Greg Herman is an associate professor of architecture at the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design. Herman received a Master of Architecture from Rice University, where he was awarded the William Dunlap Darden Medal, and a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Cincinnati. He worked in professional practice in Boston, Massachusetts, while also teaching at the Boston Architectural Center. He has served as visiting faculty at Auburn University’s School of Architecture.
Since joining the Fay Jones School in 1991, he has been a three-time recipient of the Mott Outstanding Teacher Award and was awarded the Tau Sigma Delta medal in 2007. He is a fellow in the University of Arkansas Teaching Academy, a select group of 235 outstanding teachers on campus.
Herman has served on the board of CITYbuild Consortium of Schools and as Director of the Southwest Region / Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA). His ongoing research includes inspections into the advent and development of American builders’ handbooks since the 17th century, with a particular focus on the influence of those guides upon the development of American architectures and technologies, the introduction of new materials, and the development of new building techniques.
What brought you to the University of Arkansas?
I was practicing in Boston, Massachusetts, and I wanted to dip my toes into academia. I actually interviewed with Dan Bennett (dean of the Fay Jones School from 1991-2000) for a job at Auburn. And he was the department head at Auburn. The interview went well, but he let me know that if Auburn hired me, he may not be there. That was because he was interviewing to come to the Fay Jones School. A couple of weeks passed, and he called me and said, “Well, it doesn’t look like it’s going to work out for you at Auburn, but I got the position in Arkansas. I have a couple of visiting positions; would you like a one-year visiting position at Arkansas?” The economy wasn’t great, and I thought I could go anywhere for nine months. So, I came here and was offered a tenure-track position at the end of those nine months. I have been here for 33 years.
What has kept you here for so long?
I grew up with the place. The area and the school have changed tremendously. The school itself has felt like as many as five different schools since I’ve been here, according to leadership, faculty and the intentions of the department head. So, I feel like I’ve changed jobs multiple times but in the same place.
What has been a highlight of that time?
I taught for a semester in Rome. I loved it there, and I’d love to go back. Teaching there was a privilege and a pleasure. I felt the most fulfilled when I was there. I was pretty much alone, but it felt right.
It’s also been a highlight to see so many of my students become colleagues in the field and in the school. Recently, a former student in Cleveland, Ohio was up for an award. Their wife contacted me to provide comments for that individual who has been in practice for close to 20 years. I was able to make some positive comments about that individual as a student. There are lots of stories like that. My students are all over the place, doing fine things in practice and in academia. I have taught more than 70 studios, so more than a thousand students.
What drew you to architecture originally?
I think I was programmed that way. My parents didn’t say, “Be an architect.” But my mother was a painter, and my dad was a high-end furniture designer. When I was a kid, I was always exposed to art and design, and I had an interest in cool buildings. I don’t remember a particular one that sparked my interest. I was always looking at them and evaluating why I liked one section more than the other.
Is there a particular aspect of architecture that interests you?
HABS (Historic American Buildings Survey) and preservation are what I’ve come back to in the last few years. My greater interest has always been in history. It’s only been in the last several years that it has turned into preservation. I never pursued preservation, but it makes sense. That interest in history and preservation has led to my appointment as director of the stewardship of the Fay and Gus Jones House on behalf of the Fay Jones School.
What is the story of the Fay and Gus Jones House?
Fay and Gus Jones moved back to Fayetteville in 1953 after Fay did a short stint working for Frank Lloyd Wright in Wisconsin. Fresh on the heels of that, and energized by the work of Wright, the Joneses looked for a place to build their home, and Fay would design it. This was the first house that he designed on his own. It was strongly influenced by Wright, in terms of its relationship to the site. It is strongly rooted in the hillside and was built mostly of local materials. It feels very natural to the site. These were all things that Fay gleaned from working with Wright. I find all those aspects of it interesting.
In the house, Fay also begins to explore the connection between a cave and a treehouse. Both of those elements were something he was fascinated by in his work. The rocky lower level of the house has elements of a cave; the lofty upper level has elements of a treehouse. Fay lets you figure out how they resolve themselves as you move from one space to the next. Another thing that I like to bring out when I give tours of the house is the fact that all the DNA for Fay’s subsequent projects can be found in the Fay and Gus Jones house in a prototype condition. He explores corner glazing, the relationship to the site, and loads of interior details that appear in more refined forms in later projects. It’s a portrait of the artist at the beginning of his career. It set the stage for all of his subsequent work.
It’s also a relatively restrained project. The budget was tight. Fay and Gus did not bring resources to the table. They relied on their salaries to pay for the house. So, money was tight, and they could only make a few big moves in the design. I think the restraint and limitations imposed on them by budget made it a much stronger house. The house fuses postwar modernism with ideas of Frank Lloyd Wright and then Fay’s ideas into this beautiful little jewel of a house on a hillside.
What do you do as director of the stewardship on behalf of the Fay Jones School?
Having been here as long as I have, I met Fay and Gus Jones on several occasions and was a guest in their home. In 2010, Marlon Blackwell (Distinguished Professor, E. Fay Jones Chair in Architecture) called and said the house needed some design-build work. At his suggestion, we turned it into a studio. We also developed documentation of the house for HABS. That was my first dive into HABS, and we won first place nationally. We won the Charles E. Peterson Prize for that documentation. That was my initial experience with the house.
From that point forward, I started giving tours of the house by request. My role was formalized in 2015 when the house was donated to the school and university by the Jones daughters, Cami and Janice. With that, Dean MacKeith named me the director of the Fay and Gus Jones House Stewardship. Then we started restoration of the house and spent about five years restoring it. I did that in my role as official steward of the house.
My role is to advance scholarship, bring the Jones house and the work of Fay Jones to new audiences, and look after the house. If anything needs to be done to or at the house, I am the point person. It’s an ongoing relationship and one that I am proud of. It’s become part of my daily or weekly routine to check in on the house and see how it feels and make sure everything is okay.
What is the legacy of Fay Jones the architect, and how does that continue to be relevant?
I think the important thing to learn is not about emulating Fay Jones’s or Frank Lloyd Wright’s work, but about taking the ideas of those architects and advancing them. Those ideas have strong relevance in all architecture — building relationships to the site, the way materials are used, the way it’s detailed and so forth — all have very strong relevance in all architecture. Fay was a very intense designer. Just one look at some of his drawings for some of his houses will knock your socks off. They’re very precise; they’re very carefully prepared: they’re very intensively prepared. I think that intensity is one of his legacies. It’s something students can continue to learn from.
What was it about teaching that interested you?
In the second year of my bachelor’s degree, I had a teacher who mentored me, and I really admired her, and I wanted to do what she was doing. From that point on, I focused my desire on being that mentor for others. She had recently finished grad school, and she had that enthusiasm. I really connected with having someone who understood the experience to relate to and who was welcoming in that way. It made architecture really cool.
What is the most difficult part of your job?
I’m not a fan of saying goodbye to students when they graduate. It’s really difficult for me.
Architecture is an intimate discipline. We work pretty closely with students if they allow it. Students spend five years getting their degree, but then there’s another crop every year that’s leaving. I’m not good with goodbyes. So, I find it hard, but I’m also very happy to see them graduating and succeeding.
If you were not in your current position and you could do anything, what would you want to do?
Something with history, specifically late 19th-century American history. I had family members who were born in that era. Some were quite elderly when I was little. That’s really imprinted on me. There’s a little bit of self-discovery in it, but I just find it interesting. Technology and architecture were changing quite a bit at the end of the 19th century, and that is exciting to study.
What is an accomplishment that you are proud of?
My son. There’s nothing that compares to raising him. He just graduated from college in May. He has nothing to do with the design world, and he’s perfectly happy with that.
As for what I do here, I’ve helped raise an entire generation of practicing architects. I am currently the longest-serving faculty member among the three disciplines. Classes with my students have been graduating since 1992. So, the majority of the architects practicing in Arkansas right now were either my students or adjacent to them. The more senior ones are retiring.
What is a challenge or skill you are trying to master?
I wish I could sketch better. I can sketch, I just wish I could do it better.
My mom was a painter. But when I started school, she stopped doing that. She was more talented than I ever could be. Both my parents were very enthusiastic about my being an architect. They thought that was a great way to channel that creative energy.
What is something that you want students to know?
They can be architects. Architecture is not difficult if you’re willing to work at it. Intense desire creates talent.