The AUD community reflects: Heather Roberge, 1971-2026

Heather Lynn Roberge, an architect and longtime educator at UCLA Architecture and Urban Design, passed away on September 20, 2026 in Los Angeles. She was 55.

Roberge first taught at UCLA AUD in 2000 as a visiting assistant professor; she was appointed lecturer in 2002. She would go on to direct the Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies program from 2007 to 2016, and was appointed Chair in 2017, a role she held until 2020. Roberge had served on UCLA AUD’s Senate Faculty since then, promoted from Associate Professor to Professor in 2022.

Colleagues and students alike knew her as a rigorous and generous teacher, someone who pushed people to think more expansively about what buildings could be while remaining deeply attentive to craft, detail, and innovation. Just this year, she was named AIA Los Angeles's 2026 Educator of the Year.

As UCLA AUD honors Roberge's legacy, we offer reflections and tributes from across our community of students, staff, faculty, and alumni. Alongside these remembrances, please visit AUD's tribute feature.

Antonio Torres (MArch ‘07):

Heather was the singular, transformative educator one is lucky to encounter in an architecture education. Her design sensibility and intellect touched everyone in her studios. She planted the seeds that gave me the courage to take risks with ideas, and those seeds have since taken root and grown throughout my research, teaching, and practice. I will always remember what she taught me. Thank you, Heather.

Brendan Beachler (MArch ‘07):

I will remember how piercing Heather’s glance, how deeply she saw. My intent, my flaws, my goals were revealed, expanded, and refined. I will remember how precise her language, how specific, how cutting and how full of life were her words. I will remember her laugh, that it lifted and brought joy from criticism, it changed trajectories from pessimism to creativity. Heather encouraged rigor and stood for nothing less. I will grieve, but I will remember how she helped us to live. I cannot understand that she was taken so soon but her legacy is the innumerable people she touched through her teaching and her life.

Satareh Saleh (MArch ‘17):

I was lucky enough to learn from Heather during my last year at UCLA, when she was my research studio instructor. She was not only a very talented architect and a brilliant teacher who taught me how research can guide the design and making of architecture, but also a truly kind and beautiful human being. When she realized that my mom wasn’t able to get her visa to come to my graduation, she told me, “I’m going to be your mom for the day.” And on that day, she showed up with a sweet card and a beautiful flower. That small gesture meant so much to me, and I will always remember it. Her memory will live in me forever. I am forever grateful that I had the chance to know her, learn from her, and experience her kindness.

Jackilin Hah Bloom (MArch ‘00):

I’m so saddened by Heather’s passing and the loss of a friend and colleague. We talked about teaching, running our practices from home, and raising kids. She was fiercely smart and an incisive critic on reviews. I was all ears when spoke about details and assemblages. Her En Pointe installation in the SCI-Arc gallery remains a work I deeply admire for the way it brings tectonics, posture, and beauty together. I will miss her voice and her talent.

Ellie Abrons (MArch ‘05):

I met Heather over 20 years ago, when I showed up at UCLA as an eager but naive grad student who had no experience or background in architecture. Heather’s knowing smile, patient mentorship, and brilliance were a steady presence for me that first year while I found my footing and sense of belonging. I know that there are hundreds of students whose lives were touched by her in the years since. Her passing is an enormous loss for the whole community - including those students-to-come, who won’t have the chance to feel empowered by such a creative and generous spirit.

Narineh Mirzaeian:

There are colleagues whose presence within a school extends far beyond the courses they teach or the students they mentor; they become part of its intellectual conscience. Heather was such a person. A brilliant and deeply accomplished educator, she brought extraordinary rigor to the act of teaching. Her observations were exacting, her questions incisive and her feedback could cut directly to the essential issue in a piece of work or an argument. She asked a great deal of her students and of those of us fortunate enough to be her colleagues - I believe - out of a profound belief in the value of the work we engage in and in our capacity to make it more thoughtful, more precise and more consequential. That rigor was always accompanied by an equally remarkable generosity and humanity. She understood that teaching at its best is both an intellectual and deeply human exchange: an act of challenging someone while also giving them the confidence and space to grow.

I met Heather within the context of this department (two and half decades ago), and over the years our relationship evolved in ways I feel profoundly fortunate for. In the early years, she was a valued mentor. Later, a colleague, and on a few occasions, a collaborator - but throughout, she was always a dear friend. I will deeply miss our conversations about architecture and design, about teaching and the questions that preoccupied us, and inevitably, about life itself.

Frances Bronet, President, The Pratt Institute:

I hired Heather at RPI when I was an Associate Dean, early parts of both of our trajectories, and I remember the force of her talent, her clear intellect and her confidence to open new territory. She carried that spirit into her practice, into her teaching, where materials, computation, a commitment to humanity and making become vehicles for imagination. Heather’s work expanded how we all thought about buildings, the environment and how communities experience space together. What defined Heather was her great generosity, her sense of calm and grace while asking us all to push our boundaries to excellence. My heart is with her family and with the many who loved her and carry her teachings into aspirational futures.

Lori Choi (MArch ‘17):

Heather was a brilliant, kind-hearted, and compassionate teacher whom I have endless admiration for. I had the privilege of being in her studios in 2016 and 2017, and the way she made me feel valued, respected, and capable as a student still remains vivid in my mind. She shaped my perspective as a designer and instilled in me the importance of creating meaningful work, for which I am eternally grateful. In 2023-2024, I had the even greater privilege of teaching alongside her in the Climate Caravan research studio. We developed a personal connection, and I gained a deeper respect for her humanity. She shared important concerns about our future related to her research, and she generously offered knowledge and guidance as a mentor. I’m thankful that she called on me when she needed assistance and for the chance to give back to someone so deserving. One of my fondest memories with her was taking the local bus in the snowy January weather of Copenhagen to see Grundtvig’s Church, where I lit a candle for her well-being. We will all miss her distinct voice, the rhythm and clarity of her speech, and her insightful mind. Her contribution to the architecture community made a significant difference and will remain profoundly present in the minds and lives of everyone she touched. My deepest condolences go out to her son and family.

Brennan Buck (MArch ‘04):

Heather joined the AUD faculty before my second year as a student. Her Kentucky drawl came out slowly, but she seemed like the smartest person in the room to me. After she agreed to be my thesis advisor a year later, our weekly conversations meandered across such a wide spectrum of architectural ideas, that I came away with both a mental map of that territory and a sense of how much I had left to discover. The breadth of the knowledge that Heather and the other faculty shared, and their excitement about their ideas, inspired me to start my own academic career.

Legier (Stahl) Goldsmith (MArch ‘09):

Heather felt like an untouchable, older sister, whom I admired. She was there when I struggled, and when I thrived. Through my work, Heather knew me in a way that others did not. I’m grateful for the short, but seemingly long time I had with her. Her teaching will last nearly a lifetime.

Daniel Poei (MArch ‘10):

Heather represented the very best of educators - defined in equal parts by deep knowledge, but also an eagerness to share it; criticality with a healthy dose of empathy; and a curiosity which overcomes skepticism. She was one of my favorite professors during my time at UCLA. She challenged me and the way I think about architecture. Most impactful to me, Heather encouraged me to write about my design intentions to clarify my thoughts and work through any roadblocks during the design process. She was insightful and pointed during critiques. Even after graduation, we kept in touch and she continued to encourage me and my progress. Heather was a truly dedicated educator whose guidance left a lasting mark. She will be missed dearly and her legacy remembered. I send my deepest condolences to her family.

Amalia Marta Gonzalez Dahl (MArch ‘05):

Like for so many of us at AUD, Heather was a mentor - I am grateful to have been her student, employee, and friend. Heather was an incredible architect and so thoughtful and deliberate in every facet of her life, from the way she crafted and articulated ideas, to the way she impacted our professional development, to how she interacted with those around her. My heart goes out to her family, and to the architecture community at AUD and beyond - she will be missed.

Kelly Bair (MArch ‘04):

Heather had an innate gift for teaching. As my first studio professor at UCLA, it was immediately apparent that her ability to articulate architectural ideas both encouraged and challenged her students. In practice, Heather was a true collaborator and the memories I have of our many travels, site visits and teaching engagements are some of the most formative learning experiences I’ve had in the profession. Heather remained a cherished mentor and friend over the last 20+ years and her impact on architectural education is evidenced in the generations of students she inspired throughout her life.

Kristy Balliet (MArch ‘05):

Heather was a strong presence for me and many others upon arriving at UCLA in the early aughts. She was teaching and navigating the development of a practice. Her dedication to her students and architecture were beyond measure. It was fantastic to see a dynamic woman leading and contributing in a myriad of ways to architecture and education. Heather was an important mentor for me and had a significant impact on the development of my practice and project. Thank you, Heather.

Maria Sviridova (MArch ‘15):

It's hard to find words for such a loss - Heather was such a champion for women in architecture. One could say she could be intimidating, which I thought at first! But behind it all was a sincerity and kind honesty, and it's because she cared so much, and she always gave her all. I remember how hard she worked on a grant for our research studio's Japan trip - and I am eternally grateful for her efforts - such experiences are indispensable to setting up a life of curiosity. And I've so greatly regretted not taking her ceramics seminar; I took pottery classes after graduation, and it has become a significant part of my life, from creating to collecting. I've always appreciated that she did not push a formal agenda on her students - but rather ways of thinking, seeing, making. She pushed me (and our whole research studio) to do my best work - a subtle, measured push. It's so unfair that future generations are deprived of this kind of dedication and lifelong imprint from a professor.

David Freeland (MArch ‘05):

Heather shared her love of architecture with students and colleagues in a manner that was refreshingly genuine. A gifted educator and designer, she touched many with her insight and her work which was invariably filled with care and skill. Her move from New York City to Los Angeles to teach at UCLA mirrored my own journey cross-country, for which she was a mentor while I was a student and a dear colleague in more recent years.

Neil Denari:

Among the many ways in which Heather touched me profoundly was her insistence that we actually conduct research at one of the world’s great research institutions. This means not simply practicing or honing a craft, of perfecting accepted knowledge. It means working with doubt, conjecture, and risk. In our field, sometimes, in our search for answers to persistent problems, we forget that simply inventing new questions, of hazarding new guesses is our best pathway to knowledge. I will always be grateful for this and everything else she taught me.

Mohamed Sharif:

Reflections on Heather Roberge as an educator, administrator, and colleague will likely elicit a shared vocabulary of descriptors: attentive, inventive, rigorous—and, universally, precise. That precision—her particular economy of critical expression and thought, typically delivered with lucid clarity in her singular way of speaking—was illuminating, almost always piercing, if sometimes unintentionally bruising, owing to her uncanny ability to identify the heart of the matter at hand with remarkable judiciousness. This power fueled Heather’s self-professed design agnosticism and her commitment to open-minded and elegantly structured experimentation, clearly expressed in her dedication to seeing through multiple perspectives and choosing the most appropriate methods and techniques to engage a challenge and produce deeply informed, sophisticated outcomes that could bridge the magical and the surgical. I can think of no more impactful model of clinical education at a public research university than Heather, and the alumni fortunate enough to have spent time with her consistently attest to the inspiration and empowerment she provided. Having spent her entire full-time academic career at our public research university, advocating tirelessly for underserved students, it is fitting that Heather's legacy will continue through the scholarship established in her name at her alma mater, The Ohio State University, expanding access to higher education for first-generation college students.

Kara Moore (MArch ‘15):

I was fortunate to have Heather as my graduate research studio professor at UCLA, and learning from her in her studio was a gift and a privilege. My lasting impression of Heather was that she was nothing if not ambitious. Heather ran her own practice, taught our graduate studio, led the undergrad program, had a family, and still found time to push the discipline through her own research questions. My research studio classmates and I had the opportunity to join Heather on an unforgettable trip to Japan, experiencing world-class architecture and confronting our research questions firsthand. Heather made that trip happen, and I'm certain it left a real impression on all of us. Heather had a singular mind; she inspired and supported so many students and was as generous a collaborator as a teacher. I feel honored to have known Heather and to have had the chance to learn from her. She was a remarkable person; the world is more beautiful because of people like Heather. She gave through her own work and through the way she lifted up those around her. It's a heartbreaking loss that her life was cut short, but the impact of her life will carry on in the people she taught and touched.

Tess Stevenson (UCLA AUD Events & Marketing Manager, 2019-2021):

I was lucky enough to work with Heather during her time as Chair at UCLA AUD. She built a close-knit administrative team, something truly special and unlike any place I've worked before. It takes a gifted leader to bring people together and inspire innovative and exciting work, and Heather did exactly that. Her strong vision, her sense of purpose, and her dedication to the department and its students shaped how I approach my work to this day. I look back at my time at UCLA fondly, in large part because of her. I'm grateful for everything she taught me; she will be missed.

Kat English (UCLA AUD Director of Outreach, 2018-2021):

I feel very lucky to have worked with Heather during her time as Chair of UCLA AUD. She was brilliant, ambitious for AUD and its students, and so generous with her time – always available for a question or to talk through an idea. Heather was a mentor to me, and I learned so much from working alongside her. I was so sad to hear the news, and am thinking of her family and everyone at AUD.

Andrew Holder (MArch ‘05):

Heather had a habit of beginning quietly, whether speaking as a mentor, a critic, or a friend. She was all three of those things to many of us; her intelligence didn't demand to be heard, we listened because it was the sharpest.

Todd Gannon (PhD ‘11):

I’m deeply saddened by the loss of Heather Roberge. She and I were a lot like siblings. We were raised in the same disciplinary hothouse at Ohio State, we sometimes bickered and drove each other crazy when we were younger, and we became close colleagues and confidants as we found our way in the field later on. She was whip smart, ferociously determined, and dedicated to pushing our field into new territory. I’m going to miss her a lot.

David Erdman, Professor, Pratt School of Architecture:

Heather was a stalwart friend, a ferocious thinker and an ingenious designer. I always regarded her as a true talent. We grew up together in our teens and revolved around one another’s lives in NYC, Troy, Houston and LA with our fellow colleague Stephen Slaughter until we were in our thirties then forties then fifties. Each of us went on to individually lead programs from our humble beginnings in Ohio. We were a pack. Ebbs and flows of our professional careers remained a parallel stream to our discourse, friendship and invigorated passion for the culture of design and the life in which it immersed us. Heather and I taught side by side at UCLA during a transformative period under Chair Emeritus Sylvia Lavin; to whom I owe a debt of gratitude for challenging us and igniting us to push design in its many dimensions. Heather’s students, whom she nurtured (and challenged) are among the leaders of the discipline today. Her colleagues admired (and feared) her rigour, standards and expectations. She was an optimist and believer that design mattered. Heather was a devoted mother and wife who firmly believed in her family life. Throughout her accomplished professional career, she maintained a deep devotion to her siblings, parents, spouses and children. She was clear eyed about her priorities: an attribute upon which we commiserated and from which I drew with great admiration as I raised my own children whom she met on several occasions. Her presence will be missed among those of us who considered her a close friend and her mind and acumen are an indisputable loss to the discipline.

Alberto Alquicira, Manager, UCLA AUD:

Heather was an important part of the AUD community and its history. I began my time in the department while she was serving as Chair, and I have always appreciated the opportunity to have known and worked with her during that period. She cared deeply about the health and functioning of AUD and brought a strong sense of order, organization, and accountability to the department. Her commitment to the department and its well‑being was evident in the many years she devoted to it. Heather was deeply committed to staff and to ensuring our voices were heard and consistently advocated for both staff and students alike. I am grateful to have known and worked with her, and I will remember her as an important part of my own beginning at AUD and of the department’s history. My thoughts are with her family, friends, and all those who knew her.