July 22, 2009
Thomas L. Schumacher (B.Arch. ‘63, M.Arch. ’66), professor of architecture at the University of Maryland and fellow of the American Academy in Rome, died in the early morning hours of July 15, 2009 after a short battle with brain cancer.
Schumacher was born in New York City in 1941, the son of Marcia and Joseph G. Schumacher. Schumacher earned a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University, and after a period of professional practice, returned to Cornell to pursue a Master of Architecture, studying under Colin Rowe and forming part of the "contextualism" school of thought which was critical of modern urban design.
A registered architect, Schumacher was also an authority on the architectural facade and pioneered architectural theory focused upon the composition of the vertical surface. To illustrate his theories and teach students about form, technique, and program when designing the facade of a building, he used studies based upon works by Renaissance and Baroque architects as well as the Modern masters. His writings appeared in Architectural Design, the Architectural Review, Oppositions, Journal of Architectural Education, Casabella, Parametro, the Cornell Journal of Architecture, Harvard Design Magazine, Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome, Oz, and the Harvard Architecture Review.
Excerpted with permission from the University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation
