Working Together— Influencing Architecture as a Structural Designer

The 2004 Dean E. and Avis F. Hilfinger Lecture

Monday, March 1, 2004
7:00 P.M. - Lawrence J. Plym Auditorium
Temple Hoyne Buell Hall

Mr. Marc A. Mitalski, P.E., S.E., Assoc. AIA
Spring 2004 Hilfinger Faculty Fellow

Architects and engineers work closely together throughout all phases of building projects to achieve the desired architectural goals while maintaining a stable structural system. Being aware of a variety of available structural systems allows one to be inventive, and helps make conceptual designs a reality.

Mr. Mitalski is the second and most recent recipient of the Hilfinger Faculty Fellowship awarded by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Architecture. He is a Licensed Structural Engineer in the State of Illinois, a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Washington and an Associate AIA Member. Mr. Mitalski is also the founder and president of PREPA.R.E., Inc. His professional experience includes positions with general contractors, architecture firms and engineers. Most recently he was a structural design engineer for Skilling Ward Magnusson Barkshire in Seattle, WA. Mr. Mitalski earned a Bachelor of Science in Advanced Technical Studies in Architecture at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in 1993, and a Master of Architecture (structures option) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1997.

About Dean and Avis Hilfinger

As a U of I student, Dean Hilfinger earned the 1934 Allerton American Traveling Fellowship, which allowed him to study American architecture on the East Coast. After earning his bachelor's degree in architectural engineering in 1935, he became a partner in the Bloomington, IL firm Lundeen and Hilfinger. Mr. Hilfinger was a principal partner in successor architectural firms before retiring in 1995 from Hilfinger, Asbury, Abels & Associates. A fellow of the American Institute of Architects, he was elected as Treasurer and a member of the Executive Committee on the national level, served as deputy vice president of the International Union of Architects, and received the prestigious Kemper Award in 1984. His firm's contribution to the architectural landscape of Bloomington-Normal is abundant, from the Law and Justice Center, the McLean County Courthouse renovation, and the Theater at Ewing Manor for the Shakespeare Festival, to churches, to local schools, including Bloomington High, Oakland Avenue Elementary, and the Special Education Building at Illinois State University. The Dean E. and Avis F. Hilfinger Faculty Fellows in Architecture Fund is designed to support and encourage individuals who wish to begin a career in architectural education (with an emphasis on structures of buildings), and to bridge practice and education by creating a meaningful experience for practitioners, faculty and students.