Lecture: Donald Aitken - 'Daylight legacy of FLW'

[DavidC]

Donald Aitken, "Daylighting legacy of Frank Lloyd Wright", 1987-10-12 - [1:16:38]


David

[Duncan]

Donald W. Aitken is the son-in-law of Herbert and Katherine Jacobs, and commissioned a Taliesin-designed Usonian house. If you google "Donald W. Aitken house" you will come up with an extensive discussion on this site from 2006 when it was for sale:

Search Results
Web results
Wright Chat :: View topic - Unsonian for sale
wrightchat.savewright.org/viewtopic.php?t=811
The Donald W. Aitken house, built for Mr. Aitken and his wife, who was the daughter of Herbert and Katherine Jacobs (Jacobs First Residence [S 234] and ...
Checking Google Earth for 20100 Skyline Blvd, Woodside, the house still appears intact, although it appears there has been additional road construction and power line construction marring the site.

[Roderick Grant]

I met Aitken in '89. He was along with Katharine Jacobs and his wife, Elizabeth, when we visited Sturges. He ran around looking at and photographing the effects of sunlight on the house. Larson and Bridges' dog romping around after him.

[Tom]

Hard to focus on an extensive daylighting lecture without the visual component.

[SDR]

I was not able to find an image of the house, using all the references suggested here. Has anyone been more successful . . . ?

S

[Roderick Grant]

There is a single photo of the Aitken House at the back of one of the "lesser" books on FLW, not the Ben Raeburn book, but possibly the one Herb Jacobs wrote. It isn't a very telling photo.

[SDR]

Here's that photo, credited to Herbert Jacobs:

[DRN]

There are more photos of the Aitken house at this link:
https://www.redfin.com/CA/Woodside/2010 ... me/1736493
These photos were made in 2006 at the time the house was for sale.

[SDR]

The above-mentioned Wright Chat thread from 2006 is full of interesting matter. Among other unanswered questions is the date of construction of the Aitken house: both 1963 and 1968 are mentioned. We learn of architect David Wheatley.

http://wrightchat.savewright.org/viewto ... ?f=2&t=811

We also have the redoubtable RJH, who simply copies in full the initial highly informative post by "Jim" (which Jim is that; Jim in SF ?), and a pair of posts by Bill Schwarz, the second of which seems to have been excised---by its author ?---for some reason.

And, finally, the suspense is relieved by the surprise revelation that the house will be in good hands. Have we heard from "Harpstring" since ?

S

[Duncan]

Yes its the "Jim" in SF

[SDR]

Thanks, Duncan.

It would be great to hear from the new owner. If Wright Chat's former "Notify me when a reply is posted" function was working, he would have been notified of our renewed interest.

S

[Duncan]

Obituary of Donald Aitken, SF Chronicle March 13, 2022

"Donald W. Aitken Jr., Emeritus Professor and founder of the pioneering Environmental Studies Department at San Jose State University in California passed away on February 27 at his home in retirement in Ajijic, Mexico at the age of 85. He was attended by his daughters Sarah Aitken and Katherine Aitken-Young and long-time companion Leslie Kingsbury. Born in Hawaii, he grew up in Wisconsin, graduated from Dartmouth College, and received his Ph.D. in physics at Stanford University.

"Aitken co-founded Friends of the Earth and served in leadership of the Northern California Solar Energy Association, and the American International Solar Energy Societies.

"Dr, Aitken was an invited keynote speaker in many international conferences, receiving man honors for his work. Aitken was affiliated with the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture as an energy design consultant and for many years was the Senior consulting scientist for the Union of Concerned Scientists."

[DRN]

Another remembrance. This from the regional nature/land conservancy where the house described above is situated:
https://www.greenfoothills.org/green-fo ... 1936-2022/

The Green Foothills community was saddened to learn of the passing of Donald W Aitken, Jr, one of our founding members who served on our Board of Directors from 1963 until 1967. He was our second board president, succeeding Wallace Stegner in that office in 1965.

While board president of Green Foothills, along with Pete McCloskey who served as Green Foothills’ attorney at the time, Don strongly contested the PG&E power lines coming down from Skyline through Woodside.

A Recognized Champion of Renewable and Sustainable Energy
In 1969, with David Brower, Don co-founded the international organization, Friends of the Earth, now the largest environmental network in the world. He left Stanford in 1972 to develop California’s first Department of Environmental Studies at San Jose State University, chairing the department for 21 years, concentrating his teaching on renewable energy policy and architecture. During the Carter administration he created and directed a federal program to accelerate the commercialization of solar energy.

Don co-founded the Northern California Solar Energy Association (NCSEA) and served in its leadership. Twice he served as the President of the American Solar Energy Society, and he was Vice President of the International Solar Energy Society (ISES).

In 1991, Don left his university teaching to serve for a decade as Senior Staff Scientist for the Union of Concerned Scientists for Renewable Energy. He worked with legislatures and public utilities commissions throughout the United States with special emphasis in California on electric utility restructuring, and he developed energy policy that is now implemented in the EU. Don spoke at multiple international conferences, lecturing on renewable and sustainable energy, receiving many honors for his work over the years, and publishing numerous scientific papers. In his semi-retirement years, he lived in Ajijic, Mexico, where he and his late wife Barbara Harwood (1940-2015), converted the first solar home in the area and encouraged the use of solar energy in that region of Mexico.

Don is survived by his daughters, Sarah Aitken and her husband Greg, of Ashland, Oregon, Katherine Aitken-Young and her wife Kim, of Redwood City, California; five grandchildren, Nick Aitken, Riley Aitken, Morgan Chaknova, Bryn Aitken-Young, and Clay Aitken-Young; his former wife Elizabeth Jacobs Aitken; and his constant companion of the past 6 years, Leslie Kingsbury of Ajijic, Mexico. His daughter Katherine and his granddaughter Morgan are graduates of Green Foothills’ Leadership Program, and Morgan has gone on to volunteer for Green Foothills since.”