Conditions Governing Access
Conditions Governing Use
Preferred Citation
Biographical / Historical
Scope and Contents
Contributing Institution:
University of California, Berkeley. College of Environmental Design. Environmental Design Archives
Title: Howard A. Friedman Collection
Creator:
Friedman, Howard A.
Identifier/Call Number: 2000.-12
Physical Description:
0.5 Linear Feet:
4 boxes, 1 flat box
Date (inclusive): 1937-1990
Date (bulk): 1975-1987
Language of Material:
English
.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research
Conditions Governing Use
All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from materials in the collection should be discussed with the
Curator.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of Item], Howard A. Friedman Collection, (2000-12), Environmental Design Archives, University of California,
Berkeley.
Biographical / Historical
Howard Abraham Friedman, 1919-1988
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.
Source:
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
Scope and Contents
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.