October 31, 2005

USC School of Architecture Dean, 60, Dies



 Robert H. Timme

Architect Robert H. Timme, the Della and Harry MacDonald Dean of the

University of Southern California School of Architecture

, died October 20 from complications related to lung cancer, at the age of 60. Timme, the founding partner of Houston-based Taft Architects, earned 65 design awards and three AIA awards over the course of his professional career, among others.


Timme’s internationally recognized work—including the award-winning Hendley Building in Galveston, the YWCA Masterson Branch in Houston, and the Talbot House in the West Indies—has been featured in exhibits and published around the world. He joined USC in 1996, where he was a specialist in architectural design and history, and a noted lecturer on color theory and garden history. Regarding education, Timme said, “There has never been a universal dogma of an accepted style or direction, but rather an environment of opposing views in which students were encouraged to find their own directions.”


Timme served on the boards for the AIS National Design Committee, the Houston AIA, and the Texas Architecture Foundation. He also chaired the Design Advisory Council of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The family has requested contributions in Timme’s name be sent to the USC School of Architecture (a special fund will later be established in his name).


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