Résumé

Marga Rose Hancock, former Executive Director of the American Institute of Architects, Seattle Chapter, summarized Jacobsen's career: "Phil Jacobson FAIA (1928-2025) (WSU 1952) provided nearly four decades of service to the profession and society, combining an active and effective teaching career with principal leadership of TRA, an anchor among Seattle design firms until the mid-1990s. He came to TRA in 1955, and soon joined the firm's leadership. As TRA's design director 1970-1992, he oversaw design efforts, both domestic and international, that resulted in more than 130 design awards and publication in more than 80 design journals worldwide." (See MargaInk.com, "Phillip L. Jacobson FAIA," accessed 05/29/2025.)

U.S. Army, Army Occupation Forces, Japan, 1946-1948.

Draftsman, John W. Maloney, Architect, Seattle, WA, 1953-1955.

Designer, Young, Richardson, Carleton and Detlie, Architects, Seattle, WA, 1955-1956.

Designer/Project Architect, John Carl Warnecke, Architect, San Francisco, CA, 1957-1959.

Designer, Design Director and Partner, TRA Architects, Seattle, WA, 1959-1992.

Teaching

Professor of Architecture and Urban Design and Planning, University of Washington (UW), Seattle, College of Architecture and Urban Planning (CAUP), 1962-2000. In his role in CAUP, Jacobson took on "...a variety of highly influential teaching and administrative responsibilities." (See MargaInk.com, "Phillip L. Jacobson FAIA," accessed 05/29/2025.)

Director, University of Washington (UW), Seattle, Building Technology and Administration, 1963-1965.

Director, University of Washington (UW), Seattle, Graduate Program in Architecture, 1965-1968.

Visiting Professor, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan, 09-11/1992.

Visiting Professor, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen, Denmark, 03-06/1994.

Visiting Professor, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, 02-05/1995.

Visiting Professor, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, 03-06/1997. Jacobson has spoken in front of professional and student audiences in the US and in Japan, Denmark, Sweden, and Australia. (See MargaInk.com, "Phillip L. Jacobson FAIA," accessed 05/29/2025.)

Professional Service

Member, American Institute of Architects (AIA).

President, AIA, Washington State Council of Architects, 1965-1966.

Member, AIA, Seattle Chapter, Board of Directors, 1970-1972.

Co-Chair, AIA Northwest Region Conference, Seattle, WA, 1976. (This conference included an architectural tour of Helsinki, Finland, coordinated by Jacobson.)

Member, City of Seattle, Landmarks Preservation Board, 1976-1980.

Member, Northwest Seaport (Marine Heritage Center), Board of Directors, Seattle, WA, 1980-1982.

Member, Pilchuck School of Glass, Board of Trustees, Stanwood, WA, 1982-2001.

President, AIA, Seattle Chapter, Senior Council, 1984-1985.

Member, AIA Seattle Foundation, Board of Trustees, Seattle, WA, 1985-1991.

Member, Northwest Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies in Italy (NIAUSI), Board of Trustees, 1990-1994.

Member, Architect Selection Advisory Panel for Main Seattle Library #3, 1999.

Member, Seattle Planning and Redevelopment Council, Board of Trustees, Seattle, WA.

Professional Awards

Outstanding Alumnus, Sigma Tau, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 1964;

Fellow, American Institute of Architects (FAIA), 04/1973. Jacobson and fellow faculty member at the University of Washington's College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Omer Mithun (1918-1983), were elected to FAIA status at this time. (See "Two Named F.A.I.A. fellows," Seattle Times, 04/22/1973, p. 51.)

Recipient, Knight First Class of the Order of the White Rose, Government of Finland, 1985; the Knight First Class of the Order of the White Rose was presented to him by Finland's President Mauno Koivisto (1925-2017).

Recipient, Suomen Arkkitehtiliitto (Finnish Association of Architects [SAFA]), Silver Award, Finnish Association of Architects, 1992.

Recipient, AIA, Seattle Chapter, Seattle Medal for Lifetime Achievement, 1994.

Recipient, Washington State University Alumni Achievement Award, 2009.

Archives

Jacobson's library was generously donated by the architect to the University of Washington Libraries.

College

B.Arch., Honors, State College of Washington (WSC), (after 1959 known as "Washington State University"), Pullman, WA, 1948-1952.

Graduate coursework in architecture and urban planning, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK, 1952-1953.

M.Arch., (Licensiata), Finnish Institute of Technology, Helsinki, Finland, 1969.

College Awards

In 1952, Jacobson spent 4 months on his own traveling from Northern Norway to Southern Italy; immediately following this self-financed "grand tour," he received a Fulbright-Hayes Scholarship to study urban planning at the University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK, 1952-1953). He spent nine months here, taking graduate coursework in urban design and planning. Following this, he took another 3 months to travel Europe, returning to Seattle in 1953.

Jacobson also received a Fulbright-Hayes Senior Research Fellowship in 1968-1969 to study architecture and urban planning in Finland at the Finnish Institute of Technology, Helsinki. Jacobson was inducted into 6 university honor societies.

Relocation

Jacobson spent much of his childhood (up to 8th grade) in Santa Monica, CA; in 1930, Allen W. and Greta P. Jacobson lived at 518 Raymond Avenue in Santa Monica. At this time, the house had a value of approximately $7,000.

He passed away at a retirement facility in Issaquah, WA, on 05/17/2025.

Parents

Born in Minnesota, Phillip's father, Allen W. Jacobson (08/21/1902-04/11/1996), had Swedish parents and was a carpenter by trade. Until 1934, Allen Jacobson worked as the Superintendent of Experimental Aircraft for the Douglas Aircraft Company in Santa Monica, CA, building and stress testing prototype aircraft. From 1934-1941, he worked in a similar position for the newly re-formed Lockheed Corporation of Burbank, CA. At Lockheed, Jacobson oversaw the construction of prototypes of the unusual P-38 Lightning Fighter Plane used extensively by the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II and the Model 18 passenger transport (later known as the Lodestar) first produced in 1939. Jacobson moved his family to Seattle, WA, where worked on prototypes for the Boeing Company's B-29 Superfortess, B-47 Stratojet (used between 1951-1969) and B-52 Stratofortress bombers (still in use in 2010). The B-29 Superfortress became a workhorse during World War II, and was kept in military service long after 1945, finally being decommissioned in 1960. Allen Jacobson's aircraft engineering profession required that he maintain very high standards for work that he did and he instilled in Phillip a desire to achieve to his highest potential. His mother was Greta P. Jacobson, (born c. 1902 in CO), a homemaker. Her father came from MI, her mother, KY. A brother, Allen W. Jacobson, Jr., was born c. 1924 in CA.

Spouse

Phillip Jacobson married Effie Laurel Galbraith, a fellow undergraduate at the State College of Washington, majoring in sociology. It was Effie who urged Phillip to travel to Europe following graduation; they married on 11/06/1954, when he returned from 14 months of travel.

Biographical Notes

Jacobson designed other things in addition to buildings. He created jewelry designs for his wife, Effie, and developed various furniture designs for tables, chairs and stools during his lifetime. As he himself indicated, the furniture design was inspired by the work of the Finnish master architect Alvar Aalto (1898-1976).

After retiring from the College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Washington, Jacobson took Visiting Professorships in Sydney, Australia, Helsinki, Finland and two other schools abroad. His family accompanied him to Finland, as he wanted his children to experience life in a different culture. During his adult life, for work and recreation, Jacobson visited various places in Europe, Scandinavia, Mexico, Japan, Middle East and North Africa.

Member, Northwest Trek Foundation, Board of Trustees, Eatonville, WA; Jacobson has enjoyed various avocations, including photography, furniture design, jewelry-making, and sailing.