'08 BALA Hall of Fame

Jack Bloodgood, FAIA, BSB Design

Jack Bloodgood Photo courtesy Steve Moore

Photo courtesy BSB Design

The accolades for Jack Bloodgood, FAIA, have been going strong for years now. Everyone in the home building industry recognizes his contributions:  founding BSB Design, revolutionizing the architectural plan service, bringing great design to production builders.

Often, such recognition comes merely from strong involvement in the industry, but Bloodgood’s excellence as a designer is paramount to his other achievements, including BSB Design’s 36 Best in American Living Awards.

“Our design and our focus was the more traditionally minded home buyer,” Bloodgood says, “rather than the contemporary one.” He draws a contrast to the more cutting-edge design that come from California. “When people moved to California,” he says, “they were moving to a new region and new life. New ideas.  When they moved from Buffalo to Cincinnati, they were not moving to a new life. They wanted to fit in; they didn’t want to be different. When people moved around the Midwest, they wanted something better, but not much different.”

Bloodgood’s focus on plan services that provided designs for primarily Midwestern builders as well as a column for the Hearst Newspaper Syndicate (Bloodgood started as building editor for Better Homes & Gardens in 1957) spread the name of his company but also allowed him to, as he says, “influence design and deliver a better look and feel for homes.”