Greg Andonian: 1941 – 2024

The Azrieli School of Architecture & Urbanism community is saddened by the loss of Professor Greg Andonian, who was the school’s longest-serving faculty member.

Krikor (Greg) Serop Andonian died on August 29 at age 83 after a brief battle with cancer.

“This is a profound loss for our school, one that I know will be felt deeply by our entire community,” said Director Anne Bordeleau. “I will dearly hold in my memory Greg’s untiring dedication to the school and his deep ties to many generations of students.”

Dr. Andonian taught continuously at Carleton University’s school of architecture for 48 years, beginning in 1976. In recent years, he taught undergraduate and graduate studios, as well as graduate seminars in city architecture and colour theory. He was also a master’s thesis supervisor.

“He was a charismatic teacher who students just loved,” said Associate Professor Janine Debanné.

“He enjoyed challenging and even contradicting any kind of assumptions, and he brought the students with him in that mode of questioning,” said Debanné. “He was a storyteller, which made his teaching vivid. He was interested in the beauty of architecture. So, beyond functionalism, he always looked to help students create something that had beauty.”

For many colleagues, he was a father figure, she added. “He was always generous with advice. He would approach you to give you some thoughts or a compliment.”

Andonian was also a pioneer in design and technology.

“Greg was always ahead of the curve,” said Associate Professor Benjamin Gianni. “For example, he was the first one to introduce computers to the school, in the late 1980s, when computers were widely seen as a threat to Carleton’s tradition of drawing and craft-based making.

“In his quiet and often unpredictable way, he kept us on our toes and challenged us to think through things,” said Gianni. “He was also an extremely versatile teacher, as comfortable teaching colour theory as steel construction or architectural philosophy.  His first love was teaching, and he enjoyed nothing more than spending time with his students.” 

Andonian was born August 23, 1941, in Aleppo, Syria, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in 1963. Pursuing his passion for studying architecture, he went on to complete a Master of Architecture at Yerevan Polytechnic University in Armenia. After graduating in 1968, he immigrated to Canada.
 
Here, he obtained a Master of Science in Systems Design (1973) and a PhD in Systems Design (1978), both at the University of Waterloo. His graduate studies focused on the art, science, and philosophy of design in the creative development of architecture via digital means.
 
During his career, Andonian played a vital role in organizing numerous international conferences on architecture and technology in North America and Europe, contributing to intellectual thought on systems design, informatics and cybernetics and their impact on quality of life in the built environment.
 
The International Institute for Advanced Studies in Baden-Baden, Germany conferred upon him Dr. H.C. – Doctor Honoris Causa – in 1996 and Distinguished Professor of the Institute in 2002 in recognition for his long service to the international scientific community.

Andonian completed the 2024 winter term, teaching a graduate seminar and an Option Studio. He entered hospital after he received his diagnosis in June, which meant he could not attend the spring convocation reception.
 
He asked Dr. Bordeleau to let everyone know that he wished he could have been there and that he had never missed such an event in all his time at the school. “He truly considered our great community as a home and cared for it like family,” she said. “He will be missed deeply.”
 

He is survived by his wife Armenoui, his children Kevork and Hripsime and their spouses, a grandchild, and other family. See the obituary here.