Professor Shellman’s Memorable Teaching

Your article on professor Billy Shellman was a great overview. I was one of his very last students and would love to share a couple of memories that hold valuable lessons for future architects.

Professor Shellman depended on reason and observation, eschewing ego and whim. He taught extremely detailed 3-point perspective — all by hand — as a way to train the mind. He started by sharing 7-foot-long sections through French Baroque gardens to demonstrate how surprises unfold as one walks through.

My final project was a 3-foot-by-5-foot 3-point perspective of an arched, vaulted gazebo interior. The vertical vanishing point was even further down, requiring gymnastics and a very long straightedge to draw. We worked lovingly on all the small details as well as getting every curve correct.

Professor Shellman was a scholar of landscape as well as architecture and craft. His modesty and insistence on a whole design free of artistic whim soothes the soul.