Vivrett, Walter K.

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Walter K. Vivrett was a member of the faculty of the School of Architecture at the University of Minnesota for 30 years, and at the time of his death, at age 63, was director of Graduate Studies. Vivrett was a well-known authority on housing of the aged, and one of the founding members of Minnesota Experimental City (MXC), serving as the MCX director during its early years (1965-1970).

From the description of Papers, 1950-1978 (bulk 1952-1968). (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 63314209

Walter Koellein Vivrett was a member of the faculty of the School of Architecture at the University of Minnesota for 30 years, and at the time of his death, he was director of Graduate Studies. During World War II, he served with the Army Corp of Engineers. Upon his return, he received a B.S. in Architecture from the University of Illinois in 1947, and went on to Massachusetts Institute of Technology for his Masters degree. He taught for one year at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, before coming to Minnesota in 1949.

Vivrett was a well-known authority on housing of the aged and served on a number of committees studying this problem. He was director of a three-year research project on housing and care facilities for the aging financed by the Hill Foundation. He served as an advisor on housing for the elderly to the FHA. He was a member of the advisory committee on housing for the elderly for the Housing and Home Finance Agency. He served as Technical Director for the White House Conference on Aging, and was a member of the Senior Services Housing and Living Arrangements Committee, Community Health and Welfare Council, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Vivrett was one of the founding members of Minnesota Experimental City (MXC), and served as its director during its early years (1965-1970). He continued to do research on MXC until his death. MXC was a new town project that was to be located in central Minnesota, south of Grand Rapids. MXC was to be a self-contained entity, serving as a living laboratory for the most advanced ideas in urban planning. For various reasons this project never became a reality, and was finally abandoned in the mid-1970s.

In 1978, Professor Vivrett was awarded a special citation for his contributions to architectural education by the Minnesota Society AIA. He served on many committees including: the American Institute of Architects, the National Architectural Accrediting Board, the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, the American Institute of Planners, and the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards.

After a nine-year battle with Parkinson's disease, Vivrett died in Nashville Tennessee in 1979 at the age of 63.

From the guide to the Walter Koellein Vivrett papers, 1949-1978, (bulk 1952-1968), (University of Minnesota Libraries. University Archives [uarc])

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Walter Koellein Vivrett papers, 1949-1978, (bulk 1952-1968) University of Minnesota Libraries. University Archives [uarc]
creatorOf Vivrett, Walter Koellein, 1915-1979. Papers, 1950-1978 (bulk 1952-1968). University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Council House for Senior Citizens. corporateBody
associatedWith Council House for Senior Citizens, Minneapolis corporateBody
associatedWith Donahue, Wilma T. (Wilma Thompson), 1900- person
associatedWith Doxiades, Konstantinos Apostolou, 1913-1975 person
associatedWith Kepes, Gyorgy, 1906- person
associatedWith Kiley, Dan (Dan Urban) person
associatedWith Massachusetts Housing Authority corporateBody
associatedWith Melting, Alan person
associatedWith Minnesota Experimental City. corporateBody
associatedWith National Retired Teachers Association corporateBody
associatedWith Randall, Ollie person
associatedWith Stonorov, Oscar, 1905-1970 person
associatedWith University of Minnesota. Center of Urban and Regional Affairs corporateBody
associatedWith University of Minnesota. Experimental City Project corporateBody
associatedWith University of Minnesota. School of Architecture corporateBody
Place Name Admin Code Country
Subject
Aged
Aging
Architecture
City planning
New towns
Older people
Occupation
Activity

Person

Birth 1915

Death 1979

English

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