THREE HONORARY ARCHITECTS NAMED

April 20, 2007 - Detroit - The Michigan Chapter of the American Institute of Architects has three new Honorary Affiliate Members. This title is reserved for persons who are not architects but never-the-less have made an important contribution to the profession or to the arts or sciences related to it. The Annual Celebration of Excellence in Architecture will be held in Plymouth at the Inn at St. John. The Inn will play host to over 200 architects for their celebration. This year will mark the 150th Anniversary of The American Institute of Architects.

William Blumhardt was director of campus facilities planning for Michigan Technological University in Houghton. He was involved in the construction and renovation of about half of the university’s modern campus. Two of the buildings are AIA Award Winners. He was working on $10 million in campus renovations when he died earlier this year. His efforts on behalf of the university continue in his absence. The projects are expected to be complete this summer.

Blumhardt was a builder, a man of good humor and integrity. He recognized good design and pushed his architects and builders to create places that were special to students and visitors alike. He was also Houghton mayor pro tem for many years. His wife and daughter will travel to Plymouth for the ceremony.

Tawny Ryan Nelb is an archivist, records consultant, and historian based in Midland. She is recognized as a specialist in architectural records preservation and management. Ms. Nelb graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in American Studies, in one of the first classes to include women, and earned a Masters degree in American History from Southern Connecticut State University. One of her early projects was the preservation and filming of 10,000 architectural drawings at Yale University. She fell in love with those fascinating records and has, over the years, honed her skills on the preservation and management of design records. She is President of her own company, Nelb Archival Consulting, Inc., She works with clients to help them preserve and manage their records.

Jennifer Radcliff is a pioneer in the preservation movement in Michigan. She joined the Michigan Historic Preservation Network twenty years ago and served as its unpaid executive director until the fledgling organization was strong enough to pay its staff. She is a tenacious lobbyist for the protection of our architectural heritage. Radcilff was the prime mover behind the six year Network effort to pass the Michigan Historic Preservation Tax Credit Act in 1998. A recent Network study, partially funded by the Michigan Architectural Foundation, reports an economic benefit to Michigan of 1.93 billion dollars from investment in historic preservation.

Ms. Radcliff is a member of the Michigan Lighthouse Fund (Vice President), State Historic Preservation Review Board (past president), Michigan Alliance for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage, the David Evans Memorial Award for Historic Preservation Jury, and the Port Huron Museum (secretary). She serves as vice chair of the Oakland County Business Roundtable Quality of Life Committee, and chair of the Oakland County Historical Commission.

She holds a B.A. degree in sociology from Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois, with post-graduate classes in architecture and is a published author of local history. She lives in Clawson.

The American Institute of Architects Michigan, headquartered in the historic Beaubien House across from the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit, established its awards program to bring to public attention the value and importance of architectural excellence and to recognize those whose notable achievements encourage all to make excellence in architecture the standard.