Local architect and designer Gregory Maire passed away Oct. 4 from complications of pneumonia. A 30-year resident, he moved to Evanston in 1985 soon after establishing his award-winning architecture firm here.
For 23 years Gregory Maire Architect Ltd. was known for building and renovating homes and institutions in Chicago and throughout the North Shore. The firm was closed in 2005, two years after Mr. Maire was diagnosed with early onset dementia.
A native of Elmhurst, Mr. Maire earned his master’s degree in architecture at Harvard University after undergraduate work at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. He designed both contemporary and traditional residential and commercial buildings and focused institutional work on sacred spaces. He and his chief project manager, Ken Parel-Sewell, won a contest to design the Baha’i Center in Nashville. Closer to home, at the Wilmette Baha’i House of Worship, they restored nine gardens and completed the design of the terrace encircling this historic temple.
Mr. Maire served the Design Industry Foundation for AIDS both as board member and president. He is survived by a brother Mark and his long-time partner Michael A. Horvich. Aspects of their more than 40-year partnership are captured in a recent short film, “Alzheimer’s: A Love Story.” A memorial for Mr. Maire has already been held, but memorial gifts may be sent to La Casa Norte, Chicago, in support of the More Than Ever Education Fund that Messrs. Maire and Horvich created.