Features
The 25 – Michael M. Franck
For the past 30 years, Michael M. Franck has been delivering a broad range of built works, including residential, university, ecclesiastical, and hospitality projects, that are illustrative of the great beauty of traditional architectural design.
Franck, who co-founded Franck & Lohsen Architects, recently established Michael M. Franck Architect.
Franck, winner of an Arthur Ross Award in 2011 for his broad range of work, has a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Auburn University and a master’s in architecture from Notre Dame. He always wanted to be an architect.
“I was very much enamored with the classical architecture in the historic area of my hometown,” he says, adding that his father, who was in the construction industry, encouraged him to draw and often allowed him to help out on site. “As business moved away from the historic downtown to the local mall, I was determined to help ensure that my town, and other such towns, did not lose their beauty or the spirit of what made such towns desirable.”
His love of “beautiful architecture” led him to attend The Prince of Wales’ Summer School in 1990, when few people were interested in classical styles.
There were only 19 students who took the six-week course, and “we knew we were on the fringe and generally not accepted in the mainstream of practicing architects,” he says.
But, he notes happily, “We have gained tremendous ground in the quantity and quality of classical work produced in the last 30 years. Slowly, we have seen this take hold in commercial work, but we are still on the fringe as a group. With more time, and with more people demanding more beautiful architecture, we are poised as a group to continue to produce more timeless architecture.”
