Mr. Fred M. Taylor

Fredrick Taylor is a previous student and faculty member of the NC State College of Design. Fred wrote a letter sharing his experiences here and how they later influenced his professional life.

“My Life in Architecture,

The NC State College of Design was created by Henry Kamphoefner with a team of young architects and artists and world renowned visitors, developing a vibrant atmosphere for exploring all design disciplines. When I received a scholarship in 1948 to attend the then named “School of Design,” I was fortunate to become a part of that exciting and adventurous time. There and later at MIT I developed the ability, curiosity, and courage to travel and take advantage of the challenging and interesting opportunities of my career.
I have established this scholarship in appreciation of the architectural education I received at the College of Design. It is my hope that the recipient of this award will benefit from the continuing tradition of the school and become an asset to the College of Design.
 
While at MIT with another scholarship I took advantage of a summer overseas work program in Gino Valli’s office in Udine, Italy, my first experience working abroad.
In 1955 I joined I. M. Pei’s office for eighteen months where I was given the job of designing a 1500 foot tall office building on the site of Grand Central Station in New York. This and another hypothetical assignment gave me the feeling I was still in school! When both projects were finished I left Pei’s office to accept a travel grant in Spain for eight months. This was followed by a short stay designing a theatre with Gino Valli and four months with Architects Co-Partnership in London designing a multi-use commercial building for Lagos, Nigeria. Needless to say none of these projects were ever built.

In 1958 Dean Kamphoefner invited me to join the College of Design faculty. This began a very exciting time for me, including teaching and collaborating with George Matsumoto on architectural projects. Certainly this time was one of the most enjoyable and rewarding of my career. Three years later I received an invitation to join my friend from MIT, Charles Correa, in Bombay, India.  My two years there were spent designing the cricket stadium, clubhouse and sports complex for Ahmedabad the capital of Gujarat, construction of which  was completed after I left. 

In 1963 I joined the office of Eduardo Catalano in Cambridge MA, just as the design of the Juilliard School at Lincoln Centre NYC was about to begin again with a new site and more ambitious program. Over the next three years I was involved with every phase and detail of this extremely complex project which included the School for Music, Drama and Dance, three concert halls and a theatre, all isolated from the sounds of the subway and each other. The Juilliard School is a building designed by a team of eight architects and six engineers sharing responsibility for various parts of the building.

My thirty years with Catalano involved projects ranging from libraries, schools, embassies, hotels, court houses, office buildings, to civic centers. Later, after the office closed, I designed a few houses for personal clients.

In retirement I continued enjoying travel and working in collaboration with friends, especially the eight seasons I spent harvesting olives in Tuscany."

Frederick M. Taylor, October 26, 2017