Mr. Eskew was "a great master of collaboration," said Forman, the president and chief executive officer of the Audubon Nature Institute. "His design was to bring as many people into the room as possible and listen and work with them and come back with a product that everyone would get excited about." — The Times-Picyaune/NOLA.com
It was disheartening to learn that Allen Eskew, a founding principal with Eskew+Dumez+Ripple, passed away last night at the age of 65.
My personal interactions with Allen, although limited, made a deep impression on not only myself but our young office. My office and I were proud to team with Allen and EDR in the pursuit of the Center for Civil and Human Rights museum here in Atlanta. Though our team was not selected, Allen's humor, wit, and razor sharp perception throughout the process were infectious and inspiring.
Heartfelt condolences to the Eskew+Dumez+Ripple family on what can only be a shocking loss.
St. Martha Catholic Church, New Orleans, LA
3 Comments
Sad news, but thanks for posting.
Wow, this is very sad news. Allen was one of those instructors who I credit with helping me form my point-of-view as an architect. The single class of his that I took at Tulane gave me more to build on over the subsequent years than some of the studios. What he shared with his students was a way of looking at things - observation, on-the-spot analysis and speculation about why things are the way they are, and how that (sometimes fictional) narrative can be used and applied to the work.
Up until his class I always enjoyed theory classes and those exercises that were completely abstract - I still think that kind of thinking is fun and useful - but I found that there was so much more richness and life in his way of developing a narrative around an architectural artifact or experience that it shifted how I've approached things ever since. That would have been - what - 1989?!
Thanks, Allen.
Always terrible to see a young architect pass away. So much potential yet!
Rest in peace, Mr. Eskew.
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