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Alumni Awards List

JOHN ECK's interest in architecture evolved from a fascination with the methods of construction and its effect on the landscape. Originally from rural Cheney, Kansas, John watched the positive and negative effects new developments were having on the areas around nearby communities. Looking to be a part in someday improving such development, John entered the architectural program at Kansas State University. After four years in Manhattan, an interest in working with larger-scale urban issues led him to participate in a KSU Urbanism Studio located in Kansas City. He graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture in 1989. During his final year as a student, John also began work with Ellerbe Becket Architects in Kansas City. While with Ellerbe, John worked on a diverse range of products--local projects such as Knight-Ridder News Service headquarters and the new Kansas City Courthouse, and nation-wide projects including Gateway Arena in Cleveland. Also during his time at Ellerbe, John began teaching with KSU's predesign program on the campus of the University of Missouri/Kansas City. Eventually, his interest in teaching and desire to continue the studies he began at KSU led John to enter the graduate program at the University of Virginia. While at UVa, John participated in studio projects in Boston with Andrea Leers/Leers Weinzapfel and in Charleston, South Carolina, with W. G. Clark/Clark & Menefee. He graduated in 1995 with a Master of Architecture. Hoping to teach and work on smaller-scale projects, John left Virginia to move to Chicago and began work with Wheeler Kearns Architects. With WKA, John worked on a series of residences in Chicago, Indiana, and South Carolina; a performing arts center; an art school; and a micro brewery. One of the projects, a renovation and addition to a residence on Chicago's Gold Coast, received a 1998 Chicago AIA Award and was included in 10 Houses/Wheeler Kearns Architects, published in 1998. While at WKA, John also taught both graduate and undergraduate design and technology courses at the University of Illinois. Recently deciding to leave Chicago and return to Kansas City, John has joined Heinlein Schrock Architects, reuniting with many of his former co-workers and friends. He has begun exploring his longtime interest in residential development, taking him full circle to what originally drew him to the field of architecture.