The School of Architecture mourns the recent passing of alumnus Richard F. "Rich" Bamburak, AIA.
Rich lost his battle with cancer on July 4, 2019, at AGH Hospital, at the age of 64. Born on December 17, 1954, he attended Carnegie Mellon University, where he began his lifelong love and passion for architecture. Rich was an exceptionally talented and creative architect designing numerous award-winning projects during his career at WTW Architects, where he was a Senior Principal.
Rich focused much of his design on university student life projects, including student unions and student housing across the country. His work was broad and diverse, including offices, apartment buildings, healthcare facilities, and multi-use urban centers. His recent apartment and office building designs have been a vital part of the current Pittsburgh revival in the Strip District and Southside adding to the indelible mark he left on the city he loved. Rich's passion for the quality of the environment informed his design of many projects highly recognized for their sustainable approach.
His many interests and passions included golf, cooking, wine, landscaping, and travel where he loved to enjoy and photograph the beauty of this world. He was up every day at 4 a.m. to start work on the designs he loved to create, as he saw beauty in form through all the creations that he designed.
This obituary originally appeared on the AIA Pittsburgh website.