Architecture school to honor Geddes for lasting contribution

On Saturday, the University's School of Architecture will honor one of its former deans and a leader in the field, Robert Geddes. As dean, Geddes presided over the creation of one of the best independent architecture schools in the country, which has produced a number of notable architects.

Serving from 1965 to 1982, Geddes came to the University from the University of Pennsylvania. He had been a professor of architecture and civic design as well as a practicing architect in Philadelphia.

"[President Emeritus] Bob Goheen and I believed that architecture could be a vital part of the University," especially as one of Princeton's three professional schools, Geddes said.

This mentality was emphasized with courses open to the entire student body, such as the popular introductory architecture class taught by Geddes.

"It was an excellent course; he was a very articulate lecturer," said Douglas Kelbaugh '68, who precepted the class.

The School of Architecture is known for producing a large number of academics, especially due to its focus on the theoretical side of architecture. Kelbaugh is one such graduate and is now Dean of the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan.

"Princeton was in the vanguard of this movement of becoming more theoretical," Kelbaugh said.

The movement towards theory marked a change in the study of architecture and dominated the latter half of the 20th century, with Geddes and Princeton helping to lead the way.

But, Geddes said, the school did not consciously move toward theory.

"We moved to more analysis of the architecture," he said.

Combined with this focus on analysis was his concentration on the liberal arts component of architectural study.

"Schools of architecture have grown out of many sources and to have one grow out of a humanist discipline was a powerful idea for Dean Geddes," said Harrison Fraker '64, Dean of the College of Environmental Design at the University of California at Berkeley.

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Fraker, an instructor the School of Architecture from 1968-1984, said Geddes "changed architectural education so it was dominated by a much more liberal arts, humanities-based discipline. You needed to be a very broadly-educated human being."

As a result of this belief in the liberal arts component of architectural education, Geddes created what is now known as the Princeton Report. The report advocated structuring architectural education around a four-year bachelor's degree program followed by a two-year master's program.

"[Geddes] lengthened the time for the first professional degree, which allowed more time for liberal arts at the front end," Kelbaugh said.

These changes displaced the prevailing trend of a five-year joint bachelor's and master's program that existed at many architecture schools in the nation.

Geddes also left a legacy of a stronger architecture school at Princeton. The School has remained among the top three architectural programs since his tenure, Kelbaugh said.

On a personal level, Geddes left a remarkable impression on those around him.

"I have experience with him as an educator and a practitioner," said Fraker, who worked with Geddes for five years. "He is one of these incredibly intellectual people who read widely in a lot of related disciplines."

For Kelbaugh, Geddes stood out in his mind as "extremely active in the antiwar activities on campus" in a more formal University environment of the 1960s and 1970s.

"He was accessible, but still a father figure," he added.

Throughout Geddes's tenure, the School of Architecture was characterized as "the most interesting school of architecture in the country and perhaps the world," a role it maintains today, according to the school's website.

Geddes, the man who is responsible for the strong growth of the school, is humble about his achievements.

"We were unselfconscious," he said. "It was hard work and a lot of collegiality. I'm very proud of the school, how it is a wonderful place of talent."

As for the future of Princeton's architecture school, Geddes said he hopes the unique position of the University, with its public affairs school, encourages students to take advantage of the many connections available across the disciplines.

Another avenue for the development of the School comes from within, Geddes said. He encourages "a commitment to seeing a building in its context, not as a building itself, more part of a landscape."

Overall, he is confident about the direction of the School of Architecture.

"I think today is a time of great intelligence and imagination. I'm very optimistic in that respect," he said.