Michael Bauman Burch

1953 - 2025

Michael Bauman Burch, FAIA, an architect internationally celebrated for his romantic and lyrical interpretations of traditional Californian architecture, passed away on Wednesday, August 27, 2025, at the age of 72, surrounded by his family. The family home in Lake Arrowhead was especially dear to him. Though work took him off the mountain and he divided his time between La Cañada Flintridge, Lake Arrowhead, and Indian Wells, he considered Lake Arrowhead his true home base.
A resident since 1998, he was active in the community as a member of the Lake Arrowhead Chamber of Commerce and served on the San Bernardino County General Plan Advisory Committee, the Lake Arrowhead Community Plan Advisory Committee, and the Lake Arrowhead Community Services District Stakeholders Advisory Group. He was also a longtime member of the Lake Arrowhead Yacht Club, where he enjoyed sailing, camaraderie, and he found great joy in golfing at the Lake Arrowhead Country Club. An avid walker, he could often be seen on the trails around the lake-maintaining a daily five-mile walk until just a week before his passing.
Educated at UC Berkeley (A.B.) and Yale (M.Arch.), he was also a lifelong student of history, architecture, and travel. His work drew deeply on California's Spanish Colonial and Mediterranean heritage and vernacular traditions developed over centuries in climates similar to Southern California's, and embraced not only the enduring values of beauty, craft, place, grace, and sustainability but also addressed the realities of contemporary life. He was the founding principal of Michael Burch Architects, established in 1986, and devoted his career to advancing an architecture that balanced historical resonance with contemporary life. His buildings can be found not only across California but also as far away as Hawaii and South Africa.
Michael's contributions extended far beyond his private practice. He has served his community with distinction, chairing South Pasadena's Planning Commission and Design Review Boards and drafting the city's General and Specific Plans and Zoning Code. Michael has also been continually active in architectural stewardship, including helping initiate the Mills Act in the cities of La Cañada Flintridge and Indian Wells. In South Pasadena, he was known as one of the 710 "Freeway Fighters" in a decades-long battle that saved Rudolf Schindler's Grokowsky House, which is now historically designated and was restored by the California Department of Transportation. He has most recently completed the restoration of the Cavanagh Adobe in Indian Wells, a property that is one of the oldest homes in the Coachella Valley and eligible for the National Register. His outreach to traditional architecture circles is complemented by repeated talks at Palm Springs Modernism Week, where he explores the connections between Modernism and the Spanish/Mediterranean Traditions in California.
In 2022, Michael was elevated to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects, one of the profession's highest honors, rarely given to traditional architects. A visionary as well as a preservationist, he was an early adopter of digital tools, creating one of the first architectural websites in the 1990s and pioneering the concept of a fully virtual practice by 2001.
His design excellence and influence earned international recognition. His work appeared in more than 22 books and was exhibited 4 times at Venice's La Biennale di Venezia, making him the only California-based architect working in the Spanish Colonial/Mediterranean tradition to present there. Architect and author Stephen Harby described him as "the greatest living practitioner of the Spanish Colonial/Mediterranean Revival" (Period Homes Magazine), while critic Aaron Betsky called his work "breathtaking in its sophistication and beauty" (ARCHITECT: The Journal of the American Institute of Architects).
Michael will be remembered not only for the enduring beauty of his buildings but also for his generosity as a teacher & mentor, his wit, and his unwavering conviction that architecture should serve human lives with dignity, warmth, and delight. Above all, he will be remembered as a devoted husband, father, brother, and friend.
He is survived by his wife and partner, Diane Wilk; his children, triplets James, Katherine, and Richard Burch; his twin sister, Patricia Burch Byers and family; his brother Peter Burch, and his brother Timothy Burch and family. A memorial service will be held at the Church of the Angels, 1100 Avenue 64, Pasadena, CA on Friday, September 19, 2025, at 10 a.m.