Majestic Bricks and Mortar Will Miller continued
Mr. Taft, we have sought out some of the best architects our nation has to offer. We have challenged them to create a campus that combines harmony and distinction. Our strategy has been to pursue a diversity of interpretations of a style, rather than
“I envy the students of Taft. You attend a spectacular institution with a superb faculty that will challenge you every day because they care so deeply. The education you receive will be outstanding, and the environment in which you live, nurturing and supportive. All this will expand your minds and influence the kind of individuals you become….Wherever you go, I hope you will leave here with a keen sense of service to others and that you will always remember what Taft has done for you.”
a diversity of styles. In the last 20 years, Herbert Newman has designed the Arts and Humanities Center and Centennial Dormitory, Tom Beeby has created the Paul and Edith Cruikshank Gymnasium, and Graham Gund has added the Lady Ivy Kwok Wu Science and Mathematics Center and the Odden Hockey Arena. Each presents a subtly different take on the scholastic gothic style. The latest addition to this dialogue is the John L. Vogelstein ’52 Dormitory. The firm of Robert A.M. Stern Architects in New York was chosen to design the build-
—John L. Vogelstein
Construction as Craft Greg Oneglia ’65 and Jason Travelstead ’88 build the John L. Vogelstein ’52 Dormitory By Linda Beyus When Greg Oneglia ’65 was considering coming to Taft as a lower-mid, he especially liked the feel and look of the campus because it felt like one large building. The structures Greg loved back then and continues to build on this campus are only one example of his commitment to a school that is deeply part of his family’s background. All five of his children have attended Taft—Jessica ’88, Thomas ’93, Daniel ’95, Christina ’98, and now Matthew ’03. Oneglia, vice-chairman of O & G Industries and a Taft trustee, worked on the massive John L. Vogelstein ’52 Dormitory building project with sonin-law Jason Travelstead ’88, project 18
Taft Bulletin Fall 2002
manager, who in turn is married to Jessica Oneglia Travelstead ’88, Taft’s Director of the Annual Fund. “What is most amazing to me,” Oneglia says, “is that the new dorm looks like it’s been part of the school forever. When the scaffolding and the canvas that protected the building all winter came down this spring, the building looked as if it had been here all along. They [the designers] did a masterful job of integrating it.” He also noted that the planners— Robert A.M. Stern Architects and the Planning Committee of the Board of Trustees—did a great job with the massing, which is the scale of the project, and
also with the selection of materials including cast stone arches, a slate roof, and exceptional millwork from a local firm. When asked about O & G’s history of building projects here at Taft, Greg listed the revamped main circle and internal roads, Geoffrey C. Camp Field, McCullough Field House, Lady Ivy Kwok Wu Science and Mathematics Center, Odden Arena, and the recently-completed John L. Vogelstein ’52 Dormitory. One of the things that most impresses Oneglia, is how well thought out and skillfully planned Taft’s building projects are. In the case of the Vogelstein project, the fact that it was