I can truly say that he is the reason that I love architecture so much. I was fortunate enough to actually experience Marys House in a way that not many do. During my sixth year I house/dog sat for him during spring break. It was amazing to wake up each morning and get to take in the beauty of that house on a day to day basis.

was there a jar of peanut butter involved???

I would have to agree in the notion that David Niland was an unbelievable influence on my love for architecture and design in general. His stern but playful frankness in getting points across to overly exhausted students was as clean-lined as the modernist sensibilities that he championed for so many years. My interest in not only practicing good design but teaching future generations of architects and designers were tremendously amplified by my interactions with professor Niland.

I arrived at DAAP too late to meet him, but it sounds like he was quite a character.

I often think of David Niland when I am working on a design. He's like an angel (?) sitting on my shoulder, challenging me to get to the essence of the matter. What does this project really want to be? Dig deeper. There is a restlessness there that can't be resolved - even though the design had to stop at a certain point, the ideas needed to be explored more. I guess it's that he always challenged to explore the ideas further. Yet, he was always positive and encouraging. I will always be grateful to have known him, and to have earned a few compliments from him, on something I cared about deeply, at an important time in my life.

I took his summer studio in 87 and had him for thesis in 89-90. At the time, I was interested in historic buildings and ornament. My interests did not mesh with his view of architecture and thus I didn't learn as much as I could have in his studio. But he was a dedicated and insightful teacher and he will be missed.

DAVID L. NILAND
A Remembrance

By Lee Bloom, Class of 1988



Use your imagination...
Picture a strong personality combining the brashness of legendary midwestern football coach Woody Hayes, the sublimely poetic and geometrical mind of Louis Kahn and the nimble form-making ability of Paul Rudolph. Now, add the comic timing of Henny Youngman, and this unlikely assemblage begins to paint a picture of how Professor David L. Niland will fondly be remembered by over forty years worth of architecture students who have shared the profound experience of his tutelage at the University of Cincinnati.

Woody Hayes and modernist architecture, you ask? As a student I remember being struck with the notion that Niland was probably one of a handful of people who managed to successfully merge the motivational tactics of a football coach with the academic requirements of teaching architecture at the university level. Professor Niland's first love was football, and he played under coach Hayes at Denison University before his professional sports career was sidelined by two knee injuries. Fortunately for us students, Niland saw opportunity rather than constraint and eventually pursued his true ambition of becoming an architect, after a short stint in the late 1950's pre-Madmen era advertising industry.

MINING OPPORTUNITY IN SPITE OF LIMITATIONS.
To me, this is one of several clear themes embodied by Niland's life and work. Choosing to return to Cincinnati ("not exactly a hotbed of the arts" he would later say) after his schooling at Yale, he soon became the big fish in the small proverbial pond. As an educator and studio critic, he was gifted at helping students unclutter their minds and at guiding them toward exploiting the potential inherent in any idea, no matter how simple or complex. For Niland, the possibility of meaningful architectural expression lay dormant in virtually any program at any scale. Whether organizing the towering elements of a grand civic center design or laying out a handicap-accessible toilet room, Professor Niland taught that the purpose of architecture is to evoke a strong, positive, emotional, memorable response.

COMPOSITION, CLARITY, COMMUNICATION.
As a student in Niland's "Rhythm Studio" I came to see that his approach to form making was in essence the same as composing music. And like a great musician, Niland not only emphasized mastery of the fundamental, formal building blocks of his chosen language, but he further insisted that any composition served a larger human purpose of resonating with both the body and spirit of the "viewer, participant, respondent". We learned that architecture, like music, is an art form which must communicate meaning within the medium of time and space. In his own work, he held steadfast to his guiding principles and in its formal clarity, every Niland project managed to address and elaborate a "single, strong, identifiable" idea. How to construct a suitable container for a visual artist as well as her work (French House). How to enrich the life of a paraplegic client by designing a house which is not only wheelchair accessible but also conceived and detailed to celebrate – not merely accommodate – such a "limitation" (Hawkins House).

FORM, WIT & SPIRIT.
David Niland was no slave to political correctness nor did he suffer fools lightly. His demeanor was forward, direct, and powerful. He respected formality yet insisted on playfulness. As a teacher, his intensity was fueled by an unwavering passion for his values and his work as well as an abiding commitment to his students. He approached every project and each student with great seriousness yet always employed his considerable sense of humor as a welcome counterbalance.

Full disclosure – I studied with Niland, became a licensed Architect and worked professionally for a number of years. Ultimately I chose to abandon my career as an architect in order to pursue my true ambition of being a musician and teacher. Yet I still feel that the example of David Niland's life remains relevant and inspirational, because he became a model of a "teaching artist", a man who was equally passionate about his own creative work as he was about his role as an educator.

He had a profound impact on me and on generations of unsuspecting students in the heartland. David Niland's palpable love of life and architecture will continue to flourish through the inspiration he gave each of us.

DAVID L. NILAND
A Remembrance

By Lee Bloom, Class of 1988

Use your imagination...
Picture a strong personality combining the brashness of legendary midwestern football coach Woody Hayes, the sublimely poetic and geometrical mind of Louis Kahn and the nimble form-making ability of Paul Rudolph. Now, add the comic timing of Henny Youngman, and this unlikely assemblage begins to paint a picture of how Professor David L. Niland will fondly be remembered by over forty years worth of architecture students who have shared the profound experience of his tutelage at the University of Cincinnati.

Woody Hayes and modernist architecture, you ask? As a student I remember being struck with the notion that Niland was probably one of a handful of people who managed to successfully merge the motivational tactics of a football coach with the academic requirements of teaching architecture at the university level. Professor Niland's first love was football, and he played under coach Hayes at Denison University before his professional sports career was sidelined by two knee injuries. Fortunately for us students, Niland saw opportunity rather than constraint and eventually pursued his true ambition of becoming an architect, after a short stint in the late 1950's pre-Madmen era advertising industry.

MINING OPPORTUNITY IN SPITE OF LIMITATIONS.
To me, this is one of several clear themes embodied by Niland's life and work. Choosing to return to Cincinnati ("not exactly a hotbed of the arts" he would later say) after his schooling at Yale, he soon became the big fish in the small proverbial pond. As an educator and studio critic, he was gifted at helping students unclutter their minds and at guiding them toward exploiting the potential inherent in any idea, no matter how simple or complex. For Niland, the possibility of meaningful architectural expression lay dormant in virtually any program at any scale. Whether organizing the towering elements of a grand civic center design or laying out a handicap-accessible toilet room, Professor Niland taught that the purpose of architecture is to evoke a strong, positive, emotional, memorable response.

COMPOSITION, CLARITY, COMMUNICATION.
As a student in Niland's "Rhythm Studio" I came to see that his approach to form making was in essence the same as composing music. And like a great musician, Niland not only emphasized mastery of the fundamental, formal building blocks of his chosen language, but he further insisted that any composition served a larger human purpose of resonating with both the body and spirit of the "viewer, participant, respondent". We learned that architecture, like music, is an art form which must communicate meaning within the medium of time and space. In his own work, he held steadfast to his guiding principles and in its formal clarity, every Niland project managed to address and elaborate a "single, strong, identifiable" idea. How to construct a suitable container for a visual artist as well as her work (French House). How to enrich the life of a paraplegic client by designing a house which is not only wheelchair accessible but also conceived and detailed to celebrate – not merely accommodate – such a "limitation" (Hawkins House).

FORM, WIT & SPIRIT.
David Niland was no slave to political correctness nor did he suffer fools lightly. His demeanor was forward, direct, and powerful. He respected formality yet insisted on playfulness. As a teacher, his intensity was fueled by an unwavering passion for his values and his work as well as an abiding commitment to his students. He approached every project and each student with great seriousness yet always employed his considerable sense of humor as a welcome counterbalance.

Full disclosure – I studied with Niland, became a licensed Architect and worked professionally for a number of years. Ultimately I chose to abandon my career as an architect in order to pursue my true ambition of being a musician and teacher. Yet I still feel that the example of David Niland's life remains relevant and inspirational, because he became a model of a "teaching artist", a man who was equally passionate about his own creative work as he was about his role as an educator.

He had a profound impact on me and on generations of unsuspecting students in the heartland. David Niland's palpable love of life and architecture will continue to flourish through the inspiration he gave each of us.

Apologies for the duplicate post. Please advise if there's a simple way to delete one.

For those of you who are so inclined, there is a Facebook page in Mr. Niland's honor at: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=111413342252261&ref=mf

Honeypot;

ARCHITECTURE....IS....
THE REALIZATION OF AN ORDER
APPROPRIATELY APPLIED
LOGICALLY CONCEIVED
CONDITIONED IN DISCIPLINE
COGENT THROUGH CONSISTENCY
RIGOROUSLY REFINED
ANIMATED WITH WIT
ENLIVENED FROM SPIRIT

if you googley image his name these images are on page 1

:(

Wow. I am impressed by all those who've come to Archinect just to pay their respects to Prof. Niland! Welcome new friends (and fellow DAAPers).

I've been struggling all day to remember what exactly it was that he always called "Firmness, Commodity, and Delight"... what was it again? "ya-ha", something else, and "whoop-de-do"? What was the something else? I can't recall.

Obituary