A Tribute to John Lackens

We are deeply saddened by the passing of John Lackens, FAIA. John co-founded our firm, The Architectural Alliance in 1970, alongside Herb Ketcham, FAIA and Bob Bell, AIA, building a legacy that has shaped our firm’s culture, values, and approach to architecture for over five decades. From the very beginning, John embraced a team-oriented approach to design that brought project partners into an integrated design process—this principle remains central to our firm today.

John played an instrumental role in securing and delivering some of our firm’s most notable early projects for clients including Blue Cross Blue Shield and H.B. Fuller, along with the AIA Minnesota 25 Year Award winners, Land O’ Lakes Corporate Headquarters and Hennepin County Public Works Facility. In 1978, John helped secure Alliiance’s first work at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Throughout his career, John rotated as president of the firm several times, providing leadership during our firm’s early years. John retired in 2001.

In recognition of his significant contributions to modernism in Minnesota, John was featured in an episode of Minnesota Modern Masters, a project of the Minnesota Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians (MNSAH). In the episode, John appeared alongside fellow co-founder, Herb Ketcham, where they discussed their education, early careers, forming Alliiance, and the core values they built the firm on. Check out the video here.

John had a tremendous impact on our firm, the profession, and those he worked with. His legacy lives on in the culture of teamwork and design excellence he helped build. He will be deeply missed.