Dorsett, Clyde, 1925-2007

BIOGHIST REQUIRED Clyde H. Dorsett was born in Burlington, North Carolina in 1925. While still in his teens, he took part in the Allied Invasion of Normandy in 1944 receiving the Bronze Star Medal.[1] Clyde Dorsett’s first experience in medical design began soon after his return, in 1946: an apprentice at the offices of Louis Jallade in New York City where he worked on a 200-bed hospital project. Dorsett went on to receive his bachelor’s degree in architecture from the School of Design, North Carolina State University in 1953, part of which time he studied under Buckminster Fuller. He was noted for his unusual skill in mastering detail design both in terms of construction and program – later put to good use in his diagnostic work at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) from 1965. Between this period he co-established the short-lived partnership Dorsett & Smyre Architects. Though working on a number of project types, Dorsett again found himself engaged in hospital design and construction, this time for the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Washington D.C., when he began to realize that there were growing design opportunities in the field.[2]

BIOGHIST REQUIRED He studied at Columbia University from 1962-63 where he completed his master’s degree in architecture majoring in hospital and public health facilities planning and design. The timing could not have been more fortunate. Following the passing of the Community Mental Health Centers (CMHC) Act of 1963, the NIMH suddenly found itself responsible for overseeing the wholesale transformation of the nation’s medical health built infrastructure. To achieve this, Dorsett was brought in to establish its architectural consultation section of which he became chief. He would go on to develop most of the regulations, policies and programs related to architectural aspects of the Act. The new section was staffed by architects with backgrounds as diverse as anthropology, psychology, management, programming, mental health, and general hospital planning, while Dorsett foresaw this expanding into other related expertise such as in corrective services, children’s programs and total health services.

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