Trailblazing Buffalo architect Robert Traynham Coles passes away at age 90
Longtime architect, advocate, and mentor Robert Traynham Coles has passed away at age 90 in Buffalo. Coles, who in 1994 became the first African American Chancellor of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), was celebrated for the quality and beauty of his architectural designs. His notable projects include, according to an obituary published by The Buffalo News, the Frank E. Merriweather Jr. Library; the JFK Community Center; and the University at Buffalo's Alumni Arena and Natatorium, as well as additional buildings in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Providence, R.I. Like many other minority architects, Coles was discouraged from pursuing a career in the industry by his teachers early on, though he eventually earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Minnesota and a Masters of Architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). After his studies at MIT, Coles traveled to Europe on the Rotch Travelling Scholarship from the Boston Socie...
Longtime architect, advocate, and mentor Robert Traynham Coles has passed away at age 90 in Buffalo.
Coles, who in 1994 became the first African American Chancellor of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), was celebrated for the quality and beauty of his architectural designs. His notable projects include, according to an obituary published by The Buffalo News, the Frank E. Merriweather Jr. Library; the JFK Community Center; and the University at Buffalo's Alumni Arena and Natatorium, as well as additional buildings in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Providence, R.I.
Like many other minority architects, Coles was discouraged from pursuing a career in the industry by his teachers early on, though he eventually earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Minnesota and a Masters of Architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). After his studies at MIT, Coles traveled to Europe on the Rotch Travelling Scholarship from the Boston Socie...
