Lynn Taylor

Lynn Taylor's architectural designs have been used in a wide range of innovative projects throughout the Mid-Atlantic, New England, and the West Coast. He founded Lynn Taylor Associates, Architects in 1969. In 1970, the firm won Honorable Mention from the American Institute of Architects for the Kershner Studio in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Additionally, he has been awarded the Excellence in Design Award (1995) from the American Institute of Architects, Bucks County Chapter. This award honors the design of the first expansion of the Michener Art Museum that was completed in 1993. Also, Taylor and his firm designed the Mari Sabusawa Michener Wing of the Museum, and it opened to the public in October 1996.

Taylor states, "My objectives and goals in the process of creating the built environment consist of three components: architecture with a contextual relationship to the surrounding environment and/or region; developing spatial relationships and sequences for people moving into and throughout buildings; and a quality of light which continually provides the dynamics of change throughout the day and seasons."

Taylor has served as an instructor at Drexel University, a guest lecturer at Muhlenberg College, and as architectural design critic at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Pennsylvania.

Education and Training
Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, 1956-1957
Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1959-1965

Teachers and Influences
As a young person, Taylor was strongly influenced by the work of Henry Chapman Mercer. He explains, "Taking recognizable traditional elements and interpreting them in a unique and sometimes whimsical manner provided inspiration to me."
Also, Taylor credits Louis Sauer, an architect and professor in Philadelphia, for teaching him the value of integrating realistic programmatic information along with technical requirements into the creative process.

Connection to Bucks County
Taylor was born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, and has resided in Bucks County permanently since 1971. In 1976, he relocated his practice from Spring House, Pennsylvania, to Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Bucks County projects include the Central Bucks YMCA in Doylestown, Pennsylvania (1979). Lynn Taylor Architects, Associates designed the first expansion of Michener Art Museum, completed in July of 1993, and the Museum's second expansion, the Mari Sabusawa Michener Wing, opened to the public in October of 1996. The firm was awarded a Historic Building Award by the Bucks County Chapter of American Institute of Architects for its renovation of the Lenape Hall in Doylestown in 1996 and has received several awards for the Michener Art Museum.

Colleagues and Affiliations
The American Institute of Architects
Pennsylvania Society of Architects
Taylor has served on the Boards at the American Institute of Architects, Bucks County Chapter, the Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce, the Bucks County Historical Society, Fonthill Museum, and the County Theater in Doylestown.

Teaching and Professional Appointments
Senior Thesis Design Studio, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1968
Guest Lecturer, Muhlenburg College, Allentown, Pennsylvania, 1976
Design and Thesis Studios, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1977-1988

Major Awards
Land Development Award, Montgomery Planning Commission, for Spring House Village Center, Spring House, Pennsylvania, 1972
Distinguished Building Award for Excellence in Architectural Design, Pennsylvania Society of Architects, for a housing prototype, Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania, 1973
Merit Award for Architectural Excellence in Masonry, Delaware Valley Masonry Institute, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1975
Landscape Horticultural Award, Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, for Spring House Village Center, Spring House, Pennsylvania, 1976
Outstanding Land Development Awards, Montgomery County Planning Commission, for Wood Bridge Meadow, Lower Gwynedd Township, and Upper Dublin Professional Center, Upper Dublin Township, Pennsylvania, 1979
Honor Award for Excellence in Architectural Design, Pennsylvania Society of Architects, for Central Bucks YMCA, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1980
Award of Merit for Excellence in Architectural Design, Bucks County Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, for the Professional, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1988, and for the County Residence, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1990
Excellence in Design Awards, American Institute of Architects, for St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1992
Building Excellence Award of the Delaware Valley for Public Buildings, Commerce Bank and Philadelphia Business Journal, for the Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1993
Merit Shop Award of Excellence in Construction for Best Institutional Project Under $2 Million, Southeast Pennsylvania Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors in connection with Adams-Bickel Associates, Inc., for the Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1993
Second Place National Award for Bird Feeder, Sunset Magazine and the Nature Company, for the Triple Towers Bird Feeder, 1994
First Place National Award for Excellence in Construction, Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc., in connection with Adams-Bickel Associates, Inc., for the Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1994
Bucks County Award, Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce, for the Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1995
Excellence in Design Award, Bucks County Chapter of American Institute of Architects, for the Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1995
Historic Building Award, Bucks County Chapter of American Institute of Architects, for Lenape Hall, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1996
Excellence in Design Award, Bucks County Chapter of American Institute of Architects, for the Kahn residence, Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania, 1996