Résumé

Draftsman, Naramore, Brady, Bain and Johanson (NBBJ), Seattle, WA, 1946 and 1948.

Designer/Associate, Bassetti and Morse, Architects, Seattle, WA, 1948-1951.

Principal, Wendell Lovett, Architect, 1951- c. 2003. In 1982, Lovett operated his office at 94 Pike Street, Seattle.

Teaching

Instructor, University of Washington, Seattle (UW), Department of Architecture, 1948-1951; Assistant Professor of Architecture, UW, Seattle, 1951-1960; Associate Professor of Architecture, UW, Seattle, 1960-1965; Professor of Architecture, UW, Seattle, 1965-1984; Professor Emeritus, UW, Seattle, 1984-present.

Guest Professor, Techincal University, Stuttgart, Germany, 1959-1960, taught with Rolf Gutbrod (1910-1999). In a reciprocal arrangement with the UW, Gutbrod taught as the Walker-Ames Visiting Professor at the University of Washington in 1963.

Professional Activities

Member, American Institute of Architects, Seattle, Chapter.

Lovett became a Registered Architect in the State of WA in 08/1948. At the time, the licensing examination contained eight parts: Design, Structural, History, Plumbing, Heating, Electrical, Specifications and Ventilation. Lovett scored the lowest on the electrical part (65) and highest on specifications (88). His design score was 75. (See letter from Virginia Witherspoon to Wendell H. Lovett, dated 08/20/1948, in possession of his daughter Corrie Lovett, accessed 10/02/2023.)

Program Chairman,15th Annual Northwest Regional Conference of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), 10/23/1966-10/27/1966 held in Seattle, WA. Lovett invited the following speakers for this event: William W. Caudill, August Heckscher, Sibyl Moholy-Nagy, Charles M. Nes, Jr., Jan Lubicz-Nycz amd Robert Pitts.

Professional Awards

Fellow, American Institute of Architects (FAIA), 1978. Lovett was named the AIA Seattle Medallist, 1993.

Inductee, University of Washington, College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Roll of Honor, Seattle, WA, 10/18/2005.

Archives

Lovett's papers and drawings were deposited at the University of Washington Libraries, Department of Special Collections in 2010.

High School / College

Graduate, Queen Anne High School, Queen Anne, Seattle, WA, 1940.

B.Arch., University of Washington (UW), Seattle, WA, 1941-1943, 1946-1947. A three-day sketch project done during Lovett's senior year entitled "Proposed Outdoor Theatre for the University Arboretum Society," appeared in the 1943-1946 Year Book of the School of Architecture at the University of Washington, np, 1946. Lovett was a frat brother in the UW Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity of Seattle architect Gene Zema (1926-2021).

M.Arch., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, 09/1947-06/1948.

Relocation

Born in Seattle, WA, Lovett attended high school and college in his hometown.

During World War II, he served with the 13th Armored Division in TX and Southern CA before being transferred to the European theatre. He returned to the U.S. in 1946 coming back to live for one year in Seattle, He attended graduate school in architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, in 1947.

In 08/1948, he and Eileen resided at 527 Eastlake Avenue, Apartment #307, Seattle. (See letter from Virginia Witherspoon to Wendell H. Lovett, dated 08/20/1948, in possession of his daughter Corrie Lovett, accessed 10/02/2023.)

Aside from vacations and teaching exchanges--most notably in Stuttgart, Germany, during 1959-1960--Lovett resided in Seattle for his whole life.

Lovett passed away in Seattle, WA, at the age of 94.

Parents

His father, Wallace H. Lovett, operated the family roofing company.

His mother, Pearl, maintained the household. Wendell was an only child. Wallace and Pearl Lovett resided at 3273 Conkling Place in Seattle in 1951. (See Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1951, p. 781.)

Spouse

Wendell Lovett married Eileen Whitson (1921-2008) on 09/03/1947 in Seattle. She was an accomplished dancer when Lovett met her.

Children

Wendell and Eileen Lovett had two daughters, Corrie and Clare Lovett (d. 02/16/2023), both born in Seattle.

Biographical Notes

Lovett traveled to Europe in 1959; Lovett designed 9 residences during his first decade of independent practice, 1951-1961.