Tuesday, April 1, 2025
I met Dave when Ron Schmidt hired me as a designer at Grad Partnership in 1980. Dave had come back into the office after his son Matt was born. We took to each other immediately but, everyone does, it’s Dave. The first project I did with Dave was NJ Natural Gas Headquarters. Dave was project designer and Howard Horii the partner. I was so fortunate. Dave allowed me so much freedom with site planning and architecture. We discussed Louis Kahn and Alvar Aalto during those projects. A group of us would have lunch almost every day at a Newark restaurants. Next it was on to Ron Schmidt and later Fredric Rosen doing wonderful work and all the while doing projects on our own. Architecture can be tough but rewarding. Dave kept it fun and inspiring. Dave (the musician) and I (the jazz, rock and blues fan) would educate each other with classical concerts at Carnegie Hall or Jack Dejohnette at Birdland. Friends knew Dave was a special architect and artist. Mostly we knew Dave was a special person that made life more enjoyable for us all. Goodbye friend.
Bob Krause
