In Memory of Nick Roberts

Sep 25, 2013 | Community News, In Memoriam

Nick Roberts, born in Cambridge, England June 5, 1948, lived life to its fullest until passing away of ALS in Los Angeles, CA, on September 21, 2013. Nick’s father, David Wyn Roberts, was a professor of architecture at Cambridge University and had a successful architectural practice; Nick’s mother, Margaret MacDonald Baird, was also an architect. Nick viewed his father and grandfather, a preacher in North Wales, as carrying on the lineage of the great Welsh humanist tradition of education, leadership, and activism; a tradition Nick carried on in his approach to teaching and community-building.

Nick graduated from Cambridge University, BA Architecture, 1969, and the Architectural Association’s School of Architecture in London in 1972. Nick moved to Los Angeles in 1977 where he practiced architecture and met his future wife, architect Cory Buckner. They married in 1981 and had a daughter, Bryony Roberts.

Nick’s most significant contribution to architectural practice was as an Associate and Project Manager for Leo A. Daly in Los Angeles from 1985-2003, where he was responsible for managing a number of monumental, well-known Southern California projects such as the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels by Rafael Moneo, the Los Angeles Convention Center Center Expansion by Pei Cobb Freed, and the John Spoor Broome Library at CSU Channel Islands by Norman Foster. Nick’s ability to organize vastly complex projects, negotiate diplomatically, and inspire a team of collaborators brought these projects to spectacular realization. On a smaller scale, Nick collaborated with his wife Cory on the design of their mountaintop home in Malibu and renovations of houses and St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church in Malibu, all designed by A. Quincy Jones.

In 2003, Nick found his true calling as professor of architecture at Woodbury University, and served as Interim Chair of the Undergraduate Program the semester before he passed away. He founded Woodbury’s study abroad program in China, taking the time to learn Basic Chinese so he could communicate more effectively, and then started another such program in India, where his students researched how water conservation could inform architectural design. He was inducted into the Woodbury University Faculty Hall of Fame in August 2013.

A man of generosity, warmth, and great sincerity, Nick wanted nothing more than to help and inspire others, especially his students. His far-reaching intelligence absorbed everything from foreign languages to political history to new cooking techniques. He lived a life of constant curiosity and continual learning. He is the author of Places of Worship published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

His adventurous spirit drove him to travel all over the world, from Isfahan to Tokyo to Buenos Aires, and he particularly loved being at the helm of a sailboat, whether exploring the inlets of the Channel Islands or the coast of Maine.

Nick is survived by his wife Cory Buckner and his daughter, Bryony Roberts.

A memorial service will be held at a later time. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Nick Roberts Scholarship Fund at Woodbury University, University Relations, 7500 No. Glenoaks Blvd., Burbank, Ca. 91504. Please write Nick Roberts on your checks or contact Vincent Blocker at 818 252-5229.