2009-10 LECTURE SERIES

Tom Hirsch, AIA

"Thinking Outside the Box: 35 years of building useable architecture and inclusive communities"

October 19, 2005 @ 6pm

Thomas Hirsch, AIA, graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1968. He is a Wisconsin-registered architect and land use planner. Mr. Hirsch was the advocate planner of the Soldiers Grove Community Revitalization Program and both he and the community won awards for that effort which was highlighted by the relocation of the downtown out of the Kickapoo River floodplain to all new, energy efficient, solar-heated and barrier-free facilities. Mr. Hirsch worked for the Wisconsin Department of Natural resources on floodplain management program effectiveness and was the Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services' specialist on community integrated housing and accessibility. He was also an instructor on the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act for the UW School of Architecture and Urban Planning. Mr. Hirsch was the staff architect at Heartland Properties, Inc., and was responsible for quality assurance on over 4,000 units of affordable housing utilizing Section 42 tax credits. Mr. Hirsch was the Vice President for Design at Cedar Mill Homes, Waukesha, Wisconsin, an affordable housing ownership & development company. He developed over 25 plans of detached and attached single-family housing, and specifications to achieve high levels of energy conservation and usability. Currently, Mr. Hirsch is self-employed performing site and building evaluations for accessibility, capital needs, cost segregation and designing residential structures.