2011 closed on a sorrowful note as the architecture community lost a forward-thinking colleague in Roger Kingsland III, AIA, on December 24th. Founder and managing partner of KSBA, Kingsland was not bound by traditional use of materials. An “ideas” man, he was instrumental in conceptualizing the firm’s value-added Customer Service Center practice, which has been implemented on 90 projects in 24 states nationally, and 10 countries internationally. Using what has evolved into the Sustainable Technology Business Center (STBC) building concept, the firm focuses on architect-led design-build work, creating design solutions that address the rapidly changing needs of the technological age and the people who work in it.
Kingsland was actively involved in his community. A member of the AIA, he served as president of AIA Pittsburgh in 1995 and is remembered fondly for the light-hearted approach with which he led the Board of Directors. He was active in the Aspinwall Presbyterian Church, where he played a key role in the rebuilding efforts after the church suffered fire damage in 1999. He was an avid sailor, having renovated his own 50-year old sailboat. He is survived by his wife, Jeanne Hackney Kingsland, and their two children. He will be dearly missed.