Henry Hardnett FAIA

In presenting the nomination of Henry Hardnett (d. 3/2025), sponsor Dennis Haskell FAIA noted:  "True fulfillment is found in giving back to one's community and to an improved collective quality of life for all.  This mantra guides Henry Hardnett into often uncharted territories of volunteerism and timely collaborative leadership." 
With much personal and professional grace, Henry Hardnett (BArch Howard University; MArch Harvard) facilitated achievement of design quality in public-use architecture.  He played a key strategic role in the design and construction of major projects of the US Public Health Service, throughout the Northwest and the US.  His mastery of the difficult challenges of finding community make possible the planning and implementation of public-use architectural programs, and his sympathetic leadership and quiet authority -- qualities indispensable in public service -- command the respect and attention of parties throughout the process of development:  community leaders, planners and architects, technical consultants.

Among significant public service appointments/achievements, Henry Hardnett's portfolio includes:
·Seattle Design Commission, Vice Chair at a crucial time in the development of urban policy
·Holly Park Advisory Board and Steering Committee, helping achieve consensus among diverse public constituencies on a project that has become a national model for urban housing
·Washington State Baseball Stadium Citizen Advisory Committee, at a critical stage in the planning and design for the Seattle's Mariners' Safeco Field
·Washington Board of Registration for Architects, where Henry performed his work as a continuum of the mentoring skills he developed during his tenure on the faculty at Washington State University
·AIA Seattle Diversity Roundtable, where Henry helped establish scholarship programs to support students from minority and disadvantaged backgrounds in their design studies at the University of Washington
·He has also helped develop curricula for the Oregon School of Design, where he serves as a Charter Board Member.

His professional workload with the United States Public Health Service includes projects that mandate unique attention to extraordinary social, cultural, indigenous, and climatic conditions that also cross international borders.  In his succession of accomplishments, Henry Hardnett enjoyed an unusually rich and diverse career as an architect, teacher, mentor, and advocate of professional benevolence.

The Jury of Fellows recognized the national significance of Henry Hardnett's achievements as a volunteer in serving society and humanity in a unique and important manner.

*In 2010, AIA Seattle recognized Henry's civic engagement with the Community Service Award.