Friday's keynote speaker—Hugh L. McColl Jr., former chair and CEO of Bank of America Corporation, one of the largest, fastest growing financial institutions in the country—presented another side of what makes the successful architecture: the informed and responsive client. Jay McGraw, group publisher, McGraw-Hill Construction, which sponsored all of the convention plenary sessions, introduced McColl, whom he characterized as "guiding the Bank of America for 18 years," including its $350 billion investment into building up and restoring downtown Charlotte—from housing to the arts.

"I love architecture," McColl exclaimed. "When done well, architecture enriches the lives of all its citizens." Charlotte has great architecture, he said, due in no small part to the proximity of the University of North Carolina School of Architecture at Charlotte, whose professors have continually prodded the city leaders into looking at the city in a different way and as part of a larger context. McColl also credited Charlotte architects A.G. "Gouldie" Odell and Harvey Gantt, FAIA, with teaching him another important tenet of good architecture: the importance of context and working with a master plan for the city that drives future development.

McColl is rightly proud of Charlotte in 2002, singling out the city's current residential building boom and the trolley line that is tying the city together. Charlotte in the 1970s, though, was small and unremarkable, he said, and it was the Bank of America's 40-story corporate headquarters building that led the renaissance of the center city. McColl likened the building's architect, Cesar Pelli, FAIA, to Tom Builder, Ken Follett's fictional Pillars of the Earth medieval master builder, who "tempered the harshness of the structure with the softness of nature." McColl marveled at how Pelli began the process of designing a building, which was by "walking the streets of the city and listening to the client. He helped us understand our hopes and dreams." The building defines Charlotte's skyline, yet is respectful of its surround. Everyone got what they wanted in the end, McColl joked. "It's a warm and friendly building that reeks of power and wealth."

The keys to success, McColl reiterated, are working with the context and listening to clients. "I thank you all for all you have done, not only for the city and the country, but for the world," he concluded.

Copyright 2002 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.