Roland Terry

Who was Roland Terry?

Roland Terry was a Pacific Northwest architect from the 1950s to the 1990s. He was a prime contributor to the regional approach to Modern architecture created in the Northwest in the post-World War II era.

Terry was born in Seattle and raised in Seattle and Kansas. He entered the University of Washington program in architecture in 1935; although he effectively completed the five-year program to earn his B.Arch. by 1940, the degree was not awarded for some years because he was short a few credits. During his years at Washington he benefited from the mentorship of faculty member Lionel Pries.

In 1941, Terry won an American Institute of Architects Langley Scholarship which allowed him to tour South America and see many examples of the region's early Modern buildings. From 1942 to 1946, Terry served in the military.

On Terry's return to Seattle, he joined University of Washington classmates Bert A. Tucker and Robert M. Shields to form Tucker, Shields & Terry. The firm designed custom houses, restaurants and other small buildings, usually in wood and other natural materials, and began to emerge as leaders in Northwest regional Modern architecture.