Gar Hargens, AIA, President

Gar Hargens began working at Close Associates in 1968 when he came to Minnesota for architectural school. Gar was graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Wesleyan University in 1965 and received a Master of Architecture from the University of Minnesota in 1974. From 1976 until 1986, Gar was a member of the graduate and undergraduate design faculty at the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at the University of Minnesota. A member of the American Institute of Architects and NCARB, Gar is currently the Chair of the St. Paul Heritage Preservation Commission and a past board member of the MacPhail Center for the Performing Arts in Minneapolis. He helped found and design the Ronald McDonald House in the Twin Cities and the Pratt Council, a non-profit organization formed to save and manage Pratt School (Minneapolis Public Schools oldest building). Gar became Principal and owner in 1980. Since 1988, he has been sole owner of the firm.