Benjamin Thompson (architect)

He served for four years in the United States Navy during World War II as a Lieutenant aboard a Destroyer Escort in the North Atlantic and Pacific theaters.

The young architects persuaded the well-known Bauhaus founder, Walter Gropius, to join the firm and provide them with guidance.

Thompson's first project for an educational institution was a set of new buildings for the historic Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts[2] (begun in 1959).

Thompson was partner in charge for three major building groups for Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts during an 11-year period beginning 1961.

As described by his son, Anthony Thompson, his strong entrepreneurial spirit and individualism were at cross purposes to TAC's focus on "communal housing and social responsibility.

[8] His iconic five-story, all-glass showcase retail store for Design Research was opened in Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1968.

The Marketplace epitomized Thompson's perspective that vital cities required people to interact with art directly, and that good food, lively design, and commerce can all be part of the experience.

Thompson & Rouse were likely inspired by an earlier Boston project featuring reuse of a historic building by Carl Koch.

In 1973, Koch, functioning as both architect and developer, had transformed the beautiful but obsolete Lewis Wharf warehouses into luxury condominiums.

The Thompsons lived on Six Moon Hill, an innovative residential development in Lexington, Massachusetts that was one of TAC's earliest projects.

Thompson's second marriage was in 1969 to Jane Fiske McCullough, a writer and design critic, who handled his public relations and later became a collaborator on certain of his planning projects.