In Memoriam: John H. Beyer, FAIA, AICP
Jack, as he was known to his colleagues, profoundly impacted architecture by practicing with the belief that revitalizing existing buildings, communities, and institutions has vital and lasting civic consequences. For more than five decades, Jack’s work contributed to a paradigm shift that put planning, preservation, and design responsive to context at the center of architectural practice. Together with founding partners John Belle and Richard Blinder, Jack established the mission and values that have anchored Beyer Blinder Belle’s practice.
“Planning, restoration and the design of new buildings in historic settings are the fundamental underpinnings of our firm. With every project, whatever its focus, I’m always thinking of all three.”
—John H. Beyer
Over the course of his practice, Jack helped refine the firm’s commitment to designing with an acute awareness of, sensitivity to, and forward-looking response to a project’s context. Guided by a deep sense of responsibility to the inhabitants of buildings, to communities, and to the larger urban fabric, he aimed to not only meet functional and programmatic requirements, but also to enhance the public realm.
Jack served as partner and lead designer on major cultural, residential, retail, and interiors projects, as well as private residences. Among his many accomplishments are the transformation of Brooklyn’s Dumbo neighborhood into a vibrant mixed-use destination, the result of a long collaboration with the Walentas family and Two Trees Management Company, and his more than decade-long engagement with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a point of personal pride and passion for which he not only quietly shaped the museum’s Fifth Avenue landmark, but also ensured the vitality of Marcel Breuer’s former Whitney Museum building as it passed from hand to hand.
In his work with education clients such as Denison and Harvard Universities—his almae matres—and Riverdale Country School, he was known for his ability to lead complex projects with a combination of design vision, diplomatic skill, and disarming honesty. From construction sites to board rooms, he set an uncompromising standard for quality, a reputation for which his firm is still known today.
Within the office, Jack was a mentor and role model who led by example and expected excellence from himself and others. He generously ensured the firm would be able to transition to the next generation of partners, a trajectory of succession that persists today.
Jack earned his undergraduate degree from Denison University and his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Architecture from Harvard University. He served as a juror and studio design critic at Columbia and Cornell, lectured on historic preservation at Harvard, and served multiple terms on the Harvard Graduate School of Design Alumni Council. In 1979 he was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and under his leadership Beyer Blinder Belle received the AIA Architecture Firm Award in 1995.
“Many of us have indelible memories of working with Jack and of the impression he made on clients, projects, and our own careers,” said BBB Managing Partner Elizabeth R. Leber, AIA. “He demanded the best of us, and he made us all into the people that we are today. Each and every one of us carries forward his legacy in the work we do under his name, now and into the future.”
We at BBB extend our condolences to his family, friends, and the many colleagues and collaborators who learned from him. With heavy hearts but great pride in Jack’s vision and accomplishments, we are honored to carry his legacy forward.
Jack is remembered by his daughters Kay Childs and Liz and Sophie Beyer; his sons, Henry and Charles Beyer; and by nine grandchildren: Janiva Ellis; Andrew, Charlotte, and Lila Childs; Jayden Beyer; and Arthur, William, Audrey and James Beyer. He was preceded in death by his daughter Katie Beyer, and by his wife of almost 60 years, Wendy Beyer, who passed away on January 10, 2026.
In lieu of gifts or flowers, donations can be made to the Beyer Blinder Belle Foundation.
Read more about Jack’s life and work:
