Howard Alan.
July 7, 1931 – May 19, 2023
Howard passed away peacefully surrounded by love on May 19, 2023. Born in Chicago, Howard graduated from Hyde Park High School before studying architecture at University of Southern California, Los Angeles. He completed his architecture degree at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, where he studied under his mentor, Bruce Alonzo Goff. During this time he was drafted by the U.S. Army to serve as an artillery surveyor during the Korean War. Howard specialized in alternative energy architecture and was part of a school of organic architects known as the “Friends of Kebyar”. He lived his life according to the shared values of the best part of his generation, that of social justice and civil rights. Devoted father of Jessica Alan, Ruth Eve Alan, and Alexander Blakeney (Bonnie Thornton) Alan; loving grandfather (“Jumpah”) of Max Connor Marcus. Former spouse of the late Linda Goffen and Jean Ruth Alan, former partner of Patricia Ann Blakeney. Preceded in death by parents Murray Spiegel and Elizabeth “Betty” (Harry) Feldman (nee Banks), cousin and ersatz brother Jerry Garten, and by his best friend in the whole world, Bumper the red & rust Doberman Pinscher. Private burial at Waldheim Cemetery.
A celebration of Howard’s life is being planned for the Summer Solstice, 2024.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his name to the Alzheimer’s Association here.
Associate Professors Lee Fithian, Ph.D., and Elizabeth Pober have published a chapter in the recently released New Perspectives in Indoor Air Quality, published by Elsevier. Their contribution, titled “Chapter 16 – Architecture and the Challenges of Indoor Air Quality,” examines the relationship between architecture and indoor air quality.
Dr. Ladan Mozaffarian, Assistant Professor of Regional and City Planning, has been selected to serve as Co-Chair of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) Planners of Color Interest Group (POCIG) for the 2025–2027 term.
The Gibbs College of Architecture is proud to recognize Tahsin Tabassum, a recent graduate of the college’s Master of Regional and City Planning program and current doctoral student at the University of California, Irvine, for receiving the prestigious 2024–2025 American Planning Association (APA) Outstanding Student Award.
