Orhan Ayyüce, Architect and Longtime Archinect Contributor, Dies at 75
On September 20, Orhan Ayyüce, a 75-year-old architect, educator, and a dedicated contributor to Archinect, passed away at his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico. After retiring from East Los Angeles College, he relocated to Albuquerque in June. Originally from İzmir, Turkey, Ayyüce arrived in the United States during the 1970s and established himself in Los Angeles. He earned his architecture degree from SCI-Arc in 1981 and later taught at Cal Poly Pomona and East Los Angeles College, championing community college education. For over twenty years, he engaged with Archinect, interviewing prominent architects and advocating for the preservation of Richard Neutra’s VDL Research House. He is survived by his wife, Tina, along with numerous students and colleagues.
Key facts
- Orhan Ayyüce died at his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on September 20 at age 75.
- He was born in İzmir, Turkey, and came to the United States in the 1970s.
- He enrolled at SCI-Arc in 1978, graduated in 1981, and remained closely connected to the school.
- He taught at Cal Poly Pomona and Woodbury University, and from 2013 was a full-time professor at East Los Angeles College.
- In 2011, Cal Poly Pomona students named him “Most Inspiring Instructor.”
- He developed Constellations of Tijuana in 2017 while teaching at Escuela Libre de Arquitectura in Tijuana.
- He organized the 2013 exhibition Glen Small: Recovery Room and advocated for the preservation of Richard Neutra’s VDL Research House.
- In 2026, AIA Los Angeles named him “Educator of the Year.”
Entities
Artists
- Orhan Ayyüce
- Tina Simon
- Antoine Predock
- Mimi Zeiger
- Walter Harvey
- Frank Lloyd Wright
- Esther McCoy
- Ray Kappe
- Sarah Lorenzen
- Mike Davis
- Frank Gehry
- Carme Pinós
- Francis Kéré
- Glen Small
- Richard Neutra
- Dion Neutra
- Noam Saragosti
Institutions
- Archinect
- East Los Angeles College
- SCI-Arc
- Cal Poly Pomona
- Woodbury University
- Escuela Libre de Arquitectura
- AIA
- AIA Los Angeles
- PBS SoCal
Locations
- Albuquerque
- New Mexico
- Los Angeles
- California
- İzmir
- Turkey
- Sacramento
- San Diego County
- Tijuana
- Mexico