Architect Joe Tattoni, parent of David Tattoni ’16, visited two architecture classes to give a presentation on his award-winning building, and to critique students’ projects.  Tattoni is the lead designer at ikon 5 architects, and has served as co-chair of the AIA New Jersey Design for the past three years, and serves in many international design juries.

First, he explained the process of designing and building the visitor’s center at the Battle of Monmouth site.  Many students were enlightened by the process and got a sense of how architecture works in the real world.  Architecture teacher Claudio Middleton sayid that he hopes students realized that architecture is a “real discipline that takes first hand approach to materials, the outdoors, and Joe Tattoni provided that through one of his best projects.”

Students have been working on projects for a building to fill in the gap between Swig and Geiger Reeves.  The location is on a slope, which is unusual for New Jersey, and the location also has a view of Peddie Lake.  Middleton said “it is difficult for students to have to deal with all of those variables, and they are working on creating a new space for an open program.”  Students were allowed to build anything of their choice, whether an academic, recreational, business or administration building. Tattoni got to critique a few students’ projects, and each student considered his recommendations.

When asked when he knew he wanted to be an architect, Tattoni said “I first learned that I might be interested in architecture during high school when an engineer heard me speak about the things I enjoyed and suggested that architecture might be a better fit for me than engineering. I really decided to become an architect during my graduate studies when I realized how important the profession/discipline is creating fulfilling environments for everyone.”

Middleton described the presentation as “successful, because of the language he used, deep, yet very accessible for young architects.  The visuals were also very complimentary to his speech.”  When asked what he learned from Tattoni, Brian Sandker ’17 said that he “learned a lot about the process of applying for architectural jobs, and a lot of the traits that a building should have.”  William Wikoff ’18 said he “learned that architecture was a lot more about the history of the buildings, the landscape, the environment, and that there’s a lot more work going into it than you think.”

The architecture classes visited the newly built Whitney on Friday in New York City, and will be touring the new Peddie dorms under construction on Wednesday.