Alan B. Ford,

FAIA Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) is a postnominal title or membership, designating an individual who has been named a fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Fellowship is bestowed by the institute on AIA-member ...

, (born December 20, 1952) is an American

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

best known for his work on

K-12 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993, well known worldwide mainly for its heavyweight division fights and Grand Prix tournaments. In January 2012, K-1 Global Holdings Limited, a company registered in Hong Kong, acquired ...

sustainable Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livin ...

schools. A regular contributor to

architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings o ...

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

, Ford is author of ''Designing the Sustainable School'' and co-author of ''A Sense of Entry: Designing the Welcoming School''. In 2008, Ford was a member of the national

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

(AIA) Soloso (now Architect's Knowledge Resource) Editorial Content Review Board and subject matter expert for the website's design content. He has been published in such prominent journals as ''Architect Colorado'' and ''World Architecture News''. The best known works to which Ford has applied his architectural expertise are the

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library is the repository of presidential records from the administration of Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, and the burial place of the president and first lady, Nancy Reagan. It is the larg ...

(Donovan and Green) in Simi Valley, California; the

Walt Disney World Swan The Walt Disney World Swan is a resort hotel located between Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios in the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, and across from its sister resort, the Walt Disney World Dolphin. Both hotels were designe ...

resort hotel ( Michael Graves with Alan Lapidus Architects) in

Lake Buena Vista, Florida Lake Buena Vista () is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. It is mostly known for being the mailing address for Walt Disney World—although almost all of the resort facilities, including all four theme parks, are physically located i ...

; and the Tycon Towers development (

John Burgee __NOTOC__ John Burgee (born August 28, 1933) is an American architect noted for his contributions to Postmodern architecture. He was a partner of Philip Johnson from 1967 to 1991, creating together the partnership firm Johnson/Burgee Architects. ...

Architects with Philip Johnson) in Vienna, Virginia.

Biography

Personal life

Alan Ford was born on the Travis Air Force Base in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, where his father was stationed at the time. While growing up, Ford and his family were relocated to

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

, Georgia and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. By age six Ford had discovered and sought to develop his own creative talent through music. He cycled through various

instruments Instrument may refer to: Science and technology * Flight instruments, the devices used to measure the speed, altitude, and pertinent flight angles of various kinds of aircraft * Laboratory equipment, the measuring tools used in a scientific lab ...

and ultimately began playing guitar at the age of fourteen, which he continued into his twenties. Inspired by the 1970 Atlanta Pop Festival in

Byron, Georgia Byron is a city located primarily in Peach County, Georgia, United States. A small portion of the city also extends into parts of Houston and Crawford counties. The population was estimated to be 5,149 in 2019 by the Census Bureau, an increasin ...

, Ford went on to form the band Nothing (later renamed Free Form). From 1970 to 1972, Alan performed as a professional musician with his band. He began as a rhythm guitarist, often providing backup vocals, but later assumed the role of lead guitarist with occasional spots as lead vocalist. In 1973, Ford parted from his band and moved to

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 12th most populous city in Color ...

in pursuit of a career in the recording industry. However, upon an unsuccessful attempt at securing a job with a Boulder-based recording studio, he began working at a dental supply company to save money for college. Ford earned a Bachelor of Environmental Design from the

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sys ...

in 1978 and a Master of Architecture from the

University of Colorado Denver The University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) is a Public university, public research university in Denver, Colorado. It is part of the University of Colorado system. History University of Colorado System Anschutz Medical Campus The University ...

in 1980. Alan Ford is now married with a wife and two kids. They live in an 1896-built

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

home in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

’s Park Hill neighborhood. In 2000, Ford and his wife (also an architect) designed their own remodel of the house, which consisted of an addition that received widespread media acclaim. The renovation also earned a 2003 Architect’s Choice Award, sponsored by the ''

Rocky Mountain News The ''Rocky Mountain News'' (nicknamed the ''Rocky'') was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, United States, from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. As ...

'', the American Institute of Architects’

chapter and the city and county of Denver.

Career

Upon receiving his Master of Architecture in 1980, Ford landed a job with W.C. Muchow and Partners Architects in Denver, where he remained for three years. In 1984, Ford moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

where he joined the office of

Architects and Philip Johnson. He later went on to do work for Alan Lapidus/ Michael Graves in 1989,

I. M. Pei Ieoh Ming Pei
– website of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners ( ; ; April 26, 1917 – May 16, 2019) was ...

& Partners in 1990 and

Kohn Pedersen Fox Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) is an American architecture firm that provides architecture, interior, programming and master planning services for clients in both the public and private sectors. KPF is one of the largest architecture firms in ...

Associates in 1991. Alan attributes the cultivation of his fervor forarchitecture – which materialized in the form of architectural journalism – to the inspiration he found in Philip Johnson's passion for the profession. In 1993, Ford co-founded Hutton Ford Architects P.C. with Paul Hutton, where he was a managing principal until 2007. On June 1, 2007, in a move to diversify his firm's range of services, Ford established Alan Ford Architects P.C.; however, both he and Hutton continue to collaborate on a number of

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...

s under the entity Hutton Ford Architects, LLC. Alan Ford continues to practice as a licensed Colorado architect and principal of Alan Ford Architects. He authored the book ''Designing the Sustainable School'' and co-authored ''A Sense of Entry: Designing the Welcoming School'' with former partner Paul Hutton. In addition to his interest in K-12 sustainable school design, Ford has a passion for masonry detailing, which is evidenced by his Park Hill residence and a significant number of past projects. Ford has served on the editorial board of the award-winning AIA magazine ''Architect Colorado'', and as an honorarium professor and guest

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governmen ...

at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

, School of Architecture. He is also the former subject matter expert/editor of design content for the national AIA Soloso website (now the Architect's Knowledge Resource), where he regularly contributed content promoting

sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...

, design innovations and the

profession. Blue Spruce Night Shot

20130730 840 Mapleston AandP 0008 WebRes

Alan Ford Architects P.C.

Alan Ford Architects P.C. is a Colorado architecture firm based in the unique Taxi2 development within the River North Art District in Denver. The firm was founded in 2007 by Alan Ford, who had been a

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

and managing partner with Hutton Ford Architects. Alan Ford Architects specializes in the design of high-performance,

K-12 schools, but also has extensive experience in a variety of additional project types including

office An office is a space where an Organization, organization's employees perform Business administration, administrative Work (human activity), work in order to support and realize objects and Goals, plans, action theory, goals of the organizati ...

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...

and

mixed-use development Mixed-use is a kind of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning type that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions are to some ...

s; performing arts facilities; single family and

multifamily residential Multifamily residential (also known as multidwelling unit or MDU) is a classification of housing where multiple separate housing units for residential inhabitants are contained within one building or several buildings within one complex. Units ca ...

; and sports and fitness centers.

Professional affiliations

*American Institute of Architects (

AIA AIA or A.I.A. or Aia may refer to: Aia * Aia, a small town in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa, Spain * Aia, current Kutaisi, ancient capital of Colchis * Aia, another name for Aea (Malis), an ancient town in Greece * ''Aia'', the collected ed ...

) *City Club of Denver Board of Directors 1999-2002 *Council of Educational Facility Planners, International (CEFPI) *National Council of Architectural Registration Boards ( NCARB) *

State of Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

Architect License

Notable aspects of career

Author: ''Designing the Sustainable School'', The Images Publishing Group, 2007 *Co-Author: ''A Sense of Entry: Designing the Welcoming School'', The Images Publishing Group, 2007 EMR 6242

Member: National

Soloso (now Architect's Knowledge Resource) Editorial Content Review Board; Subject Matter Expert for design content, 2008 *

Colorado, Design Conference Committee Member, 2003, 2006, 2007 *''Architect Colorado'' Editorial Board, 2005–2007 *City Club Board Member, 2001–2002 *Guest Lecturer,

, 2007 *Instructor,

, School of Architecture, 1997 *Instructor,

, School of Architecture, 1998–99 *Juror,

, College of Architecture and Planning, 1997

Significant works

*Mapleton Elementary School Conversion to Early Childhood Center *Robert E. Loup Jewish Community Center Master Plan *Staunton State Park Master Plan *Spruce Street Place Mixed-use Development *Cherokee Ranch Ethics Institute and Conference Facility * Fort Lupton School District 2001 Bond Issue *Lowry Office Building *

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...

Southwest Region Office and Conference Facility * Ault Administrative Office and Conference Building, Weld County School *

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

Classroom Building (designer with Philip Johnson Architect) *Joliet Learning Center *1055 Lincoln Green Office Building *Mead Middle School Gymnasium *Kent Denver Science and Technology Center *Alexander Dawson Performing Arts Center *

Green Mountain High School Green Mountain High School is a public high school in the western part of the city of Lakewood in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. It is administered by Jefferson County Public Schools. Athletics Green Mountain High School offers t ...

* Drake Middle School *

Tycon Center Tycon Center is a development at 8000 Towers Crescent Drive in Vienna, VA, built and initially owned by developers James T. Lewis, Roy Mitchell and Don Moore, known as Tycon Development The complex is also known as Tycon Towers 1 and consists of a ...

Fairfax County Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

References

External links

Alan Ford Architects Official WebsiteArchiplanet: Alan Ford Architects P.C.''Designing the Sustainable School'' (Hardcover)
Amazon.com
''A Sense of Entry: Designing the Welcoming School'' (Hardcover)
Amazon.com
World Architecture News article by Alan FordThe American Institute of ArchitectsPhilip Johnson Alan Ritchie ArchitectsKohn Pedersen Fox AssociatesMichael Graves & AssociatesPei Cobb Freed & Partners Architects
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Alan Architects from Colorado Living people 1952 births University of Colorado Denver alumni People from Solano County, California