Résumé

Assistant Engineer, Kaiser Company, Incorporated, Department of Architecture, Richmond, CA, 1942-1945.

Designer, Saarinen, Swanson and Saarinen, Architects, Bloomfield Hills, MI, 1946.

Draftsman, Franklin and Kump, Architects, San Francisco, CA, 1947-1948.

Project Manager, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM), Architects, San Francisco, CA, 1948-1949.

Draftsman, Wurster, Bernardi and Emmons, Architects, San Francisco, CA, 1949-1951.

Principal, Donald E. Olsen, Architect, Berkeley, CA, 1952- .

Teaching

Guest Critic, University of Liverpool, School of Architecture, Liverpool, UK, Spring 1953.

Design Critic and Lecturer/Professor of Architecture, University of California, Berkeley, College of Architecture, Berkeley, CA, 1954- .

Professional Associations

Member, British Society for the Philosophy of Science.

Member, Society for Philosophy and Technology.

Newsletter for those interested in the philosophy of Karl Popper.

In 1962, Olsen was Registered Architect in State of CA.

Professonal Awards

Fellow, American Institute of Architects (FAIA), 1970.

College

B.Arch., University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN, 1942.

M.Arch., Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, Cambridge, MA, 1945-1946.

Post-graduate study, University of Liverpool, Department of Civic Design, Liverpool, England, 03/1953-06/1953.

Post-graduate study, the London School of Economics, London, England, 1962-63 and 1968.

College Awards

Recipient, University of Minnesota, Commacini Award, Saint Paul, MN, 1942.

Recipient, University of Minnesota, Court of Honor, Saint Paul, MN, 1942.

University of Minnesota, AIA School Award, Saint Paul, MN, 1942.

Recipient, Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, A.W. Wheelwright Fellowship, Cambridge, MA, c. 1946.

Recipient, Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University Scholarship, Cambridge, MA, 1945-1946.

Relocation

Donald Emmanuel Scharnell Olsen was born in Minneapolis, MN, on 07/23/1919 to Thea Scharnell and Clarence Edward Olsen, who were of Swedish and Danish ancestry, respectively.

His family resided at 2728 12th Avenue South in Minneapolis's Phillips neighborhood from at least 1918 until 1940. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005, accessed 07/16/2025.) As indicated in the 1920 US Census, the family consisted of Donald and his parents. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1920; Census Place: Minneapolis Ward 7, Hennepin, Minnesota; Roll: T625_835; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 120, accessed 07/16/2025 and

While a student at the University of Minnesota, Olsen resided at 2728 12th Avenue South in Minneapolis. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For Minnesota, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 172, accessed 07/16/2025.)

In 1952, Olsen erected his own residence at 771 San Diego Road in Berkeley, CA.

Parents

His father Clarence Edward Olsen (born 08/29/1879 in IA-d. 05/18/1974 in Carver, MN) workedin various jobs during his lifetime. In 1936, he owned the C.E. Olsen Furnace Repair Company in Minneapolis. (See Minneapolis, Minnesota, City Directory, 1936, p. 1041.)

Spouse

He wed Helen Olsen.

Biographical Notes

Olsen's World War II draft registration card of 10/16/1940 listed him as being Caucasian with a light brown complexion, blue eyes and brown hair. He stood 5-feet, 11-inches tall and weighed 155 pounds. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For Minnesota, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 172, accessed 07/16/2025.)

• Minneapolis, MN (Architect's Birth)
  Minneapolis, MN

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