Heather Roberge, Los Angeles Architect and UCLA Educator, Dies at 55
Heather Roberge, an architect from Los Angeles and the founder of Murmur, passed away at the age of 55. Her death was reported shortly after Orhan Ayyüce's passing on September 20. Both individuals were honored as AIA Los Angeles' "Educators of the Year" for 2026. Born in Ohio in 1971, Roberge obtained her Bachelor of Science in 1993 and a Master of Architecture in 1995 from The Ohio State University. She co-founded Gnuform in 1999 and launched Murmur in 2008. Among her significant projects are the Succulent House and Vortex House. Joining UCLA’s faculty in 2002, she became a full professor in 2021 and was awarded the ACADIA Teaching Award in 2017. She is survived by her husband and son.
Key facts
- Heather Roberge died at age 55; she was born in 1971.
- She founded the Los Angeles design practice Murmur in 2008 and cofounded Gnuform in 1999 with Jason Payne.
- AIA Los Angeles named Roberge and Orhan Ayyüce its 2026 "Educators of the Year"; Ayyüce died on September 20.
- Roberge earned a Bachelor of Science in 1993 and a Master of Architecture in 1995 from The Ohio State University, graduating summa cum laude.
- Murmur's Succulent House received a 2011 AIA Next LA design merit award; En Pointe received a 2015 AIA LA Merit award; the Vortex House was nominated in 2014 for the Mies Crown Hall Americas Emerging Architecture Prize.
- Roberge chaired the UCLA department from 2017 to 2020 and was promoted to full professor in 2021.
- She received the 2017 ACADIA Teaching Award of Excellence and was selected for the Architectural League of New York's Emerging Voices program in 2016.
- She recently published the book Fabricating Plasticity in Aluminum and leaves behind a husband and a son.
Entities
Artists
- Heather Roberge
- Orhan Ayyüce
- Lionel Popkin
- Jacqueline Gargus
- Jason Payne
- Mariana Ibañez
Institutions
- Murmur
- UCLA
- UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture
- UCLA AUD
- AIA Los Angeles
- The Ohio State University
- Architectural Association
- Eisenman Architects
- Architecture Research Office
- Davis Brody Bond
- Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum
- Gnuform
- MoMA PS1
- SCI-Arc Gallery
- Banvard Gallery
- Architectural League of New York
- ACADIA
- Knowlton School of Architecture
- University of Virginia
- Yale
- Pratt
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- Washington University in St. Louis
- AIA
Locations
- Los Angeles
- United States
- Ohio
- London
- United Kingdom
- New York
- New York City