Peter van Dijk (architect)

van Dijk was born to a Dutch family in what was then the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia, where his father worked as an engineer for Royal Dutch Shell. The family later moved for another assignment to Venezuela, where young van Dijk constructed toys and drew, and then to the Netherlands. The family moved to Curaçao during World War II, back to the Netherlands afterward, and then to the United States.[3]

He graduated from Mamaroneck High School in Mamaroneck, New York, at age 16, and then studied engineering at Cornell University. After two years, he transferred to the University of Oregon, where he studied architecture, met Buckminster Fuller and created a geodesic dome with Fuller and his fellow students, and graduated in 1953. He became a U.S. citizen in the same year.[1][4][3]

He was drafted into the U.S. Army where he served for two years from 1953 to 1955, then took advantage of the G.I. Bill to earn a master's degree in architecture from MIT, where he studied with Louis Kahn and Pietro Belluschi. After Belluschi introduced him to Eero Saarinen, he worked under Saarinen for his architecture firm in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, for four years, where he contributed to projects including the design of Dulles Airport. van Dijk took a year-long leave of absence in 1959 to study Renaissance architecture in Rome as a Fulbright Scholar.[1][4][5][6][7]

In 1961, following Saarinen's unexpected death at age 51, van Dijk moved to Cleveland to oversee the design of the 32-story Anthony J. Celebrezze Federal Building, which was completed in 1966. Three architecture firms were involved in its design, but they could not agree on which firm would lead its design, instead agreeing to hire van Dijk to lead the design. Each of the three firms offered van Dijk a job at its conclusion. Although he had planned to return to Oregon afterward, in 1963 he accepted the offer from the the firm Schafer, Flynn & Associates, which by 1966 had changed its name to Schafer, Flynn, van Dijk & Associates. He continued to work at that firm, as its name continued to change, until, and in fact after, his retirement in 2004.[1][4][3][7]

Blossom Music Center, the outdoor amphitheater that is the summer home of the Cleveland Orchestra, is van Djik's most best known design, the accomplishment typically noted when a headline summarizes his life, and his "masterpiece" according to an architecture website. Construction of Blossom was started in 1966 and completed n 1968. The project's genesis was that Cleveland music director George Szell wanted his orchestra to be able to employ its musicians year-round, as some other leading orchestras did.[8] To develop plans for Blossom, with a team that also included structural engineer Miklos Peller and acoustician Christopher Jaffe, van Dijk visited and studied other outdoor amphitheaters, including what he called "the two major precedents," Ravinia Pavilion in Highland Park, Illinois, and Tanglewood in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. They found the acoustics of both lacking. van Dijk later said, "we decided to focus on two things. We wanted good acoustics, and we wanted the audience to be able to see the performers from any direction." The team developed an orchestra shell and a curving roof, to expand and project sound, assisted by the site's natural parabolic setting. Blossom's design allows concertgoers in the pavilion to have unobstructed and close views of the stage, while seeing the area's natural beauty through open sides. Its shape echoed the rolling hills of its surroundings in the Cuyahoga Valley. It used long-lasting materials including weathering steel, slate, and wood. Blossom was recently described by a local writer as "the place you take out-of-town guests in the summertime if you want to blow their socks off" and "one of the most desirable outdoor performance destinations in America."[3][4][9][8][10][7]

van Dijk designed more than 50 buildings in northeast Ohio.[6] In addition to Blossom, van Dijk's designs included (all are in the Cleveland area, unless otherwise noted):

• buildings for educational institutions including Cleveland State University's music building, physical education building, and natatorium; Ursuline College; the University School upper school; and the chapel and rec center of John Caroll University,
• other performance spaces including Cain Park Amphitheater, Westlake Performing Arts and Rec centers, and the Buell Theater in Denver,
• medical facilities at the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospital and in Akron, Youngstown, Cincinnati, and Warren, Ohio, and Wheeling, West Virginia, and
• corporate headquarters for Parker Hannifin, B. F. Goodrich, Lubrizol, Invacare, and IMG.[4][5][11]

In the 1970s, van Dijk made a career "pivot," which he described as shifting "from designing modernist buildings to preserving historic landmarks." This work of renovating or repurposing older buildings began when Union Commerce Bank asked him to redesign the Union Commerce Building's lobby by filling the space with modern offices, and instead, van Dijk said, "I told them that they should preserve what they had: that it was probably the grandest bank in America." He later designed the renovation of Cleveland's Playhouse Square theaters, saving them from destruction. Other notable structures that van Dijk renovated or repurposed include the Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank, the Society for Savings Building, M.K. Ferguson Plaza, the Cleveland Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, and the 1981 conversion of the old Akron post office into the Akron Art Museum. He also oversaw the 2013 renovation of Blossom Music Center, his design of almost fifty years earlier.[4][3][5][10][7]

After his retirement, van Dijk continued to mentor young architects, and to be involved in planning and civic affairs.[6]

van Dijk is widely recognized as having shaped the northeast Ohio region over more than 50 years of work there, by designing or preserving a significant number of its landmark structures.[2][4][10][12] A 2016 award citation wrote that his "innovative designs continue to enhance the aesthetics, environment, and quality of life of Northeast Ohio and other cities."[11] An architecture website described him as "an influential American architect" whose "architectural approach was characterized by a strong emphasis on functionality, community engagement, and cultural significance, melding both modernist and traditional design elements," concluding, "Through his work, van Dijk made a lasting impact on urban development and the preservation of architectural heritage."[13]

van Dijk first married the former Donna Daley. They divorced in 1972. He married his second wife, Roberta “Bobbi” Steffey (née Skeivis), in 1974, and she survived him. He had three sons, a daughter, and a step-son.[1]

He spoke six languages, describing himself as "fluent" in Dutch, Spanish and English, and "conversant" in Italian, French and German.[7]

He was a world class masters swimmer who broke international records into his 80s. He won 50 national championships in freestyle and backstroke, and 17 international gold medals (all as of 2015; in a 2016 interview he said 60 national championships and 17 world championships), including winning four gold medals at age 85 at the 2014 Masters World Championship in Montreal.[1][5][14][7]

van Dijk's friends called him Piet, spelled the Dutch way.[15]

van Dijk was awarded the Cleveland Arts Prize twice: the architecture award in 1969, and a special tribute in 2016. He was a fellow of the Ohio chapter of the American Institute of Architects, and was awarded its gold medal in 2000. He received additional awards from the Cleveland Restoration Society, and National Preservation Honor Awards. In 2015, he was inducted into the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame, for swimming.[4][6][11][14]