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| Facts |
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Born: December 1, 1924 |
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Place of Birth: Iran |
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Death: October 23, 2009 |
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Occupation: Architect |
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Organizations: AIA, Central Valley Chapter |
| Survived By |
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Mary Gilanfarr, Spouse |
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Philip GilanFarr, Son |
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Shahri Masters, Daughter |
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Katherine Green, Daughter |
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Sharon Faccinto, Daughter |
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Mehri Gilanfar, Sister |
| Preceded in Death By |
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Hassan Gilanfarr, Father |
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Shahrabonou Gilanfarr, Mother |
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Fari Shahidi, Sister |
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Nosrat (Nicky) Gilanfar, Brother |
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Nemat (Matt) Gilan Farr, Brother |
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Laura Lee Gruver, Daughter |
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Mary (Lisa) Higgins, Daughter |
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Faradg Gilanfarr
December 1, 1924 -
October 23, 2009
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Faradg leaves the legacy of a long life well lived in which family was his greatest joy and his architecture was his great source of pride and satisfaction. He lived with passion, humor and optimism every day.
His philosophy was Love, Truth and Beauty and he respected and honored the teachings and traditions of all religions.
Faradg was born in Tehran, Iran and received his secondary education at Firouz Bahram Academy. His father was a close advisor to Reza Shah Pahlevi and to Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlevi. He had two sisters, Fari and Mehri as well as two brothers, Nemat(Matt) and Nosrat (Nicky).
In 1949 he came to the United States to complete his education in Art and Architecture. With his best friend Farrokh Panah-Izadi, he drove across America in a new yellow Buick convertible becaming, as he said, "more American with every mile". He became an American citizen in 1952. He settled in the San Francisco Bay area and attended San Francisco City College, San Francisco State College and graduated in Architecture at UC Berkeley.
Among his professors and mentors were Merle Weidman, Vernon DeMars and his Dean, William Wurster. After graduation he worked for Wurster, Bernardi and Emmons in San Francisco. During this period his independent practice included homes, apartment buildings, a restaurant building, and with WB&E worked on Golden Gateway and many outstanding San Francisco projects.
He married Phyllis Norman and had two children, Shahri Virginia and Philip and lived in Berkeley and Oakland, fulfilling his promise of bringing his mother and brother Nicky to America as well.
In 1960 the family moved to San Rafael in Marin County where he established a large practice in partnership with David Coleman, Architect. Among his notable projects were the San Rafael Racquet Club development, 4th & C Builidng, 1408 Fourth St. other commercial bulidngs, many private homes and a large number of apartments and four plex developments for Kaehler- Farrar Development. His distinctive style of design with high ceilings, post and beam construciton, creative use of redwood interiors, large windows for view and sunlight became a major part of the genre known as Marin Mid-Century Modern.
It was during this time that projects took him to North Lake Tahoe where he developed a life-long love of the region. His first Tahoe project was McKinney's Landing townhomes (Now Brockway Shores)in Kings Beach.
In 1968 he closed the San Rafael office and moved the family to Tahoe City. He then designed custom homes in Alpine Meadows, Squaw Valley and surrounding areas including Incline Village. In 1971 he moved his offices to Incline Village, Nevada where he did several large condominium developments and custom homes. He was very active in developing environmentally responsible design and construction practices to benefit the Tahoe environment.
After the end of his first marriage, he married Mary Gruver and blended her three daughters, Lisa, Laura and Sharon into the family along with their new baby, Katherine.
During this period he designed projects in the Tahoe and Truckee areas and in other parts of the world including Idaho, France and Iran. In 1975 he made his only visit to Iran and designed several projects for a large development firm, Iran Kampsax. He had hoped to bring the family to live in Iran for a few years but the revolution intervened and he was happy to remain in the US for the rest of his life.
He developed the BioSun Environmental Energy System of solar interactive design building the BioSun home for the family in Incline Village. The BioSun system has become widely known for its system of integrating a large interior garden, skylights and natural air flow without mechanical solar equipment.
In 1985-86 he designed and supervised the restoration and re-construction of Camp Richardson Resort at South Lake Tahoe, including the Anchorage Marina and the Beacon Restaurant. In order to supervise the construction he obtained a General Contractor license to do design-build projects.
In 1987, after years of a moratorium on building at Lake Tahoe, the older children were in college or no longer at home and he moved with Mary to Newport Beach and then San Clemente in Orange Couonty, California. He designed schools, commercial projects, shopping centers and custom homes. Several of the large custom homes were design-build projects. He continued development of Green Architecture and expanded his interest in alternative transaportation and electric vehicles.
In 1990 he and Mary returned to Lake Tahoe where he became a leader in the Transportation Coalition, The Tahoe-Truckee Economic Coalition and the North Tahoe Community Plan Team, as well as speaking as an advocate for sustainable design and planning for projects before the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.
In 1997 Faradg and Mary moved to Auburn to fulfill their longing for cherry trees, tomato plants and a big orchard and garden property. Their home became the family gathering point for the children and grandchildren living either in Marin County or at Lake Tahoe.He continued to design and build at Lake Tahoe as well as in the Auburn area. One of his last great design-build projects was a luxury custom home on the Lake designed and built with and by sustainable material and methods. He called it the 200-year home.
Over the 55 years of his architecture practice his greatest satisfaction was to drive by a home he designed and see a family living inside in happiness and comfort.
He will be remembered for his wonderful sense of humor, his sense of play and fun, his passion for everything beautiful in life, his love of new places and ideas and people, his joy in simple things and most of all his outpouring of love to children, grandchildren, friends and associates.
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| Services |
Celebration of Life
Saturday
November 14, 2009, 2 PM
- 3 PM
at
Sierra Foothils Unitarian Universalist Church
Click for Map and Directions
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