Dear Rice colleagues,
I am writing to you with the sad news that former Rice School of Architecture Dean Lars Lerup died Nov. 5. He was 85.
Lars, a visionary designer, theorist and educator, came to Rice from UC Berkeley in 1993 and served as the William Ward Watkin Dean until 2009. He retired from the faculty in 2019 as the Harry K. and Albert K. Smith Professor. His scholarly work focused on the contemporary American metropolis, with a particular emphasis on Houston. He wrote four books, “Building the Unfinished,” “Planned Assaults,” “After the City” and “One Million Acres and No Zoning” which explored the connections between architecture, ecology and society.
Lars served both the school and the university as a whole, including the Rice University Fund Council, where he helped shape what is now known as the Rice Fund. He and his wife, Eva, were generous supporters of Rice, contributing to both the School of Architecture and the Rice Fund to advance design education and student opportunity.
Before joining Rice, he taught for many years at the University of California at Berkeley, where he earned his undergraduate degree. He later returned to Berkeley as a professor emeritus, where his work and teaching continued to influence architects and urban planners worldwide. In 2004, he was named the Swedish-American Citizen of the Year for his lifelong contributions to architectural education and practice.
According to his obituary, Lars is survived by Eva, son, Darius, and Eva’s children, Kike and Cristina. The Rice School of Architecture is planning a celebration of life in the near future; more details will be available in the coming weeks. I invite you to read more about Lars in the Rice News obituary.
Warm regards,
Amy Dittmar, Howard R. Hughes Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs