Howard Abraham Friedman (1919-1988)

Name

Friedman, Howard Abraham

Personal Information

Birth/Death:    b. 06/26/1919 – d. 10/28/1988
Occupation:    American architect and educator
Location (state):    CA

AIA Affiliation

Member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) 1952-decease
Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) 1971

Biographical Sources

American Architects Directories:
Address listed in 1956 American Architects Directory
Address listed in 1962 American Architects Directory
Address listed in 1970 American Architects Directory
Biographical information:
Contributed by the Environmental Design Archives, University of California, Berkeley:
Howard A. Friedman was born in New York City on June 26, 1919. At the age of 17, following graduation from Saunders Technical High School in Yonkers, he started work as a junior drafter in a Manhattan architecture office. In 1942 he joined the United States Navy Seabees and served in the Pacific during World War II. On his return to San Francisco in 1946 Howard married Phyllis Koshland. In 1949 he graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with an A.B. degree in architecture. After several years with San Francisco architecture firms, in 1953 he formed his own practice in partnership with Henry Schubart. In 1967 that firm became Howard A. Friedman and Associates.
Friedman worked as an architect and planner until 1982, when he transitioned to the firm's consulting architect. During 35 years of practice, Howard's firm compiled a distinguished record of nationally recognized designs. These include a group-living complex at the Jewish Home for the Aged, Mt. Zion Hospital's outpatient clinic, the modernization of Levi Strauss' Valencia Street factory, and the construction of the firm's award-winning corporate headquarters complex on Battery Street. Other projects included St. Louis Bertrand Church in Oakland, and the Levi Strauss headquarters in Powell, Tennessee, which was dedicated to Howard in 1982. In later Howard served as master architect for the south terminal expansion at San Francisco International Airport, where he set an extraordinary precedent in employing and successfully coordinating a wide spectrum of small, local, minority and women-owned design firms. Friedman completed projects in Northern California, Nevada, Georgia, Texas, Mexico, France, Holland, and Spain. He retired from private practice in 1984, in part to devote more time to teaching and academic affairs.
With former student Robert DeGoff, he co-authored Construction Management for Architects, Engineers and Owners published by John Wiley and Sons in 1985, and Issues for Seismic Strengthening of Existing Buildings, with Henry J. Lagorio and Kit M. Wong, published by the Center for Environmental Design Research in 1986.
Howard continued his active connection with his alma mater throughout his life, as an active alumnus, a devoted supporter of athletics, and a parent of a succeeding generation of Cal students. In 1966 he strengthened that connection when he became a Lecturer in the Department of Architecture. In 1980 he was appointed Professor, and in 1987 he became department chair.
In 1971 the American Institute of Architects honored Howard by electing him a Fellow. In addition to his distinguished practice he served his profession as President of the Northern California Chapter of the AIA, as director of the California Council AIA (CCAIA), and as chair of the State of California Board of Architectural Examiners. In 1989 the CCAIA, the AIA, and the California Council of Architectural Education posthumously awarded Howard their Excellence in Education Award. Other awards included the Architectural Record award for interior architecture in conjunction with Gensler & Associates for the Levi Strauss offices in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1980, and the campus' Berkeley Citation, also awarded posthumously.
Howard had a long record in civic and community affairs. In 1970 he became a trustee of Dominican College and chaired the board in 1973-1978 and 1980-1983. The Dominican College connection represented a pattern. Howard had also been president of the Jewish Home for the Aged in San Francisco. At the time of his death he was a trustee of Mills College, the University of California at Berkeley Foundation, and chair of the Newhouse Foundation. He had also been a trustee of the University Art Museum.
Howard Friedman died suddenly on October 28, 1988, in what was to have been the final year of his notable leadership as Chair of the Department of Architecture.
Sources: Friedman. Howard A. (1990). Successful architecture: Selected works and thought of Howard A. Friedman. Berkeley, CA: Howard Friedman Family
Stoller, C., Olsen, D., Montgomery, R., Samuel, S.M., Conlan, O.P. (1990). Howard Abraham Friedman.
University of California: In Memorium. Retrieved October 5, 2006, from http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/view?docId=hb5f59n9gs&chunk.id=div00012&brand=calisphere&doc.view=entire_text

Related Records

Archival Holdings

The American Institute of Architects Archives
      Membership file may contain membership application, Fellowship nomination, related correspondence. Contact the AIA Archives at archives@aia.org for further information.

Environmental Design Archives, University of California, Berkeley

Collection Number: 2000-12. Extent: 4 Boxes. The bulk of this collection consists of photographs documenting Howard Friedman's architectural work. This, along with a scrapbook, portfolio, and proposal book, make up the whole of project documentation. The collection does not contain any drawings, save for a handful of blueprints from Friedman's early work as a junior draftsman and plans from his time in the United States Navy. Materials created later on in Howard Friedman's life and career, specifically during his tenure at the University of California, Berkeley School of Architecture make up about one carton worth of material. This includes university biographies, employment papers, speech transcripts, and class notes. Miscellaneous items such as personal photographs and photography, awards and certificates, and publications about Friedman's work make up the remainder of the collection. Link to online finding aid: http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/hb5t1nb7b4

Publications