Deaths: Stanley Tigerman

Stanley Tigerman, a celebrated Chicago architect and former director of the UIC School of Architecture, died June 3. He was 88.

Tigerman was known for his influential voice in architectural discourse and for his buildings that transformed the city forever — touching everything from public spaces to low-income housing.

Some of Tigerman’s famous works include the Illinois Holocaust Memorial Museum and Education Center, the Anti-Cruelty Society, the Pacific Garden Mission, the Boardwalk Apartments, and the Illinois Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. In his 60 years of practice, Tigerman designed more than 450 buildings and installations.

“In regards to Chicago architecture, Stanley Tigerman was one of the most important and influential figures of the late 20th century, no doubt,” said Alexander Eisenschmidt, associate professor of architecture, who worked with Tigerman on multiple projects since 2012. “Not necessarily just because of his buildings, of which there are numerous and really good ones, but because of his sheer impact on the discipline of architecture, on the younger generation of architects in particular, and the way architecture is discussed, read, and exhibited.”

Tigerman wrote books, taught and led thought-provoking dialogue throughout his career.

In the late 1970s, Tigerman founded an architectural group called the Chicago Seven, which protested the popularization of modernist architecture and advocated for a more individualistic approach to architectural design.

In 1985, Tigerman became director of UIC’s School of Architecture, which he lead for nearly 10 years. After that time, he co-founded Archeworks, a socially conscious design school and think tank. Tigerman retired from the school in 2008.

Prior to joining UIC, Tigerman, who was born and raised in Edgewater, studied at Yale University. He worked for Skidmore, Owings & Merrill before starting his own firm in 1962. The firm became Tigerman Mccurry Architects, which eventually was led by Tigerman and his partner and wife, Margaret McCurry.

Tigerman is survived by McCurry; children from his first marriage, Judson Joel Tigerman and Tracy Leigh Hodges; and four grandchildren.