Chief Architect for Federal GSA to Speak at UB

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Edward Feiner, chief architect for the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), will open the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning's fall lecture series with a talk at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in 301 Crosby Hall on the UB South (Main Street) Campus.

The lecture series will be free of charge and open to the public.

When Robert Peck, the former head of the GSA, re-established the Office of the Chief Architect, he selected Feiner to fill the post, calling him "my bureaucratic hero, a man who'd spent 15 years being ridiculed in the old engineer culture when he said the GSA should be designing great public buildings."

During the previous three decades, little distinguished most new federal courthouses from generic office buildings. With his appointment more than 10 years ago, Feiner changed that by launching a more designer-friendly selection process.

Today, GSA's architectural, engineering and construction services are coordinated nationwide for the Public Buildings Service in Washington, D.C., through the Office of Chief Architect (OCA). The OCA provides national leadership and guidance, and is responsible for the Design and Construction Excellence programs, technical standards, security, research, accessibility, seismic programs, art in architecture, urban development and historic preservation. In addition, the OCA handles interagency relations and national professional organization liaisons.