Heather Lynn Roberge, an architect and longtime educator at UCLA, passed away on Sept. 20 in Los Angeles. She was 55.
Colleagues and students alike knew Roberge as a rigorous and generous teacher, someone who pushed people to think more expansively about what buildings could be while remaining deeply attentive to craft, detail and innovation. Just this year, she was named AIA Los Angeles' 2026 Educator of the Year.
“Heather held a special place in our community,” said Mariana Ibañez, chair of the UCLA Department of Architecture and Urban Design (UCLA AUD). “For countless students and colleagues, what mattered most was who she was in the studio and the classroom: a mentor who was endlessly curious, and unwavering in her belief in her students. Her passing is an enormous loss for so many in our community.”
Lionel Popkin, dean of the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture (UCLA Arts), who served as chair of the department of world arts and cultures/dance while Roberge was chair of UCLA AUD, said: “Heather was an extraordinary architect and a dedicated educator who helped shape the intellectual life of the department and inspired generations of students. For our community, and especially for those of us who studied or worked closely with Heather, this is a profound loss.”
Roberge first taught at UCLA in 2000 as a visiting assistant professor at UCLA AUD; she was appointed lecturer at AUD in 2002. She would go on to direct AUD’s bachelor of arts in architectural studies program from 2007 to 2016. Roberge was named chair of UCLA AUD in 2017, a role she held until 2020, leading AUD through the COVID-19 pandemic. Roberge had served on AUD’s Senate Faculty since then; she was promoted from associate professor to professor in 2022.
Roberge was born in Covington, Kentucky, on April 2, 1971. She grew up in Westerville, Ohio, and earned her bachelor of science and master of architecture degrees at Ohio State University, where she received the AIA Certificate of Excellence and graduated summa cum laude. As a freshman engineering major, she enrolled in introductory architecture courses; inspired, she applied to OSU’s architecture program.
She founded her design practice, Murmur, in Los Angeles in 2008, building over nearly two decades a body of work defined by its curiosity about materials, computation and craft. A hallmark of her work was blending digital fabrication techniques with traditional construction methods. Projects like “Succulent House” and “En Pointe” reflect an approach to architecture that was as much about experimentation and atmosphere as it was about form.
Recognized for her work — and teaching
In 2025, Roberge published “Fabricating Plasticity in Aluminum,” demonstrating her fascination with material, manufacturing and geometry, as well as creating unexpected spaces and experiences from simple materials. Roberge’s work earned her major recognitions, including the 2016 Emerging Voices Award from the Architectural League of New York and multiple AIA design honors.
Among her various pursuits, it was teaching that offered Roberge her greatest professional gratification. Her contributions to architectural education were widely recognized. Alongside the 2026 AIA-LA Educator of the Year award, she earned the 2017 ACADIA Teaching Award of Excellence and was named a Distinguished Alumna in Academic Achievement by Ohio State University in 2018. Her mentorship and leadership have shaped generations of architects, both students and colleagues alike.
“Among the many ways in which Heather touched me profoundly was her insistence that we actually conduct research at one of the world’s great research institutions,” says Neil Denari, distinguished professor at UCLA AUD, who served as interim chair before Roberge’s appointment as chair. “This means not simply practicing or honing a craft, or perfecting accepted knowledge. It means working with doubt, conjecture and risk. I will always be grateful for this and everything else she taught me.”
Roberge is survived by her husband, David Gale; her son, Finnian James Payne; her mother, Patricia Ann Roberge (née Sears); her sister, Melanie Roberge Ortlieb, and her husband, Mike Ortlieb; her sisters-in-law Robin Lorber and her husband, Izzy Lorber, Susan Gale, and Lauren Napach and her husband, Joel Napach; and her nieces and nephews, Will Ortlieb, Jake Lorber, Amanda Lorber, Ian Napach, Lily Napach and Ava Napach. She was predeceased by her father, Jerome George Roberge Jr.
