“If a building is neither spontaneous nor sophisticated, there is probably nothing to see,” observes Chicago native Stanley Tigerman.
After receiving architecture degrees from Yale, he started his firm in 1962, which his wife and partner, architect Margaret McCurry, joined in 1982.
Though Tigerman’s achievements and accolades have been many (he represented the United States at the Venice Biennale on two occasions and has received more than 130 design awards) and his credentials impressive, he remains grounded and is the first to debunk the myth that architects reside on a lofty perch.
“People often feel that architects are detached from others or are part of an elite—it’s just not true!”
Tigerman believes that being a responsible architect and human being means “being totally immersed in ecological responsiveness.”
In addition to his residential projects in the United States, he has worked on public structures in Bangladesh and on the Illinois Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.
Tigerman says, “I think design for those most in need of it is rewarding.” In 1993 he cofounded, with Eva Maddox, Chicago-based Archeworks, an alternative multidisciplinary design school. Programs at the school range from designing products and prototypes to improve the lives of stroke survivors to analyzing response models of recent disasters. He adds, “I choose projects where poignancy is built into the program.”
Honors
He received Yale University's first Alumni Arts Award in 1985. In 1976 he was both chairman of the AIA Committee on Design and coordinator of the exhibition and book entitled Chicago Architects. He was founding member of "The Chicago Seven" as well as the Chicago Architectural Club. In 1989 he was awarded the Dean of Architecture Award, in 1990 he was inducted into the Interior Design Hall of Fame, in 1992 he received the Illinois Academy of Fine Arts Award and in 1996 he received the American Jewish Committee's Cultural Achievement Award. The International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers honored Mr. Tigerman with the Louis Sullivan Award in September 2000. Most recently, Mr. Tigerman was presented with an honorary Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Herrington Institute of Design in 2002.
He was one of the architects chosen to represent the United States at the 1976 and 1980 Venice Biennales and was part of the "New Chicago Architecture" exhibition at the Museo di Castelvecchio in Verona. In 1990, his work was exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago entitled, "Stanley Tigerman: Recent Works." Mr. Tigerman is the recipient of 132 design awards from the National AIA, the Chicago Chapter AIA, PA Design Awards and Record Houses and Interiors
