Kean Magazine - Renaissance Man

Before the start of the restoration project, del Valle knew that he was bound to encounter special challenges. "Renovating a structure of historical significance is, in many respects, more complex and demanding than constructing a new building," he said. "Historical renovations are challenging projects because there is rarely enough historical information to rely upon for restoration work, and, while attempting to be architecturally faithful to the original design intent, one tries to make a contemporary statement and be complementary to the original design. Furthermore, renovation work is often complicated by unforeseen and concealed conditions."

Having successfully overcome the challenges, del Valle looks back with a sense of accomplishment. "Professionally, restoration of Kean Hall has been one of the most rewarding projects I've ever undertaken. This project successfully integrates the finest points of architectural design and environmentally responsible construction and historical preservation," he said. "I am very proud of our collective achievement in the realization of this undertaking. My staff deserves all the credit for successful implementation of the project. No one person can possibly realize a project as complex and challenging as was the restoration of Kean Hall."

And del Valle’s keen eye for aesthetics and functionality, while employing the best practices to protect the macro environment, has been noticed beyond campus as well. In 2002, he received an honorary award for the design of the Kean Hall courtyards from the New Jersey Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), and a Green Design and Practice Award at the New Jersey Higher Education Partnership for Sustainability (NJHEPS) Summer Institute at Rutgers University. A year earlier, he was honored by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) for his design of the Maintenance Building Annex.

This year, del Valle is managing the construction of the new academic building, whose project title is NAB2. The building will be 124,000 square feet distributed over four stories. (See story on page 36.) He will also begin to work on the Health and Wellness Center adjacent to the D’Angola Gym.

In del Valle’s words, a university campus planner must never lose sight of a higher education institution’s particular functions. "Whatever we do, the purpose is to support the academic mission of the institution. We are responsible for providing effective and efficient facilities that allow the best-attainable conditions for teaching, learning and living in the spaces where intellectual endeavors take place."

Since his arrival at Kean in 1991, del Valle has overseen the completion of the University Center, the Nancy Thompson Library expansion, the New Academic Building 1, the Kean University clock tower on the University Center Plaza and the Kean Hall expansion.
When he is not designing and renovating buildings for Kean, del Valle enjoys hiking and camping with his wife, Flora, and daughters, Lauren, 13, and Rachel, 11. “We like to go to Vermont, New Hampshire or the Blue Ridge Mountains in Appalachia,” he said. “It’s always nice to be out in the open air. It gives me a chance to think of my next design.”