GLEN COVE, NEW YORK.- Architect Herbert Beckhard, 77, died. Herbert Beckhard graduated from Penn State University in 1949 and attended Princeton University’s Graduate School of Architecture in 1950. In 1951, he joined the office of the world-renowned architect Marcel Breuer, who taught at the Bauhaus in Dessau, Germany and at Harvard University. Beckhard became an associate by 1956, and became Breuer’s partner and design collaborator in 1964. Beckhard and Breuer collaborated on the design of many notable projects including: Jacques Koerfer Residence, Ascona, Switzerland (National A.I.A. Award); Wilhelm Stehelin House, Zurich, Switzerland; U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development Headquarters Building, Washington, D.C.; U.S. Dept. of Health, Education and Welfare Headquarters Building, Washington, D.C.; University of Massachusetts Murray Lincoln Campus Center, Amherst, MA; St. Francis de Sales Church, Muskegon, MI (National A.I.A. Honor Award); Strom Thurmond Federal Office Building and Courthouse, Columbia, SC; In addition to larger projects, Beckhard and Breuer have been widely recognized for their houses, many of which are featured in "Architecture Without Rules: The Houses of Marcel Breuer and Herbert Beckhard, W.W. Norton & Co. (1993)".
Among the most noteworthy of their more than thirty private residences are: the Koerfer House in Ascona, Switzerland (National A.I.A. Honor Award), the Hooper House in Baltimore, MD, the Starkey House in Duluth, MN and the Staehelin House in Zurich, Switzerland.
Upon Breuer’s retirement in 1979, Beckhard worked with the remaining partners until 1982, then joined with Frank Richlan, formerly Breuer’s senior associate, to form the partnership of Herbert Beckhard Frank Richlan & Associates. Continuing in the tradition of the Breuer office, Beckhard and Richlan have designed a wide variety of projects. Many have received design awards and international recognition. These projects include: Philip Morris Manufacturing Facility Expansion Phases 1, 2 & 3, Concord, NC; Cali International Financial Tower, Jersey City, NJ; Franklin Township Technical Center, Franklin Township, NJ; Prentice Hall Headquarters, Englewood Cliffs, NJ; Rutgers University Graduate Student Housing, Newark, NJ; St. Francis de Sales Church Chapel/Social Center, Muskegon, MI; School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University Addition, Ithaca, NY; New Guam Legislature Building, Agana, Territory of Guam; Novartis Research Center Design Competition, La Jolla, CA.
Beckhard was elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and a member of the eminent National Academy of Design. He was an Alumni Fellow and a Distinguished Alumnus of Penn State University and an IBM Fellow to the Aspen Design Conference. Beckhard was a member of the NCARB and a Registered Architect in the states of Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Vermont and the Territory of Guam.