The New York Times Article and EA

The Class of 1944 Chapel, designed by Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown

An article appeared in the February 23, 2026, edition of The Times that took me back to the building of the Class of 1944 Chapel. The class wanted their classmate Bob Venturi (and his wife Denise Scott Brown) to design the chapel for the Newtown Square Campus. One of the high points of my time at EA was the opportunity to work with Bob and Denise who were two of the greatest architects of the time with world-wide acclaim.

Before we began any discussion of what the new chapel design should be, one of their assistants, John Hunter, brought me a stack of books that they authored on architecture. During their first meeting with me, they asked me what I wanted the chapel design to be. I was deeply aware of what Christ Chapel on our Merion Campus meant to our school community. It was difficult for many to leave it. In our meeting I indicated that I wanted something that reflected awe, intimacy, and no one could say that they saw something just like it before; it had to be unique. Various committees and the Board gave their input as well.

When it was finished, Bob and Denise came to my office and asked, “So, how did we do with achieving the goals we discussed?” They already knew the answer, “It was fantastic!” The chapel design won many awards including one called “too cool for school.” Students of architecture from all over the world came to see it.

We had a special celebration for Bob and Denise and developed a video presentation for them in the school theater. I was interviewed and had some nice things to say about both Denise and Bob. I was seated directly behind Denise who turned and mouthed the words, “Thank you,” through tears. I was struck by how emotional she was. I found out later why my words caused such a reaction. We went on to become good friends.

It wasn’t until a student from our school newspaper made an appointment to see me that I became aware of the feelings behind those tears. The student wanted to interview me about the building of the chapel and the architects. The student informed me that students at the Harvard School of Design had started a petition to revisit the decision in response to Ms. Scott Brown’s call for “a Pritzker inclusion ceremony” that would recognize “joint creativity” as Denise Scott Brown was denied the prize in 1991 when it was solely awarded to Bob Venturi, her design partner and husband.

The Pritzker jury declined to reconsider the award saying that they would not second guess an earlier jury’s decision. What became clear to many was that male bias was at the heart of architecture. I believe that this equal recognition of them both was part of the emotion that she felt as well as the important relationship that we developed. Harvard wanted to address the non-inclusionary nature of the award and our students wanted to join that effort. The first women to receive the prize didn’t come until 2004.

The prize had the power to anoint “starchitects”. The Pritzker Prize has come to be known as the Nobel Prize of Architecture and the profession’s highest honor.

As the student was seated in front of my desk, I asked her if she would want to interview Denise directly. I asked her if she was prepared with questions. I knew that she would be, and she was. I called Denise and put the phone on speaker so that the student could have a live meeting with Denise Scott Brown. They talked for a half hour, and both were thrilled. I congratulated the student for a great job and thanked Denise for taking the call.

It was made clear in the release of the Epstein Files the extent of “the contacts between the director of the foundation which makes the award, Tom Pritzker, and the disgraced financier, Epstein. Pritzker resigned as the executive chairman of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation. He indicated that he used terrible judgement.

“On  this Monday past, the Pritzker Prize defended the integrity of the award in a statement to The New York Times saying,” the Hyatt Foundation’s role as benefactor allows it to remain assured in the strength of its process and focus entirely on the celebration of architectural excellence.”

After the death of Bob Venturi, Denise invited me to his Memorial Service at The University of Pennsylvania School of Architecture.

 She spoke for 30 minutes without notes to architects from around the world who had come to pay their respects. She mentioned what a joy it was for she and Bob to design The Class of 1944 Chapel at the Episcopal Academy.

In a conversation by phone months after that gathering, I asked if she had completed her book of photography of architecture, Encounters: Denise Scott Brown Photographs. She had a wonderful sense of humor. When I asked her about the book which I knew was taking a great deal of her time, she commented, “Yes, we are starting the book tour in Venice, and I don’t mean Venice, California.”

I was blessed with so many moments and memories at EA, one of which was the opportunity to work with two geniuses. Photographs in my home office keep the memory of their work on the Class of 1944 Chapel alive.