Hans Juergen Huber, of Lexington, MA, passed away peacefully in his sleep, on July 26, 2024, in Uelzen Lower Saxony, Germany.
Hans was born March 16, 1935, in Constance, Germany. He was the son of the late Willi Huber and Gertrud (Tarneden) Huber. He was predeceased by Veronika, his beloved wife, of 60 years, and by Klauss, his brother.
Hans’s father was an executive in the rail and travel industry, and his mother was a chemical lab assistant from Minden. At the age of seven, Hans was evacuated to the countryside of a family friend’s farm, to protect him from the bombing risks in the city. The father, being a civil servant, often moved during Hans’s youth from Constance, Karlsruhe, Stuttgart, and Frankfurt. In 1952 Hans and a friend went on a 7000-Kilometer bike tour from Stuttgart to northern Scandinavia, where he loved hiking in the Arctic Mountains. On the way, Hans passed through many destroyed cities, including Hamburg, which inspired him to become an architect
In 1953, Hans graduated from Freiherr-vom-Stein Gymnasium in Frankfurt. He studied architecture at the Technical University of Darmstadt, under Ernst Neufert, a former Gropius assistant and Bauhaus colleague. In 1959, he received his “Diplom-Ingenieur” in architecture. Upon graduation, he worked with Neufert, in design and as office manager, until 1963. While working on the new headquarters of Dyckerhoff Zement in Wiesbaden, in 1962, he met his future wife, Veronika, a commercial clerk to the directorate of the firm.
In 1963, an engagement gift from his parents was a trip on the M.S. Berlin ship, first class, to New York. Hans worked in New York, at the firm of F.P. Wiedersum & Anthony Bielich, Architects.
He was accepted to the MIT Architectural Masters’ Program. Hans and Veronika traveled back to Wiesbaden and were married on January 11, 1964. They returned to Boston, and Hans studied under MIT Professor Eduardo Catalano. In 1965, after MIT, he joined the firm Glaser & Partners and worked on the JFK Federal building in Boston.
He worked in Rome, and returned for short visits to Boston, with Brown Daltas Architects on the $8 billion dollar King Khalid City in Saudi Arabia, for the US Army and US Air Force.
He returned to Boston, and joined Kallmann McKinnell & Wood, Architects. He had a strong technical knowledge and was excellent in drawing details, which was utilized on many prestigious projects around the world. He was a registered architect in Massachusetts, a member of the (AIA/BSA) American Institute for Architects, and Boston Society for Architects. He worked his way up to being Principal, and was responsible for many prominent projects from Greenpoint- Woodhull Medical Center- NY, Phillips- Exeter Academy Gymnasium, Boston Five Cents Savings bank, Back Bay MBTA Station-Boston, American Academy of Arts & Sciences-Cambridge, Hynes Convention Center- Boston, Becton Dickinson Corporate Headquarters-NJ, Edward Brooke Courthouse-Boston, Bowdoin College Thorn Hall-Maine, US Embassy-Bangkok, and the Miller Theater- Reading, PA.
In 2008, he came out of retirement to assist Kyu Sung Woo Architects on the International Village Residence Hall project at Northeastern University in Boston.
Hans mentored many architects and interns, at the Kallmann McKinnell & Wood office. He had a good sense of humor, incredible work ethic, and always took the time to explain and teach others. He fostered a collaborative and learning-oriented environment. He was known for redlining working drawings (pre-computer), and one had to incorporate all his redlines or you did not leave the office.
Hans and Veronica had been married for 60 years. They lived in Lexington, MA, where they raised two wonderful sons, Hans H., and Rolf. Hans enjoyed hiking and photography with his family in the White Mountains, canoeing, and swimming at Walden Pond. He managed to completely renovate his entire house, on weekends and at night, after work, by himself. The family spent time relaxing in the backyard garden, with fragrant flowers, and vocalizations of the songbirds amongst family and friends.
Hans is survived by his sister Gisela Huber of Priziac, France, his sister-in-law Heidi Huber, of Bavaria, and his two sons, Hans Harald (Rumjana, and grandsons Carl, Alex) of Lower Saxony, Germany, and Rolf (Eugenia, with grandson Max) of Spain and his partner Chee Kong Mok of Andorra, Spain.
A memorial family service on August 28, 2024, is planned in Bad Bevensen, Germany.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Hans Huber’s memory to:
Sacred Heart Church-Parish Office 16 Follen Street, Lexington, MA. 02421