capital Area Master Plan Advisory Committee. Johnston was also deeply involved in the American Institute of Architects and other professional and community groups. He is an AIA Seattle Gold Medal winner.
Initiated in 1987 and mounted in Room 147 of Architecture Hall, the Roll of Honor already includes Carl Gould, Lancelot Gowen, Richard Haag, Paul Kirk, Wendell Lovett, Lionel Pries, B. Marcus Priteca, Robert Reamer, Victor Steinbrueck, Ellsworth Storey, Paul Thiry, and Myer Wolfe. Inductees were last announced in 2005.
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For more information, contact Jeffrey Ochsner at (206) 543-4180 or jochsner@u.washington.edu.
