In Memoriam

CETA reports the death, on April 16, 2010, of David N. LaBau, architect and friend and advisor to the Architecture programs here.

Mr. LaBau, a native of Ridgewood, New Jersey, served in the U.S. Army during World War II, then attended the Syracuse University School of Architecture, from which he graduated in 1952. He founded and was past chairman of the S/L/A/M Collaborative Architects of Glastonbury, Connecticut; Atlanta, Georgia; and Boston, Massachusetts, a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and past president of the Connecticut chapter of AIA. He also chaired the AIA committee that worked with the University of Hartford on the creation of the graduate program in Architecture here and advised on accreditation of that program by the National Architecture Accrediting Board (NAAB). In addition, he was a founding member of the University’s Construction Institute. He continued to advise the Architecture programs until his recent illness and was a frequent participant in juries for student work.

Besides his work in CETA, Mr. LaBau was a member of the Board of Visitors of the Mortensen Library at the University, past chairman and member of the Board of Trustees of the Open Hearth (a charity that provides shelter and recovery counseling for homeless and addicted men in Greater Hartford), a member of the Board of Advisors for the Connecticut Junior Republic in Litchfield, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Elizabeth Colt Bequest, and an advisor for SCORE, the counseling division of the Small Business Administration in West Hartford (helping people who wish to start their own business), as well as an active member of Old St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Bloomfield, Connecticut.

A memorial service will be held at 11A.M. on Saturday, May 1, at Old St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 59 Tarriffville Road, Bloomfield. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Old St. Andrew’s Church or to the David N. LaBau Architectural Scholarship Fund at the University of Hartford, in care of Michael Crosbie, Department of Architecture, 200 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford, CT 06117.

Mr. LaBau will be deeply missed by everyone in CETA.