Alan G. Levy, formerly of West Mt. Airy, an architect and a professor of architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, died Jan 24 of congestive heart failure at Wesley Enhanced Living Main Line in Media.
Mr. Levy was a partner with Adele Naudé Santos in the firm of Santos Levy & Associates, whose projects included an office building in Tokyo, a redevelopment plan for Camden, a natatorium for Albright College, and campus building projects at Penn, Temple and Drexel universities.
Until 1997 he taught design, construction and detailing at Penn’s Graduate School of Fine Arts.
Earlier he was a partner with John Murphy and Richard Saul Wurman in the firm of Murphy, Levy, Wurman, Architects and Planners. One of the firm’s projects was a plan for Penn’s Landing that included hotels, offices and 250 apartment units – one of several plans that were debated and later withdrawn.
The firm also designed homes on Long Beach Island, N.J., and urban renewal plans for Society Hill, Queens Village, and parts of University City. The partners were instrumental in bringing classes in environmental education and architecture to Philadelphia public schools.
Born and raised in South Philadelphia, Mr. Levy was a graduate of South Philadelphia High School for Boys and the University of Pennsylvania, where he was enrolled in the five-year architecture program on a full scholarship. After graduating from Penn, he served in the Army for two years.
Mr. Levy had worked for several noted architecture and urban design firms in Philadelphia, including those of Vincent Kling and Louis Kahn, where he was involved in the design of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, Calif., and government buildings in Bangladesh.
In 2006 he received the John Frederick Harbeson Award by the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Institute of Architects for a lifetime of contributions to the profession of architecture
Mr. Levy is survived by his wife of 63 years, the former Barbara Jacobsen; a daughter, Anne Levy Pugh; and two grandchildren. Two sons, Paul A. and Andrew E. Levy, preceded him in death.
There will be no funeral service, and burial will be private. Memorial donations may be made to PennDesisgn’s Architecture 125 Fund, providing fellowships and financial aid to students in Penn”s architecture program, at http://bit.ly/2E90LD1. – WF
