Malcolm William Quantrill

May 25, 1931 – September 22, 2009

Malcolm William Quantrill passed from this life on Tuesday, September 22, 2009, at College Station Medical Center. The vigil will take place at 7 p.m. Monday, September 28, at Hillier Funeral Home. The Funeral service will take place at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, September 29, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in College Station. All are welcome.

Malcolm was born on May 25, 1931, in Norwich, England, the only child of Arthur William Quantrill and Alice May Quantrill (née Newstead), and educated at the City of Norwich School.

He received a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Liverpool in 1954. He attended the University of Pennsylvania as a Fulbright Scholar and Albert Kahn Memorial Fellow, earning a Master of Architecture in 1955. He received a D.Sc. in Urbanism from Wroclaw Technical University in 1975. Prior to coming to Texas A&M in 1984, he was Professor of Architecture at the University of Jordan-Amman, and had also taught at the University of Wales, University College, London, and the University of Liverpool. A member of the Royal Institute of British Architects since 1961, he was Director of the Architectural Association, London from 1967 to 1969, and Head of Environmental Design at the Polytechnic of North London from 1973 to 1980. He was promoted as a Distinguished Professor at Texas A&M University in 1986, and upon retirement in 2007 was named Distinguished Professor Emeritus.

Professor Quantrill's research focused on the history and theory of modern architecture, and design methods, with an emphasis on 20th century Finnish architecture. His many publications included influential monographs on leading Finnish architects Alvar Aalto, Reima Pietilae, and Juha Leiviska. He received a major grant for his CASA project from the Graham Foundation of Chicago, supporting the publication since 1991 of a series of unique architectural studies, latterly focusing on Latin America.

International honors included visiting professorships at the Technische Universitat, Vienna, University of Oulu, Finland, Monterrey Institute of Technology, Mexico, and Carleton University, Ottawa. In 1988, he was invested as a Knight of the Order of the Finnish Lion in recognition of his contributions to Finnish Architecture. He was made a Distinguished Professor of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture in 1990, and in 2003 received the Haecker Distinguished Leadership in Architectural Research Award from the Architectural Research Consortium of North America. Among his honors, he was particularly proud of his election to the Garrick Club, London, in 1971.

Malcolm had a passion for living and enjoyed a rich and varied life. He was never happier than when boarding an aircraft to embark on some new adventure. An enormously sociable man, he had a gift for friendship, nurturing many bonds over decades, often from a great distance. His sparkling wit and wicked sense of humor made him a brilliant conversationalist, and he entertained all those he encountered with a seemingly endless fund of jokes and stories.

He was a loving, generous and most affectionate husband and father, and will be greatly missed by his wife of more than 38 years, Esther; their daughters, Francesca Quantrill and husband, Jason Siegel, of Austin, and Alexandra Quantrill of New York City; his sons, Christopher Quantrill of Hampshire, England, and Jan Quantrill of Oxfordshire, England; and grandsons, Max and Arne Quantrill of Oxfordshire.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Texas A&M Foundation to support Architecture Student Travel in memory of Malcolm Quantrill. Donations may be mailed to Larry Zuber, Senior Director of Development, College of Architecture, College Station, TX 77843-3137.

Please view and sign the guest book at www.hillierfuneralhome.com.