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Norman K Dorf 1938- 2007

Bloopox
http://www.areforum.org/forums/forum10/26420.html

As one of the many who made it through the ARE with the help of Professor Dorf, I will miss this kind and enlessly dedicated teacher.

 
Jun 30, 07 4:51 pm

He made the ARE's design section passable for me and thousands of others. He was so available for people with questions and comforting to many. I learned as much from him as from other teachers and his teachings were a lot more useful in most cases.
Rest in peace, Professor Dorf.

Jun 30, 07 5:02 pm  · 
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b3tadine[sutures]

wow! i knew he was ill for some time, but not to this extent. his expertise in getting through those sleepless nights was extremely rewarding. now he can rest.

Jun 30, 07 5:15 pm  · 
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blah

He was a great guy. He gave a lot of himself. I remember calling him from the L at the Merchandise Mart. I was one stop away from taking the Building Technology Exam and I had a question about the how much a lintel should bear on a post. He answered my question and was a real gentleman.

Mr. Dorf was a class act.

Godspeed!

Jul 1, 07 10:59 pm  · 
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mr dorf helped me on the graphic sections too. basically told me to forget a lot of what i knew from a few years of practice, that i knew too much. and that i was working too hard to answer the question WELL instead of just answer EXACTLY THE QUESTION. he was right on.

best of all, he seemed happy to be helping so many young people make their way. thanks mr dorf!

Jul 2, 07 7:06 am  · 
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myriam

bummer, i was looking forward to the rite-of-passage of one of his study sessions in the next year. looks like i will miss out on a true legend.

Jul 2, 07 8:35 am  · 
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futureboy

wow, this is really sad. i just took his seminar a few months ago...i know he had been sick a bit this past winter, but...
this is a shock.
yeah, he was so good at getttin us all to understand the difference between what we do as a professional pursuit and what defines minimum competence in our professional acts....
it actually was quite an invigorating revelation. we so often confuse and ofuscate....he really understood the difference and the relevance of competency.

Jul 2, 07 9:21 am  · 
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b3tadine[sutures]

i did not know he worked with Breuer...

Jul 2, 07 12:15 pm  · 
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unfortunately i never had the opportunity to meet professor dorf... i was planning on taking his seminar later this year before taking the 3 graphics exams... i'll be figuring it out by myself now... as the NYT obit said, his death leaves "a large void in the world of exam preparation"...

RIP professor dorf...

Jul 2, 07 1:42 pm  · 
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those who have not met prof. dorf in person, including me, should definitely buy 'his' books to study for graphic exams, those books will make them less harder to pass.
funny enough, he does make a very hard to see and ever so smooth statements about architecture and design when you get into it and he is very right on with his criticisms. he was underrated outside the exam taking architects but his value will for sure go up after his death. he makes you understand about siting, planning and building systems in three chapters. he was a one man architecture school.
it could be just a matter of time somebody writes a book on him.

Jul 2, 07 1:57 pm  · 
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i was planning to interview him in the future for archinect.

Jul 2, 07 1:59 pm  · 
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some person

a-ha, but did abracadabra, faia ever meet him? Perhaps there could be a Professor Dorf tribute episode?



I talked to him a mere few months ago. I left a message on his 800 number to place an order on a Saturday night and received a call back in a few hours.

Jul 2, 07 8:17 pm  · 
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snooker

Sounds like we have the loss of two Professors who are responsible for so many to pass the exams. Prof Dorf and Prof Kirby Lockard.
May they be in a place where they can look down and enjoy the dedication they gave to this profession and see the fruit amongst the vines.

Jul 2, 07 8:22 pm  · 
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Janosh

Wow. I can't say enough about Prof. Dorf... a couple of years ago I spent my lunch hour trying to get NCARB to tell me why they hadn't sent my IDP records to Michigan (for the second time), and I get a call waiting beep. He was calling out the blue to see if I had any questions about the Solutions book that I had purchased a week earlier. A classy guy and a credit to the profession.

Jul 2, 07 10:51 pm  · 
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moonshine

What a great man he was.
R.I.P.

Jul 3, 07 11:41 am  · 
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etiennecoutu

What a surprise, when I called to order his book, it was him answering the call. Low key, dedicated, we will remember him.

Jul 3, 07 1:39 pm  · 
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jetcetera

R.I.P. Mr. Dorf, you will be missed.

Jul 3, 07 11:56 pm  · 
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some person

I just noticed for the first time on the last page of Professor Dorf's Solutions manual is "You know when you've taken too many A.R.E. exams when......."

a top ten list

for instance "5. Proctors greet you with "Oh, it's you again!", and hand you your fuzzy slippers."



precious.



Thank you Professor Dorf!

Aug 20, 07 9:47 pm  · 
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