Architect Randall Stout honored at Taubman Museum
Logan Stout, Marcie Stout Wasson and Mike Wasson at the Taubman Museum of Art
Marcie Stout Wasson remembers her older brother, Randy, saying he intended to be the best architect in the world. Take a look at his work and decide if he made it.
Examples of contemporary architecture here.
The Stout-Wasson family traveled to Roanoke, Virginia, in mid-April for a ceremony to honor Randall Stout, architect of the Taubman Museum of Art. Marcie’s husband, Mike Wasson, was the scribe and has some terrific photos on Facebook. (Scroll down)
“If you get a chance to visit beautiful Roanoke, please stop by and visit the museum; you will love it, promise! (by the way, it’s free admission)” Mike wrote.
Randy Stout grew up in Knox County. He, Marcie and their older brother, Steve, graduated from Halls High School where their mom taught chemistry. Randall earned a degree in architecture from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a graduate degree from Rice University.
Randy’s mother, Gloria Mynatt Stout, 94, still lives in Halls. Her dad, Randy’s grandfather, E.W. “Bert” Mynatt with his brothers George and Walter, founded Mynatt Bros. – a Halls feed and seed store that later added hardware, paint and furniture. Bert represented the community on the Knox County school board and was a leader in bringing the phone company to Halls.
When the Mynatt clan brought 200 people from 16 states to Corryton for a reunion in 2012, News Sentinel reporter Jessica Boling attended and wrote this lead: “Since 1787, when Richard Mynatt purchased several hundred acres of land near the Corryton community, the Mynatt family has grown and prospered in East Tennessee.”
Mr. Stout died of renal cell cancer on July 11, 2014, in Los Angeles. He was 56.
He left his wife, Joelle, and three children, Colton, Logan and Grace. Now adults, Logan Roger Stout, named for Randy’s dad, lives near his uncle Steve near Norris. Son Colton Stout lives in Halls.
A week after his death, Los Angeles Times reporter Jill Leovy wrote an obituary.
Her lead: “Nature gave Los Angeles architect Randall Stout a vision. Its destruction gave him a calling.”
Leovy said Stout was known for buildings that curved and swooped, drawing comparisons to birds and water. “He championed green buildings and green energy before they were household words.”
She said Randy’s impulses grew from his Tennessee childhood in the Great Smoky Mountains. He loved the Smokies’ soaring canopies of hemlocks and ancient, soft contours — so different from the bold, jagged ranges out West, he would say.
“But those childhood idylls also made him witness to the Smokies’ defilement by industrial mining and acid rain.”
She quoted his brother, Steve: “He saw first-hand a lot of environmental damage done before the Clean Air and Clean Water acts.” It sealed Stout’s commitment to environmental stewardship from his earliest days as an architect, Leovy wrote.
Tribute in the Taubman Museum
In addition to the Taubman Museum of Art (2009), Stout designed the addition to the Hunter Museum of American Art in Chattanooga (2005). He called the Art Gallery of Alberta (2010), with its billowy lines that imitate the Northern Lights, his most challenging project, Steve Stout said. He worked for seven years with Frank O. Gehry and helped design the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.
He started his own firm in 1997.
That’s when he took on some lesser-known projects, such as the conceptual design for the Montclair, California, police department headquarters, Leovy reported. Quoting the police chief, “The officers loved the building’s natural light and distinctive profile so much that they changed their badges to incorporate its image. All Montclair officers now wear the building’s likeness on their shirts.”
There is no higher praise.
Finally, Election Day
Knox County’s next sheriff will be elected in today’s Republican Primary since no Democratic candidate qualified for that job. Voters will choose either David Amburn, Mike Davis, Brent Gibson or former Sheriff Jimmy “JJ” Jones. Sheriff Tom Spangler was term-limited.
Today’s GOP primary winner – Kim Frazier, Betsy Henderson or Larsen Jay – will face Democrat Beau Hawk in August for Knox County mayor. Glenn Jacobs was term-limited.
For county clerk, Republicans are Richie Beeler, John Duncan, Rodney Lane or John Whitehead. The Democratic candidate is Joey Tate. Sherry Witt, term-limited, is running unopposed for register of deeds.
For trustee, Republicans Justin Biggs, Barry Hawkins or Nick McBride will face Democrat Stephen Hood in August.
Two judicial races are on today’s ballot; five school board seats and four county commission seats are up including two at-large seats. Find polling locations and a sample ballot here. Polls are open 8 to 8.
Notes & Quotes
Knoxville Pediatric Associates (KPA) has joined Summit Medical Group, effective May 4, 2026. KPA has been practicing pediatrics in Knox and Blount counties for more than 30 years. KPA will keep the same physicians at the same locations and expects no change in insurance plan acceptance. Summit has more than 500 providers at over 95 practice locations in 23 counties.
UT Health Sciences will graduate 662 students on Monday, May 11, in Memphis. Here’s the breakdown: 175, College of Medicine; 132, College of Dentistry; 115, College of Health Professions; 87, College of Pharmacy; 102, College of Nursing; 51, College of Graduate Health Sciences. Also, 175 health professions students will graduate May 18 at the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology in Knoxville.
Quote: “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.”
― Mahatma Gandhi, perhaps reflecting on one political party rushing to redistrict the other out of existence.
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