John Joseph Cullinane

John Cullinane, AIA, was an architect with a passion for historic preservation. In 1974 he founded and directed the Preservation Alliance Of Louisville and Jefferson County (Kentucky), which was instrumental in saving significant portions of downtown Louisville from the ravages of then-current urban renewal policies. He then relocated to the Washington DC area and became part of the President's Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, where he spent 15 years effectively advocating for the preservation of nationally significant sites across the country. For many years after, he owned and operated his own architecture firm, John Cullinane Associates, which performed historic preservation and residential design work across the United States as well as locally. Mr. Cullinane authored several books, including Walking Through Louisville (Data Courier, 1974), Understanding Architectural Drawings, A Guide for Non-Architects (National Trust For Historic Preservation, 1993), and Maintaining and Repairing Old and Historic Buildings (John Wiley & Sons, 2013). All of them aimed to make buildings and their inherent community value understandable and accessible to everyone. Additionally he was the first to use the term "embodied energy" to describe the already-consumed energy used in the manufacture of existing building materials; this concept supported the idea of renovating historic buildings rather than tearing them down, due to the energy saved in avoiding manufacture of new materials. This idea has wide currency now in the green and sustainable building movement. Mr. Cullinane was a prolific artist. His drawings and watercolors of buildings were used as illustrations in his books and other publications, such as an article in the Louisville Courier-Journal Magazine of May 11, 1975 entitled Finding Beauty in Workaday Buildings. His whimsical pen and ink drawings were widely enjoyed wherever found, whether on columns in his home, or printed on teeshirts for family gatherings. John Joseph Robert Cullinane was born in New York on December 7, 1942 to Mildred Krieger and Eugene Cullinane, who owned and operated restaurants and gave John his lasting love of excellent cooking. He decided to become an architect at an early age, starting his college education in Florida and ending with an apprenticeship to the great Paolo Soleri at Cosanti in Scottsdale, Arizona. In 1970 he became a licensed architect in Louisville, Kentucky, and a member of the American Institute of Architects. His later years have been spent in Severna Park, MD, where he has been an active member of St. Martin's In The Field Episcopal Church. He is survived by his brother Michael, four children (Ellen, Travis, John and Elise), one step-daughter (Sarah), 7 grandchildren, and his loving and devoted wife Alison. In lieu of flowers, please send a memorial donation to the Maryland Food Bank (https://mdfoodbank.org), or to SPAN (https://www.spanhelps.org)(Serving People Across Neighborhoods). Both are in dire need of resources to assist our neighbors in this terrible time. The family will be very grateful.

John Joseph Cullinane

December 7, 1942 - April 22, 2020