Jeffrey Karl Ochsner (born 1950) is an

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 ...

architectural historian An architectural historian is a person who studies and writes about the history of architecture, and is regarded as an authority on it. Professional requirements As many architectural historians are employed at universities and other facilities ...

, and professor at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. He is known for his research and writing on American architects

Henry Hobson Richardson Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was an American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richardson is one ...

and Lionel H. Pries, and on

architecture 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 construction, constructi ...

; he has also published articles that link architecture and

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious mind, unconscious processes and their influence on conscious mind, conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on The Inte ...

Career

Ochsner graduated from

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

with a B.A. in Architecture in 1973 and a Master of Architecture ( M.Arch.) in 1976. He worked for Gunnar Birkerts and Associates in Michigan in 1973-74. He was owner/principal of a

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

-based architectural practice, Ochsner Associates, from 1984 to 1987. The firm was responsible for the architecture of the Galveston Island Trolley. Ochsner has taught at the University of Washington since 1988. He was Chair of the Department of Architecture from 1996 to 2002. He served as Associate Dean in the College of Built Environments (CBE) from 2007 to 2019, and as CBE Advisor on Policy & Procedure from 2019 to 2020. Ochsner is a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

in the

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

. His co-authored book, ''Distant Corner: Seattle Architects and the Legacy of H. H. Richardson'', was selected as one of "100 Top Books by 100 UW Authors" by ''Columns: University of Washington Alumni Magazine'' in December 2006. His book, ''Lionel H. Pries, Architect, Artist, Educator: From Arts and Crafts to Modern Architecture'', was a Finalist for the Washington State Book Award in History/Biography in 2008. Publication of ''Distant Corner'' and ''Lionel H. Pries'' was supported by grants from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. The Second Edition of ''Shaping Seattle Architecture: A Historical Guide to the Architects'' received the Heritage Publication Award from Historic Seattle in May 2015. Ochsner's articles have appeared in ''Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians'', ''JAE: Journal of Architectural Education'', ''Buildings & Landscapes'', ''Pacific Northwest Quarterly'', ''American Imago'', and other journals. Ochsner is included in the 2007 book ''The Things They've Done'' by William T. Cannady. Ochsner is married to Sandra Lynn Perkins, a trusts and estates attorney. Ochsner was diagnosed with a choroidal melanoma in 1997; radiation treatment was successful. The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture selected Ochsner as one of five recipients of the 2012 ACSA Distinguished Professor Award. In June 2023, Ochsner received the 2023 Outstanding Faculty Award of the UW College of Built Environments.

Writings and presentations

Books

* Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl, editor/co-author, ''Shaping Seattle Architecture: A Historical Guide to the Architects'' Second Edition,

University of Washington Press The University of Washington Press is an American academic publishing house. The organization is a division of the University of Washington, based in Seattle. Although the division functions autonomously, it has worked to assist the university' ...

, Seattle and London 2014, . First Edition: AIA Seattle and

, Seattle and London 1994, * Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl, ''Furniture Studio: Materials, Craft, and Architecture''

, Seattle and London, 2012. * Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl, ''Lionel H. Pries, Architect, Artist, Educator: From Arts and Crafts to Modern Architecture''

, Seattle and London, 2007. * Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl, and Andersen, Dennis Alan, ''Distant Corner: Seattle Architects and the Legacy of H. H. Richardson'',

, Seattle and London 2003, * Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl, ''H. H. Richardson: Complete Architectural Works'',

MIT Press The MIT Press is the university press of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The MIT Press publishes a number of academic journals and has been a pioneer in the Open Ac ...

, Cambridge MA and London, 1982,

Selected essays

* Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl, "The Experience of Prospect and Refuge: Frank Lloyd Wright's Houses as Holding Environments," ''American Imago'' 75 (Summer 2018), pp. 179–211. * Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl, "Meditations on the Empty Chair: The Form of Mourning and Reverie," ''American Imago'' 73 (Summer 2016), pp. 131–163. * Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl, "The Staten Island September 11 Memorial: Creativity, Mourning and the Experience of Loss," in ''Grief and Its Transcendence: Memory, Identity, Creativity'', eds. Adele Tutter and Léon Wurmser, Routledge, London, 2015, pp. 30–47. * Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl, "Behind the Mask: A Psychoanalytic Perspective on Design Studio," ''JAE: Journal of Architectural Education'' 53 (May 2000), pp. 194–206. * Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl, "A Space of Loss: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial," ''JAE: Journal of Architectural Education'' 50 (February 1997), pp. 156–171. * Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl, "Understanding the Holocaust through the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum" ''JAE: Journal of Architectural Education'' 48 (May 1995), pp. 240–249.

Videos

"Town Square: Seattle's Greatest Architects,"
interview with Feliks Banel at Town Hall, Seattle, September 29, 2014
"Back to the Future: Architecture at UW -- The First Fifty Years, 1914-1964,"
Jeffrey Karl Ochsner, Department of Architecture 100th Anniversary Lecture Series, May 6, 2015

References

External links

AIA Seattle Fellows

University of Washington Department of Architecture (people)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl 1950 births American architectural historians American architecture writers American biographers American male non-fiction writers Fellows of the American Institute of Architects Living people Architects from Seattle Rice University alumni University of Washington faculty Writers from Seattle