Dan Dworsky Daniel Leonard Dworsky ( born October 4 , 1927 ) has been a leading Southern California architect since the early 1950s . He is a longstanding member of the American Institute of Architects College of Fellows . Among other works , Dworsky designed Crisler Arena , the basketball arena at the University of Michigan named for Dworsky ' s former football coach , Fritz Crisler . Other professional highlights include designing Drake Stadium at UCLA , the Federal Reserve Bank in Los Angeles , California and the Block M seating arrangement at Michigan Stadium . He is also known for a controversy with Frank Gehry over the Walt Disney Concert Hall . Previously , Dworsky was an American football linebacker , fullback and center who played professional football for the Los Angeles Dons of the All - America Football Conference in 1949 , and college football for the Michigan Wolverines from 1945 to 1948 . He was an All - American on Michigan ' s undefeated national championship teams in 1947 and 1948 . College football at the University of Michigan . Born in Minneapolis , Minnesota in 1927 , Dworsky lived in the Twin Cities and Sioux Falls , South Dakota before attending the University of Michigan . Dworsky was a four - year starter for Fritz Crisler ’ s Michigan Wolverines football teams from 1945 to 1948 . He played linebacker , fullback , and center for the Michigan Wolverines and was a key player on the undefeated 1947 and 1948 Michigan football teams that won consecutive national championships . The 1947 team , anchored by Len Ford , Alvin Wistert , Dworsky and Rick Kempthorn , has been described as the best team in the history of Michigan football . Dworsky won a total of six varsity letter s at Michigan , four in football and two in wrestling where he competed in the heavyweight division . Dworsky is among the famous Jews in football , and has been extensively profiled in encyclopedic Jewish publications . Dworsky married the former Sylvia Ann Taylor on August 10 , 1957 . The couple has three children : Douglas , Laurie and Nancy . They reside in Los Angeles , California . 1947 season . The 1947 Michigan Wolverines football team went 10 - 0 and outscored their opponents 394 to 53 . Dworsky led a defensive unit that gave up an average of 5 . 3 points per game and shut out Michigan State ( 55 – 0 ) , Pitt ( 60 – 0 ) , Indiana ( 35 – 0 ) , Ohio State ( 21 – 0 ) , and USC ( 49 – 0 ) . He also played fullback and center for the 1947 team and was named a third team All - American by the American Football Coaches Association . In a 1988 interview with the " Los Angeles Times " , Dworsky described the 1947 team ’ s defensive scheme as follows : " We were an intelligent team and we had some complex defenses , the nature of which you see today . I called the defensive signals and we would shift people , looping , or stunting . " After going undefeated and winning the Big Ten championship , Michigan was invited to Pasadena to face the USC Trojans in the 1948 Rose Bowl - - the Wolverines ' first bowl game since 1901 . Just before Christmas , the team boarded a train in Ann Abor for a three - day trip across the country . With little to do on the train , Alvin Wistert recalled that Dworsky entertained the team with music . " Dan Dworsky was a piano player . We ' d gather around and sing . There was a piano in the last car . " After the long trip , the Wolverines beat the Trojans 49 – 0 . Dworsky recalled that the coaching staff did an excellent job of scouting the Trojans . " When we went to the Rose Bowl , we had USC down pat . We knew their system as well as they did . " The Trojans gained only 91 yards rushing and 42 yards passing , moving past midfield only twice . Dworsky played center during the Rose Bowl , blocking USC ’ s All - American tackle ( and future Los Angeles city councilman ) , John Ferraro . In Dworsky ' s collegiate days , the final national rankings were determined before the bowl game s . At the end of the regular season in 1947 , Michigan was ranked No . 2 behind Notre Dame , but after defeating USC 49 – 0 in the Rose Bowl , the Associated Press held a special poll , and Michigan replaced Notre Dame as the national champion by a vote of 226 to 119 . Dworsky later noted , " Notre Dame still claims that national championship and so do we . " 1948 season . The 1948 Michigan Wolverines football team went 9 – 0 and outscored their opponents 252 to 44 . The defensive unit led by Dworsky held its opponents to just 4 . 9 points per game , including shutouts against Oregon ( 14 – 0 ) , Purdue ( 40 – 0 ) , Northwestern ( 28 – 0 ) , Navy ( 35 – 0 ) , and Indiana ( 54 – 0 ) . The 1948 Wolverines finished the season ranked No . 1 by the AP , but Big Ten Conference rules prohibited a team from playing in the Rose Bowl two years in a row . Dworsky did , however , play in the 1948 Blue - Gray All Star game . Relationship with Fritz Crisler . Dworsky was a four - year starter under Michigan ’ s legendary coach , Fritz Crisler . Dworsky later said that Crisler ’ s " real genius " was in blending all the elements . The 1947 championship team included several older veteran players who had returned from military service . Dworsky recalled : " About half of us were 18 - year old kids , and half were veterans . We had guys who were serious guys and guys who were excitable . Fritz struck a balance , so we never had to be pushed , but we never lost our focus either . " Dworsky recalled : " Crisler was not only an intellectual in strategy , but also in the way he ran practices . . . . He ran practices rigidly and we called him ' The Lord . ' He would allow it to rain , or not . He was a Douglas MacArthur - type figure , handsome and rigid . . . . I sculpted him and gave him the bust in 1971 . " Dworsky also kept another bust of Crisler in his office . Professional football with the Los Angeles Dons . In 1949 , Dworsky was the first round draft pick of the Los Angeles Dons of the All - America Football Conference . The Dons were the first professional football team in Los Angeles . Dworsky played eleven games with the Dons in 1949 , his only season in professional football . Dworsky played linebacker and blocking back for the Dons and had one interception and one kick return for 14 yards . The AAFC disbanded after the 1949 season , and Dworsky turned down an offer from the Pittsburgh Steelers to return to the University of Michigan where he graduated in 1950 with a degree in architecture . Dworsky later noted : " It was a toss - up whether I would become a pro football player or an architect . Being a linebacker is good conditioning for a young designer . You learn to block the bull coming at you from all sides . " Career as an architect . Overview of Dworsky ' s practice . After receiving his degree in architecture in 1950 , Dworsky moved to Los Angeles and served as an apprentice in the early 1950s with prominent local early modernists William Pereira , Raphael Soriano , and Charles Luckman . In 1953 , Dworsky began his own architecture firm in Los Angeles , known as Dworsky Associates . The firm grew into one of the most prominent architectural firms in California , creating major public buildings in California . Dworsky Associates won the 1984 Firm of the Year Award from the California Council of the American Institute of Architects . In September 2000 , Dworsky Associates merged with Cannon Design and ceased to operate as an independent firm . Architectural style . Dworsky belongs to the generation of post - World War II modernists which took its cues from the 1920s German Bauhaus and the French - Swiss master Le Corbusier . In 1988 , Dworsky noted : " I am most intrigued by the essential mystery of architecture . For me , built space will always be a kind of theater , a stage on which life is played , and played out . That ’ s why I keep on being an architect . Asked what inspires his architecture , Dworsky said he draws from the " solid , resolved concepts " of modern designers such as Le Corbusier and Marcel Bruer , while being encouraged on occasion to experiment by such " new wave " designers as Frank Gehry and Eric Owen Moss . Crisler Arena and the Block " M " . Dworsky ’ s first major commission was to design a basketball arena for his alma mater , the University of Michigan . The members of the 1947 Michigan Wolverines football team had reunions with Fritz Crisler every five years in Ann Arbor , and it was at one of those reunions that Crisler ( by then the school ' s athletic director ) gave Dworsky one of his big breaks , asking him to design the arena . Built in 1967 , the arena was named Crisler Arena , as a tribute to the coach . Dworsky ’ s design of the arena was well received and was said to demonstrate " his ability to combine majesty of scale with human accessibility . " The roof of Crisler Arena is made of two plates , each weighing approximately 160 tons . The bridge - like construction allows them to expand or contract given the change of seasons or the weight of the snow . Crisler Arena remains the home of Michigan ’ s basketball team and houses memorabilia and trophies from all Wolverine varsity athletic teams . In 1965 , the wooden benches at Michigan Stadium were replaced with blue fiberglass benches . Dworsky designed a yellow “ Block M ” for the stands on the eastern side of the stadium , just above the tunnel . Drake Stadium at UCLA . After his work on Crisler Arena , Dworsky was commissioned by UCLA to design a track and field stadium on the university ’ s central campus . Dworsky designed the stadium , known as Drake Stadium . Since its inaugural meet on February 22 , 1969 , the stadium has been the site of numerous championship meets , including the National AAU track & field championships in 1976 , 1977 , and 1978 . It is also used each year for special campus events , such as the annual UCLA Commencement Exercises in June . Major works . The major works credited to Dworsky and his firm include the following : Awards and honors . Dworsky has received numerous national , regional and community awards for design excellence , including the following : Walt Disney Concert Hall controversy . In February 1989 , the Walt Disney Concert Hall Committee selected Dworsky as executive architect to work with designated architect Frank Gehry in designing the future home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic . Dworsky was selected to translate Gehry ' s conceptual designs into working drawings that would meet building code specifications . By 1994 , the cost of the project had skyrocketed to $ 160 million ( it eventually reached $ 274 million ) , and controversy halted the project . By 1996 , a major donor was sought to complete the project by 2001 ( four years behind schedule ) . Gehry and his design came under fire , and some considered him a spoiled , impractical artist . Gehry publicly blamed Dworsky : “ The executive architect was incapable of doing drawings that had this complexity . We helped select that firm . I went to Daniel , supposedly a friend , and I said , ' This is going to fail and we now have the capability to do it , so let us ghost - write it . ' ” Dworsky refused . Gehry was also quoted in the " Los Angeles Times " as saying : “ We had the wrong executive architect doing the drawings . I helped pick him , I ’ m partly responsible . It brought us to a stop . ” Gehry told " Los Angeles " magazine in 1996 that he “ no longer speaks to his former friend ( Dworsky ) . ” Gehry continued his public attacks on Dworsky : “ He ( Dworsky ) made a lot of money . He begged me for the job . I ’ d like to shoot him . ” Dworsky was eventually told to stop working on the drawings before he completed them , but he defended himself against Gehry ’ s criticism . “ Knowledgeable people were supportive of us . They were saying it ’ s a very complex and unusual design , and they can understand the difficulties in trying to achieve this within a limited budget and a limited schedule . It was unfortunate that Frank came out with his criticism , but he was the center of the storm , having designed the building , and he was just trying to lessen the blame on himself . ” Dworsky also told the Los Angeles Times : “ This is a one - of - a - kind building . You just don ’ t simply open up the plans and understand them quickly . ” Dworsky ' s allies refer to Gehry ' s work as " confusing " . Disney Hall official Frederick M . Nicholas also defended Dworsky ’ s work against Gehry ’ s attacks , denying that there were any problems with the Dworsky drawings not attributable to fast - tracking . Nicholas said : " They were not ' bad ' drawings . It was a question of the subs no understanding them . "