A COMMUNITY ASSET

[CITY Edition]

Buffalo News

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Print Media Edition: Financial edition

Buffalo, N.Y.

Aug 26, 1999

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Pagination: B2

Abstract:

As the dean of the University at Buffalo's School of Architecture and

Planning

for the past 11 years, Bruno Freschi set an example worth emulating.

Freschi recently announced his retirement as dean. Although he will

maintain

ties to the school as a professor after a one-year leave of absence,

his

move leaves a large void for UB President William R. Greiner to fill,

not

just for the university, but for the community.

Freschi was instrumental in rejuvenating the once-dormant $23 million

restoration

of the Darwin Martin House and is pushing for construction of a $60

million

architectural interpretive center on the Buffalo Psychiatric Center

campus.

He also produced a "signature span" design as a proposed alternative to

the twin span that would replace the Peace Bridge.

Full Text:

As the dean of the University at Buffalo's School of Architecture and

Planning

for the past 11 years, Bruno Freschi set an example worth emulating.

Freschi recently announced his retirement as dean. Although he will

maintain

ties to the school as a professor after a one-year leave of absence,

his

move leaves a large void for UB President William R. Greiner to fill,

not

just for the university, but for the community.

Freschi was instrumental in rejuvenating the once-dormant $23 million

restoration

of the Darwin Martin House and is pushing for construction of a $60

million

architectural interpretive center on the Buffalo Psychiatric Center

campus.

He also produced a "signature span" design as a proposed alternative to

the twin span that would replace the Peace Bridge.

In addition, Freschi has an impressive international body of work,

which

includes:

The master concept for Expo '86, the world's fair in Vancouver.

Freschi,

the fair's chief architect, designed the building that became the

fair's

symbol, a 160-foot-high steel geodesic dome.

A $12 million mosque in Burnaby, British Columbia. The building serves

as the spiritual center for the 30,000 Canadian followers of Aga Khan

and

has been praised for its powerful synthesis of Western and Islamic

architecture.

The Wickaninnish Pacific Rim Marine Centre and Museum, an award-

winning

conversion of an old inn built on a rock outcropping on the west coast

of Vancouver Island.

The master plan for a two-campus institution serving 15,000 students at

Kyonggi University in Seoul, South Korea.

His ideas are provocative, and it is likely that not all of them will

pan

out. That is to be expected when one thinks in terms of sweeping,

visionary

projects, an occurrence that is conspicuously rare in Western New York.

Perhaps equally as important as any plan or design was Freschi's

eagerness

to step outside the confines of the university and take an active role

in the larger community.

For that, he won some kudos and took his share of lumps. But Freschi's

attention and advocacy added a lively, informed voice to crucial

discussions

about the future of the Buffalo area, and helped spotlight the role

that

architectural design, planning and historic preservation can play in

efforts

to boost the troubled region.

In a broader sense, Freschi's involvement underlines the enormous

benefits

that could result from more extensive involvement by the area's

colleges

and universities in our business, charitable and political culture.

Such cooperation already exists, and often is done quietly. Some

colleges

have partnerships with Buffalo public schools, for example, or work

with

businesses to develop more effective products or approaches.

Even so, town-gown relations have never been as extensive as they could

and should be. The Buffalo area is blessed with a broad range of

high-quality

colleges and universities, all brimming with bright and resourceful

teachers

and researchers. Their first priority is to their students, their work

and their institutions. Finding the time and energy to take on new

responsibilities

can be difficult.

But, like Freschi, the best and brightest at our local institutions of

higher learning should search for ways to use their knowledge and ideas

for the betterment of the larger community. What better way to put

theory

into practice and to provide learning experiences for students?