Garbe, Raymond W.
Copyright Chicago Tribune Co. Oct 7, 1988
Raymond W. Garbe, (1906-1998), a Chicago architect, helped to integrate modern medical science into the design of hospitals. He was a leader in what has been termed "growth philosophy" for health-care facilities.
In pioneering many innovations to medical construction and planning, he developed such now-accepted concepts as central service cores for nursing units and for surgical and X-ray departments.
He was also noted for the use of wide-span modular construction to achieve maximum flexibility of space.
Among the area hospitals he designed are Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights, Sherman Hospital in Elgin and Bartholomew County Hospital in Columbus, Ind.
Mr. Garbe, a native of Wheaton, received a bachelor's degree from Wheaton College and a master's in architecture from Harvard University in 1931.
He was awarded the Nelson Robinson Jr. Traveling Fellowship from Harvard in 1932.
As an architect for the U.S. Department of the Interior from 1935 to 1937, he designed a hospital in Point Barrow, Alaska. He worked closely with the Bureau of Standards on research for construction material and methods to be used on the frozen tundra in the Arctic Circle.
In 1942, he joined the Chicago firm of Schmidt, Garden and Erikson. He worked designing hospitals for the firm, at the same time helping on the urban planning for the communities in which the facilities would be placed.
He was made a partner in 1956 and continued with the firm until retiring in 1980.
He and his wife, Ruth Moore Garbe, were deeply involved in the preservation of such Chicago architectural heritage as Navy Pier and the restoration of the Prairie Avenue District. She has also been a noted writer on anthropology and evolution.
Last year, he endowed a professorship in design at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, which is now held by Peter G. Rowe, professor of architecture and design.
AIA Listing
File: ahd1015291 Raymond William Garbe
Name: Garbe, Raymond William
Personal Information
Birth/Death: AIA notified of decease 12/6/1991
Occupation: American architect
Location (state): IL
This record has not been verified for accuracy.
AIA Affiliation
Member of The American Institute of Architects (AIA) 1954-decease
Biographical Sources
American Architects Directories:
Biographical listing in 1956 American Architects Directory
Biographical listing in 1962 American Architects Directory
Biographical listing in 1970 American Architects Directory
Related Records
Archival Holdings
The American Institute of Architects
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