John David Quale

John D. Quale (May 20, 1964 - December 30, 2025), a visionary architect, influential and generous educator, and pioneering leader in sustainable and off-site construction, passed away peacefully on December 30, 2025. John lived for several years with early-onset Alzheimer's disease, facing the final stage of his illness with grace and connecting with his family through music when he could no longer communicate with words. He is survived by his wife, Sara, and their children, Walker and Alice, who remained devoted to ensuring his final years were filled with connection, beauty, and experiences.

John's life was lived with a sense of optimism and positivity, and he relished his life as a husband and father. John adored Sara, Walker and Alice, and was so proud of their talents, creativity and smarts. His family made his eyes light up with joy. It's a gift to experience that kind of love, and John felt it and shared it.

Born in Milwaukee, WI, John was the youngest of three sons of David Milton Quale, an Attorney, and DorothyJune Quale. He grew up in Thiensville, WI, and attended Homestead High School, where he was active in many clubs and groups, including the theater program.

Spending summers at Camp Minikani made him aware of the work of naturalist and conservationist Aldo Leopold, but it was his year in Japan at age 16 through the AFS that set the course of his life. Living with a family of architects that year inspired a lifelong love of travel and all things Japanese, and led him to pursue architecture as a profession.

These early experiences forged lifelong friendships and sparked the passions that informed all his future work and life: family, Architecture, Asia, teaching, photography, politics, and the environment - skillfully weaving them together and cultivating them throughout his career,

He attended American University in Washington, DC, majoring in Asian Studies and Art, and spent another semester in Japan. There he became passionate about photography, especially the work of Walker Evans, and developed a distinctive photographic style using vintage plastic Diana cameras and expired film. His work was shown publicly and later became the basis for classes he taught.

After graduation he worked at The Washingtonian Magazine as a photo editor, honing his photographic eye and deepening his democratic political convictions and sense of social justice. He then enrolled in the master's program at the University of Virginia School of Architecture, where he thrived-winning student awards, earning a travel fellowship, and making many friends and admirers. He traveled to Asia again and crossed the Trans-Siberian Railroad, cataloging the journey with his signature photographic style.

After graduating in 1993 he moved to New York City and worked for several years in the offices of notable architects, including Richard Meier, William McDonough, and Architecture Research Office.

During this time, friends who knew both John and Sara knew they would make a good match and John and Sara married near Sara's home in England in 1997, in 2000 they planned to relocate to the UK, when John was offered an opportunity to teach for a semester at University of Virginia. That semester turned into 14 years and a career as an educator. While John had enjoyed his architectural work in NYC, he discovered that he loved being an educator, he had found his calling. Teaching and exploring the process of architecture brought him joy, which was infectious, inspiring others to explore with him.

John and Sara started their family in Charlottesville and quickly became part of the UVA community, When Walker and Alice were born that community expanded with parents and school friends, who were drawn to the family by John and Sara's warm hospitality and genuine welcome. For John, his family and teaching were intertwined. The family moved to the UK for 8 months in 2008, while John had a sabbatical for UVA - Living with Sara's Mom and the children attending the village's Infant school.

In 2010 when he was awarded the Thomas Jefferson Fellowship at Cambridge University and a Fulbright Scholarship at the University of Tokyo, the family split the year between both countries, the children attending local schools - formulating the love of travel and learning in the children .

In 2014 the family moved to Albuquerque when John became the Chair of the School of Architecture & Planning at the University of New Mexico. The move brought new friends, new adventures, as the family discovered the south-west.

At UVA John was Founder and Director of the ecoMOD project - an interdisciplinary design-build effort, and he brought this program to UNM. John was always willing to say yes to a challenge. This led to such successes as entering the UVA Architecture School in the first Solar Decathlon, an energy-efficient house-building contest on the Mall in Washington DC, where the UVA team placed first in design

John's teaching and research were featured on NPR, CNN, HGTV, and in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Architect, Metropolis, and Dwell. He was also the author of Trojan Goat, Sustainable, Affordable, Prefab: the ecoMOD Project, and Offsite Architecture: Constructing the Future.

Over the course of his career, he received more than 30 design and education awards, including the Architect Magazine R+D Award and recognition as a finalist for the UN World Habitat Award, and he was the University of Virginia's nominee for the U.S. Professor of the Year Award. Through his leadership in sustainable design and modular construction, John championed innovative solutions that went beyond academic research to make real-world impacts.

John made a huge impact in the architecture community, but perhaps his greatest gift was for friendship, forging connections throughout his life. John will be greatly missed by his family and many friends. We will remember his smile, his joyous laugh, his generosity, and the good he brought into the world. John leaves behind a profound legacy that lives on through his buildings, research, publications, and above all through his family, hundreds of students, colleagues and collaborators he inspired to imagine a more equitable and sustainable built environment.

In lieu of flowers we invite you to make a donation in John's memory to a either the following charities:

Lorenzo's House is a virtual, global community empowering the sons, daughters, children, and families affected by younger-onset dementia (YOD) through healing in community, advocating for dementia justice and educating for a YOD informed society.

We invite you to make a donation to Lorenzo's House in lieu of flowers.

Go to "Dedicate this Donation" under "Donation Options" - you can enter Sara's email address if you would like the family to be notified: saralosboreen@gmail.com

OR

AFS

https://www.afsusa.org/

AFS-USA provides opportunities for intercultural exchange that develop the global competence needed to create a more just and peaceful world. As we've consistently demonstrated, AFS nurtures active global citizens who make the world a better place.

We invite you to make a donation to AFS in lieu of flowers.

Support AFS programs and foster transformative experiences that last a lifetime

There will be 2 celebrations of life being held in honor of John's Memory:

Please join us at either one

February 27, 2026

At: La Quinta, Los Poblanos, 4803 Rio Grande Blvd. NW, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, NM 87107

Friday 2pm to 5pm

March 15, 2026

At: The Morven Meeting Barn 712 Morven Drive, Charlottesville, Va 22902.

Sunday 1pm to 5pm

If you would like to submit photos for the slide show please upload them on this link

Photos of John