Pasquale "Pat" J. Castellano, AIA

When I went to school, you were so lucky to get into a city school. At that time, the School of Architecture was considered an Ivy League architectural program. It took me a while to get into the School of Architecture because it wasn't just an entrance. It was a great and terrific education. Everybody that worked there had their own practice, so it was a collection of small firms. We were all connected with architecture. The professional response of the faculty made the greatest impression on me. Everybody was saying valid and relevant things as opposed to just teachers teaching in an ivory tower. That was the thing that was really cool. I worked with one or two of the professors. I did really well on the largest thesis project. It was a humanity center for a college. James Baker had a profound effect on me. I worked for him, so he was very influential in my young days. Before I opened my own practice, I worked for major firms, doing large-scale corporate interiors for 20 years. My firm is 25 years old, and I'm still working.