Kent Cooper spent a good part of his career as an architect working on the design of now familiar landmarks in our nation’s capital, Dulles Airport , the Vietnam Memorial and the Korean War Memorial being the most visible ones.

Having sold his large firm in 1999, the award-winning designer has since specialized in planning camps and conference centers for the Episcopal Church in dioceses from Newark to Nevada .

In both roles he has brought his innovative design approach to highly complex and program driven facilities, demonstrating why he is recognized for his expertise in the integration of building programs with user requirements.

Perhaps the most nationally notable work completed by Mr. Cooper has been in the field of memorials. Starting in 1983, Cooper led the design team that developed Maya Lin's competition-winning design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

More recently, Mr, Cooper led the design team for the Korean War Veterans Memorial, located across the Reflecting Pool from the Vietnam Memorial, and dedicated by President Clinton in July 1995.

Mr. Cooper’s work in ecclesiastic design has extended from church camps and conference centers to parish churches, where two of his designs have won national awards from the Interfaith Forum on Religious Architecture (IFFRA).

During the past 35 years, Mr. Cooper pioneered techniques for involving congregations in the programming of their new structures.

In 1975, the Lutheran Church of America published Cooper's book, Manressa, Generating a Master Plan, a Process.

This book was published for congregations throughout the country to serve as a prototypical design program workbook. Utilizing the weekend retreat conference as the backbone of this technique, Cooper developed a system of gaming which elicits design information in a most natural manner and applied it to two dozen church projects during a thirty year period.

Mr. Cooper directed his firm's extensive work in religious facility design and developed an expertise in church programming and conceptual design.

His leadership in the design of conference/religious retreat centers has been broadly cited as prototypical of an affordable residential environment in which 'instant communities' can form to undertake spiritual development and training.

In addition to his design work at Cooper*Lecky, Mr. Cooper has made a significant contribution to the built environment in the Washington area through participation in civil and professional organizations. In 1998 he was appointed to the National Register of Peer Professionals for the GSA Design Excellence program.

During 1997-8, he led the design team for the Washington Architectural Foundation in the development of a citizen-based master plan for the 10-block square metro station area of Columbia Heights . This effort included 350 citizens participating in a design charette.

Mr. Cooper is also an active participant in the reshaping of downtown Washington . He is a member of the Citizens Advisory Committees for the Downtown Bid, and the Downtown Action Plan - and is a member of the Architectural Review Board of the Dept. of Housing & Community Development. In 1998 he completed a design study for Shaw Village , a downtown redevelopment neighborhood for 1,200 families.

Mr. Cooper's national design awards include the Presidential Design Award and AIA Honor Award for Excellence in Architecture. His church designs have received awards from, the Washington Chapter AIA, the National Council of Churches Church Architecture Guild.

Education:

Bachelor of Architecture, 1951. The University of Pennsylvania

Master of Architecture, 1952, Cranbrook Academy of Art

Experience:

50 years total

Associate, Eero Saarinen & Associates. 1954-1963

Founded Own Firm, 1963

Fellowships Awarded:

Fellowship with the American Institute of Architects, 1998

Harlan Fellowship in Industrial Architecture. 1952-1953

Paris Prize in Architecture, Lloyd Warren Fellowship,1953-1954

Professional Registration:

NCARB Michigan, District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina

Professional Affiliations:

College of Fellows , American Institute of Architects, 1997

Co-chair, Urban Design, Washington Chapter, American Institute of Architects, 1997

Washington Architectural Boundation, Board of' Directors,1996

Architectural Review Board, Dept.of Housing & Community Development, 1997

GSA National Register of Peer Professionals, Design Excellence Program, 1998

 Civic Involvement:

Trustee, Committee of 100 for the Federal City

Member, Washington Regional Network

Chairman. Building Committee, St. John's Episcopal Church, Georgetown

Chairman, Commission on the Ministry, Diocese of Washington , D.C.

Design Awards

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

The National Mall,

Washington , DC

Completed in 1983

AIA Honor Award,

Henry Bacon Medal,

Presidential Design Award

Korean War Veterans Memorial

The National Mail,

Washington , DC

Completed m 1995

Amazonia

National Association of Zoological Park

Special Design Award

Ft. Meade Youth Activily Center

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Design Excellence

Andrews AFB Youth Activity Ctr.

U.S. Air Force Honor Award

The Falls Church Episcopal Church

Interfaith Form on Religious

Architecture

Honor Award

The D.C. Center for Therapeutic Recreation

Washington Chapter AIA

Honor Award

The Herndon Municipal Center

Community Appearance of Northern Virginia

Excellence in Design

Religious Conference Centers:

All Saints Episcopal Center, Diocese of Kentucky

Galilee Center , Diocese of Nevada

Grace Point Center , Diocese of East Tennessee

Mikell Center , Diocese of Atlanta

Camp and Conference Center , Diocese of Pittsburgh

Arrowhead Center , Diocese of Delaware

Chanco Center , Diocese of Southern Virgina

Cedar Hills Center , Diocese of Ohio

Claggett Center , Diocese of Maryland

Beisler-Eagle’s Nest, Diocese of Newark

Diocesan Camp & Conference Ctr., Diocese West Texas

Roslyn Conference Center , Diocese of Virginia

Diocesan Conference Center , Diocese of North Carolina

Trinity Center , Diocese of East Carolina

Peterkin Conference Center , Diocese of West Virginia

New Religious Facilities

Redland Baptist Auditorium, Derwood , MD

Montrose Baptist Church Family Life Ctr., Rockville , MD

Community Lutheran Church , Sterling , VA

St. Luke's Catholic Church, McLean. VA

St. George's Catholic Church, Scottsville , VA

Epiphany Church , Timonium , MD

Interfaith Center - Programming, Columbia , MD

Church Renovation & Expansion:

St. John's , Norwood , Chevy Chase , MD

Trinity Presbyterian Church, Arlington , VA

All Saints Church, Woodbridge , VA

Falls Church Episcopal, Falls Church , VA

Dominican House of Studies, Washington ,  DC

St. Alban's Episcopal Church, Salisbury , MD

Pohick Episcopal Church, Lorton , VA

Temple Rodef Shalom, Falls Church, VA

Church of the Holy Apostle, Baltimore , MD

St. Timothy's Episcopal Church, Herndon ,  VA

St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Ellicott City ,  MD

Trinity Episcopal Church, Manassas , VA

Capital Hill Presbyterian, Washington , DC

Prepared by Kit Kincade