Love, heartfelt prayers and sympathies to the Jacobs family, from all his neighbors

here in Chicago, IL.

http://www.beaconpreservation.org/content/publish/organization.shtml

http://www.aoamumbai.in/annual-prize-distribution.php?id=58

Zhya David Jacobs, MDesS ’07

Zhya David Jacobs, MDesS 07, tragically drowned in Lake Michigan on November 11.  The circumstances surrounding his death are not clear. Founder and president of the student group GSD India, Zhya was also a teaching fellow of the 2006-2007 studio option in Mumbai, led by Professor Niall Kirkwood, Chairman of the Landscape Architecture Department.

Zyha was committed to addressing the issues in cities of the developing world and using them as laboratories for global solutions. He once wrote that his experience in the Mumbai studio option encouraged him to pursue the role of design in shaping our way of life and understanding the importance of bringing the sensibility and ethics of the design profession to tackle these complex issues.

Martin Bechthold, Professor of Architectural Technology and Co-Director, MDesS Program, emailed a letter to the MDesS alumni in which he said:

Zhya was an outstanding student and wonderful member of the GSD community.  I greatly enjoyed working with him, and fondly recall his friendly and kind presence. Zhya also worked closely with Professors Niall Kirkwood, Monica Ponce de Leon, Daniel Schodek, Kostas Terzidis, Spiro Pollalis and John Macomber.  He left behind a closely knit group of friends from his years at the GSD.  We will all miss him, and will be sending our sincere condolences to his family and friends in India.  Please join me in remembering Zhya, his passionate enthusiasm for design, his friendship and richness of spirit.

Zhya worked most recently as Senior Architectural Professional at Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture in Chicago.
Responses may be posted on Chicago Breaking News at http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2008/11/man.html .

This article originated here:  http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/inside/dev_alumni/news/