Richard M. Sommer

Richard M. Sommer is an architect, urbanist, and scholar of the built environment. He was born in Philadelphia, and now resides in Toronto, Canada. From 2009 until 2020, he was the Dean of the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design at the University of Toronto, succeeding George Baird.[1] He is currently the Director of the Global Cities Institute at the University of Toronto, and Professor of Architecture and Urbanism at the Daniels Faculty.[2]

Richard Sommer
Alma materHarvard Graduate School of Design, Rhode Island School of Design
OccupationDirector, Global Cities Institute, University of Toronto, Professor (Dean Emeritus), John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design at the University of Toronto
Spouse(s)Laura Miller
AwardsDistinguished Professor Award (The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, 2020), Arthur Wheelwright Fellowship (Harvard University, 1994) Legislative Award for Teaching Excellence (Iowa State University, 1991)

Career

Prior to his appointment as Dean at the Daniels Faculty, Sommer was a member of the professoriate at the Harvard Graduate School of Design for eleven years, and served as Director of the school's Urban Design programs.[3] He has held several other academic appointments including the O’Hare Chair/Visiting American Scholar at the University of Ulster (2005–2010), Scholar-in-Residence at the California College of the Arts (1995–1998), as well as visiting professorships at K.U. Leuven, Washington University (1993–1995), Columbia (1993) and Iowa State University (1989–92).[3] In 1995 he founded a design practice called borfax/B.L.U.[3]

Education

Richard Sommer completed a Bachelor of Architecture and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Rhode Island School of Design in 1984 and 1983 respectively. Following this he completed a Master of Architecture at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design in 1988, where the architect Jose Rafael Moneo served as his thesis advisor. His research focuses on design in the context of trends in urbanization. He has also been pursuing a related long-term research project (with Glenn Forley) examining the monument as a historical exemplar of architecture's political function, particularly in relation to American democracy, and claims to American exceptionalism.[3]

Notable projects
  • Led the transformation of 1 Spadina Crescent[4] with NADAAA Architects[5]
  • Quadrupled the size of the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, adding five new programs including a renewed undergraduate program in Architectural Studies, a PhD in Architecture, Landscape, and Design, and amalgamating UofT's programs in Art/Visual Studies and Forestry[2]
  • Co-curated New Circadia (Adventures in mental spelunking), a collaboration with Pillow Culture, NYC and the inaugural exhibition at the Architecture and Design Gallery at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design[6]
  • His writings and projects have been included in: Perspecta: The Yale Architecture Journal, ANY Magazine, Metropolis, The Journal of Architectural Education, Arcade, The Harvard Design Magazine, and the books Supernatural Urbanism: the L.A. River Studio; Shaping the City: Studies in History, Theory and Urban Design; Regenerating Older Suburbs; Urban Design and Third Coast Atlas[3]
  • Key writings include: Beyond Centers, Fabric and the Culture of Congestion: Urban Design as a Metropolitan Enterprise; Four Stops along and Architecture of Post-War America; The Urban Design of Philadelphia: Taking the Town for the City; Time Incorporated, The Romantic Life of the Modern Monument, and a series of publications/books with Glenn Forley including: The Democratic Monument in America: A Twentieth Century Topography; Highway Beautiful: The March from Selma to Montgomery, and Dy-no-mite Fiends: The Weather Underground at Chicago's Haymarket

Awards

In 2020 Sommer received a Distinguished Professor Award from The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture in 2020.[7] In 1994 he was awarded Harvard's Arthur W. Wheelwright Traveling Fellowship (now called the Wheelwright Prize). In 1991 he received the Legislative Award for Teaching Excellence from Iowa State University.

Sommer's research has been supported by awards and grants including: the National Endowment for the Arts, the LEF Foundation, the Wheelwright Fellowship, the Tozier Fund and the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts.

See also

References
  1. Lorinc, John (July 12, 2010). "Ghostly Spadina structure could get new lease on life". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
  2. "Richard Sommer to conclude his appointment as dean of the Daniels Faculty on June 30". Daniels. 2020-06-26. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
  3. "Professor Richard M. Sommer appointed as Dean, John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design at the University of Toronto". Canadian Architect. 2009-04-24. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
  4. Leblanc, Dave (November 16, 2017). "An overlooked University of Toronto gem brought back to the spotlight". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
  5. Bozikovic, Alex. "Merging the Past with the Future". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
  6. Roussy, Kas (December 15, 2019). "Napping has been redeemed by health experts, but don't overdo it". CBC News.
  7. "ACSA Announces 2020 Architectural Education Award Winners". Architect Magazine. February 28, 2020. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
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