John Macsai
From Archiplanet
| John Macsai | |
| Title | FAIA |
| Born | 1926; Budapest, Hungary |
| Education | Polytechnic University, Budapest, Hungary; Miami University, Oxford, Ohio |
| Firms | Holabird & Root LLC, Chicago, Illinois, USA; Skidmore Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM); PACE Associates, Hyland Builders and Raymond Loewy Associates, John Macsai and Associates, OWP/P, Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Notes |
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[edit] Discussion
"John Macsai was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1926. During World War II, while Hungary was occupied by Germany, Macsai was sent to a work camp where he "built airfields, cleared forests, and starved." After liberation in 1945 he resumed his studies at the Polytechnic University in Budapest. With the help of an ORT scholarship, he soon transferred to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he obtained his B.A. in architecture in 1949. After graduation, Macsai worked for several Chicago architecture offices--including Holabird & Root, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, PACE Associates, Hyland Builders and Raymond Loewy Associates--before striking out on his own. He partnered informally with Robert Diamant in 1955, then with Raymond Stermer and Robert Hausner, and finally with Robert Hausner from 1955 until 1970. From 1970 until 1975 Macsai worked in partnership with Wendell Campbell. Macsai founded his own office, John Macsai and Associates, in 1975. Most notably, he designed and built numerous apartment buildings in prominent locations in the Chicago area for several developers. Additionally, Macsai was one of the few architects who was interested in housing for the elderly and disabled and he subsequently became an authority on the subject. Always an artist, Macsai also established a reputation early in his career for his masterful architectural renderings. He held a professorship at the University of Illinois, Chicago, from 1970 until 1996, and is now professor emeritus. In 1991 Macsai merged his office with O'Donnell, Wicklund, Pigozzi and Peterson. He retired from OWPP&P in 1999. Macsai was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects in 1978." —Chicago Architects Oral History Project, The Art Institute of Chicago
[edit] References
- Chicago Architects Oral History Project, The Art Institute of Chicago
