When architect Richard Swett was only 33 years old, he entered the world of politics for the same noble reasons that he became an architect: he wanted to make a difference and bring a unique style to the field. In 1991, he was elected to Congress as a representative for the state of New Hampshire, and seven years later, he was appointed to the position of U.S. Ambassador to Denmark by President Bill Clinton.
In an October 2017 article that Swett wrote, he described getting more involved in politics as an opportunity for architects to explore. ?In that legislative body, composed overwhelmingly of lawyers and professional politicians, I became even more convinced that the skills of my profession had an important contribution to make to the larger society,? he explained. Thomas Jefferson, who was also an architect, designed the Virginia State Capitol and the Rotunda at the University of Virginia. Swett, the only architect elected to Congress in the 20th century, believes that the third President of the United States should be seen as an example for how architects can bring their abilities and style of working with others into the political arena. ?Individuals like Thomas Jefferson were deeply engaged in the biggest and most consequential questions of their world, and in the case of Jefferson, he quite literally helped design a new world order that, for all its flaws, has stood the test of time.?
Since architects are skilled at collaborating with multiple parties of divergent i...