Please join Wayne State University for their next Yamasaki Legacy Project event on Friday, May 18, when they will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the McGregor Conference Center, which opened on May 18, 1958.

At 4:30pm in McGregor’s Rooms B/C, there will be a lecture by Richard Hess from Quinn Evans Architects, who will speak on: “McGregor Reflecting Pool and Sculpture Gardens: Restoring a Minuro Yamasaki Masterwork.” The lecture is free and open to the public.

The lecture by Mr. Hess will examine:
• The Challenge of Preserving Innovation and Experience
• Yamasaki’s Search for Surprise, Serenity, and Delight
• Reconstruction of the Reflecting Pool
• Restoration of the Sculpture Islands & the Return of Tranquility

The lecture will be followed by a reception in the conference center atrium at 5:30pm, where Barnes & Noble and WSU Press will be selling books by Yamasaki Advisory Board members Dale Gyure, Amy Arnold, John Gallagher, and others.

Parking is available at the WSU Parking Structure #1 (corner of Cass and Palmer).

Speaker Info
Richard B. Hess, a Senior Associate with Quinn Evans Architects, is responsible for managing QEA’s Detroit Office and Urban Revitalization work. With over 20 years of combined experience in professional practice and teaching, Mr. Hess has been passionately involved in the presercationof historic architecture and the revitalization of urban communities. His recent work on the restoration of Minrou Tamasaki’s reflecting pool and scultpure gardens at the McGregor Memorial Conference Center received the 2014 Michigan Governor’s Award, National Trust Award for Historic Preservation, and the Docomomo US Citation of Merit. Mr. Hess holds a Bachelor of Design degree from the University of Florida, with a Masters in Architecture and Graduate Certificate in Film Studies from the University of Michigan.

 

The Yamasaki Lecture Series is supported by the WSU Irvin D. Reid Honors College.