Architecture with a smile: Dennis Paben relies on decisiveness and humor to tackle Herculean projects, impress clients, and support coworkers at Legat Architects for two decades.
During an introductory lunch with a client, Dennis Paben shared his dislike of the band Journey. Thus began a conversation in which Paben deftly inserted Journey lyrics.
“It was funny and Dennis gained the client’s heart quickly,” said Legat Director of Interior Design Sylvia Kowalk.
Paben, a longtime devotee of Pearl Jam and “The Simpsons,” has relied on his disarming personality and quick wit to win over hundreds of Legat Architects’ clients and coworkers all while leading some of the firm’s most challenging projects throughout Ohio. On May 15, 2024 Paben, based in Legat’s Columbus studio, celebrates 20 years with the firm he joined straight out of college.
“Dennis is architecture with a smile,” said Kowalk. “He makes everyone from college presidents to elementary school teachers feel heard and get excited about architecture. He’s never too tired to finish, never too busy to help, and definitely never boring!”
Dennis Paben has worked with more than 25 educational and 10 municipal clients during his 20 years at Legat Architects.
Paben (second from left) with Legat Kingscott coworkers circa 2010.
Paben (yellow shirt) and Legat Architects coworkers and spouses at studio outing 2022.
Fresh Grad Holds Down the Fort
Paben graduated from the University of Illinois with his master of architecture degree in May 2004. The next day, he moved to Columbus. Three days later, he walked into the new studio of Legat Kingscott, a partnership between Chicago-based Legat Architects and Kingscott Associates in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Paben, the firm’s first official full-time employee, did not leave until midnight that first day … but he met his deadline.
When Paben joined that Columbus studio, the only professional experience he had was four summer and winter internships at Legat’s Oak Brook studio. And yet, for two years, he remained that studio’s sole employee, assisted remotely by cowokers in Illinois and Michigan. Paben represented the firm at meetings and played key roles for major renovations and new construction projects.
By the time Legat Architects acquired Legat Kingscott in 2017, Paben had led hundreds of projects. He quickly took on the Legat badge.
When Paben started in 2004, that Columbus studio had one area client: a school district. Today, the studio of six counts among its clientele 30 school districts, 10 higher education providers, and seven municipalities … none of which would have been possible without Paben’s efforts.
A 15-year-old Dennis Paben and his father work on a complete gut and renovation of their home.
Early Entry to the Construction Industry
Paben’s path to architecture started as early as age 10, when he began helping his carpenter/contractor father and uncle with their residential construction business.
The summer after his freshman year at Lincoln Way High School in New Lenox, Illinois, Paben helped gut and rebuild his family’s home. Every summer thereafter, he worked with his father doing full-time framing for DuPage and Will county developments.
Intially, Paben considered staying in construction and skipping college. “I liked building houses and was good at it,” he said. Despite these reservations, Paben’s father convinced him to pursue a degree.
“Fine,” said Paben. “I’ll go to college, become and architect, and then tell you what to do.”
So it was that Paben enrolled in the University of Illinois’ architecture program, returning home to work construction during summer and winter breaks throughout his six years at university.
Paben leads a master planning student engagement session during the pandemic.
Make a Decision and Act
Paben’s early construction experience taught him the value of decisiveness, a strength that he repeatedly drew from in both the collegiate design studio and the workplace.
At university, for instance, Paben thought that some of his classmates spent too much time “trying to read the minds of professors.” He had a different approach: “You listen carefully, process the input, make a decision, and then you act.”
He remembers finishing one project at 10:30 the night before it was due. “People were shocked.”
This is not to say there were no trying times, such as Paben’s 66-hour stint without going to bed — he slept on wooden benches in corridors — to get a project done.
“I refused to go to bed at 3 a.m. because I knew it would be too difficult to get up for class in a few hours,” said Paben.
Dennis Paben helped create a preK-5 prototype design for Newark City Schools. The 500-student, 61,000-square-foot facility was built four times to reduce costs and speed up construction. Pictured are Hillview Elementary School (left) and Cherry Valley Elementary School (right).
Newark City Schools: A 20-Year Relationship
Newark City Schools, one of Paben’s first educational clients, suffered from severely dated and undersized facilities. He was part of a team that helped the district pass a $144 million bond that fueled a nine-year effort involving six new schools and renovations at five others.
Paben and his team created a prototype design to cost effectively build four new preK-5 elementary schools — except for the interior color scheme, the schools were duplicates. The first of these was Hillview Elementary School. Barbara Quackenbush was principal of Hillview when it opened in 2007. She recalled the pride staff had for the new school and parents complimenting the layout, the technology, and the classrooms.
Nearly 20 years later, Quackenbush, now assistant superintendent of Newark City Schools, continues to work (and jest) with Paben.
“Dennis is very detail-oriented and always willing to listen and and take the time to explain,” she said. “Repeatedly, he and the Legat team have listened to feedback from all of us and brought our ideas to life.”
Melinda Vaughn was principal at the time Cherry Valley Elementary School, which mirrored Hillview, was built. She and her coworkers and students watched excitedly from their old school while the replacement was constructed next door.
“It was a gorgeous new school,” said Vaughn, now director of student services. “The students loved the bright new classrooms.”
Quackenbush and Vaughn have worked with Paben on various projects for the last 20 years. Most recently, they collaborated for a retrofit that transforms part of the vacated 326,000-square-foot State Farm Building into a preschool center that consolidates three preschools at one location. That project finishes in June 2024.
As project manager, Paben overcame many code-related challenges that come with retrofitting an old office building into a preschool. He also introduced a new courtyard cut into the building with an open plan to bring more natural light into the facility.
“Dennis brought the staff together, encouraged them to share opinions and ideas, and returned with a plan that incorporated their input,” said Vaughn. “If there’s an issue, he’s willing to own it and fix it. He’s always listens, and he has a great sense of humor.”
Dennis Paben served as project manager for the New Boston School. The building bends around a 500-foot-high hill to the north and angles to avoid the floodway to the south.
New Boston School: Skirting the Flood
One of Paben’s most challenging yet rewarding projects was a new preK-12 school for New Boston, a tiny, 3.5-square mile village of just over 2,000 residents at the Ohio/Kentucky border. Only one site would fit the facility: a floodplain bordered by a large hill on one side and a floodway other the other.
Paben and his team managed to wedge the 84,000-square-foot school into the floodplain while “skirting” the floodway. In the 10 years since the building’s completion, floodwater has come within six inches of the front door but never reached the building.
Watch this video to find out how New Boston School became a community centerpiece, and learn from administrators and staff members about the facility’s impact.
Mike Staggs, New Boston superintendent at the time of construction, called the school a “masterpiece.” “Dennis was key to our project,” he said. “Our entire staff knew what it wanted, and the architecture team talked to all of them, from principals to cooks. The students also had input. Together, this created great pride in our new school.”
Motivation from a Strong Relationship
In 2010, after years of studying, Paben was on his way to becoming a licensed architect: he’d passed six of the required nine Architect Registration Examination (ARE) tests. Then the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) changed the ARE format.
Paben’s slate was wiped clean, and his five-year clock did not restart — he had 18 months to pass an all-new battery of tests. If he did not pass all seven, then his clock would restart yet again, and he would have to do all the exams over.
His wife Paula, whom he met through a University of Illinois sorority/fraternity event, stepped in. “She said that I had two options: to never be licensed or to suck it up and get it done in 18 months,” said Paben. “Then she looked at me and said, ‘I think you can do it.’”
Paben did do it — in January 2012, he became a licensed architect.
Dennis Paben and wife Paula in Rome
This intervention was not an anomaly. Paben credits his wife for repeatedly offering motivation when he faced career challenges, from leading a project fraught with political obstacles to coordinating a master plan for more than 100 facilities.
The couple, which has been married for 19 years, has two daughters: Sammie (14) and Maddie (11) — neither of them wants to be an architect.
A Simpsons-inspired image of Paben and his family.
Professionalism Meets Fun
The first time Dennis Paben saw Pearl Jam live was at Alpine Valley, an outdoor theater in Wisconsin, in October 2000. Although the temperature was below freezing, the band played an energetic two-and-a-half-hour set.
The band’s resolve to put on a good show despite the cold registered with Paben. And while much tougher obstacles than weather have threatened his performances, he has repeatedly risen to the occasion.
The first concert made Paben a lifelong Pearl Jam fan — since then, he has attended 25 Pearl Jam concerts, and he plans to see the band perform seven more times this year.
Dennis is very detail-oriented and always willing to listen and and take the time to explain. Repeatedly, he and the Legat team have listened to feedback from all of us and brought our ideas to life.
Barbara Quackenbush Assistant Superintendent, Newark City Schools
Another cultural icon that has inspired Paben throughout the years is “The Simpsons.”
Paben reflected on his childhood experience of the show. “I thought it was hilarious, and my parents thought it was stupid and ridiculous, which of course made me want to watch it even more.”
In the early days of his career, after a long day in the office alone, he would occasionally come back to his house, pop in a DVD, and de-stress with Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. Of the 762 episodes since the show’s inaugural episode in 1989, he has only missed a handful.
Clearly, when Paben finds something he likes, he sticks with it. This loyalty extends to Legat Architects.
“When I came out of college, Legat gave me an opportunity rare for that age and experience level,” said Paben. “They trusted me from the onset to do what I was going to do.”
Beyond the projects he’s achieved and the client relationships he’s built, Paben’s easygoing personality has won him the admiration of staff across Legat’s six studios.
Coworkers surprised Paben on his 40th birthday with balloons, a cake, and even a vinyl wall graphic of his face.
Jay Johnson, director of the Oak Brook studio when Paben was an intern, noted his ability to balance professionalism and fun. He pointed out that Paben is often one of the last people to leave firmwide events.
“Coworkers love to spend time with Dennis,” said Johnson. “When new people meet him, I’m sure they’re immediately put at ease, and they understand this is a supportive place to work.”
Contact us to share your experiences with Dennis Paben or discuss your facilities challenges.
