Board of Directors

SPOTLIGHT...

R. Win Boyer, AIA was born in Columbia, Missouri, and lived briefly in Illinois before being reared in Toledo, Ohio. His mother has an art background and his father taught British history at the University of Toledo. Win enjoyed drawing, and, beginning in the eighth grade, took mechanical drafting classes throughout high school. His last two years included architectural drawing, and by that time, he had decided to become an architect. His mother took special pride in his decision, thinking that Win’s exposure to art at home had helped.

Win attended the University of Cincinnati School of Architecture, graduating in 1984 with a B.Arch. in its, then, six-year program. During the last two years of co-op work-study, Win had internships in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Toledo. Upon graduation, Win worked in Cincinnati for two years for several firms as a design consultant, and enjoyed his own projects. A year after graduation, Win married Anne, who had been a fellow student and graduate in interior design. Today, they are the proud parents of Graem (13), Arielle (10), and Ross (6) with whom they’re involved in coaching, scouts, and school concerts.

For several years after their marriage, Win and Anne had explored the possibility of moving to other cities where they had friends -- Chicago, Atlanta, or Baltimore. In 1986, both were at a point in their jobs when the time was right. Win interviewed with ten companies in Baltimore. Of the top four which offered him positions, he chose Marks Thomas – today, the only surviving firm of the four. Win already knew people at the firm. In fact, most of the staff including principals were UC graduates. During the late 1980s, Win did a variety of projects including religious, office, and commercial work. Although the diversity continues, he has worked predominantly with Erickson Retirement Communities. Today, he also manages the Riderwood Village project in Silver Spring.

Win has been active in the AIA since he was a freshman in college. At Cincinnati, seniors mentor underclassmen and recruit them to the AIAS. Win was first active in AIABaltimore on the spring lecture series committee in the early 1990s, then joined the golf committee in 1994. After becoming its chair, he helped build the annual outing into the great success it is today with sellout registrations of nearly 200 enthusiastic players each year and major financial contribution to the chapter. In 2003, he began service on the board of directors.

Win has a strong belief that “architects should be educators as well as practitioners. If we’re not educating the people who are coming up, we’re not doing our jobs. By teaching, we remain open to everyone and retain our humanity. Education, teaching, and the mentoring process are very important. One great feature of Baltimore being a big small town is that its architects are healthy, not guarded, competitors who aren’t afraid to complement each other.”

One of Win’s favorite quotes is “I believe in an ‘emotional architecture.’ It is very important for human kind that architecture should move by its beauty; if there are many equally valid technical solutions to a problem, the one which offers the user a message of beauty and emotion, that one is architecture.” - Luis Barragan