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Stewart Ankrom, one of the co-founders of Ankrom Moisan Architects, has died from complications related to progressive supranuclear palsy 鈥� a brain disorder that affects walking and balance, speech, swallowing, vision, mood and behavior, and thinking, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. He died Sept. 18 鈥� his 70th birthday.

Ankrom and Tom Moisan formed Ankrom Moisan Architects in 1983 to provide integrated architectural, interior design and urban design services. Today, the firm has more than 350 employees among offices in Portland, Seattle and San Francisco.

The firm enhanced both its portfolio and professional reputation with numerous projects over the past two decades in Portland’s Pearl District, as well as for Oregon Health and Science University and in the South Waterfront District. Ankrom retired in 2012.

鈥淗e was a consensus builder, and he really partnered with his clients,鈥� Ankrom Moisan Architects Executive Vice President Karen Bowery said. 鈥淗e wanted to make them as successful as they could be and they felt that. He was a natural leader.鈥�

In 1983, Ankrom had been named partner of the firm he was working for when it split up. He left to join Moisan, a fellow University of Oregon alum, and form their own business. Ankrom Moisan Architects took up residence in an old Victorian house in Southeast Portland.

Bowery, an interior designer who had previously worked on projects with Ankrom, was offered a part-time position with Ankrom Moisan Architects as a design consultant; she jumped at the opportunity. She became a full-time staff member in 1986 and watched the firm grow under Ankrom’s leadership.

鈥淚f we were to (name) one project that he’d be really proud of, it would be Skamania Lodge,鈥� she said.

The lodge, built in 1992 in Stevenson, Washington, featured sustainable practices long before they were in vogue, Bowery said.

鈥淎 lot of the structural wood columns came from the Bumble Bee tuna factory in Astoria, and the rock for fireplace came from the site,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey had some sort of a machine they were using to push (the rocks) where they needed. And lo and behold, someone stole the rock off the site for their own use. So it had to be recollected a second time. The good thing was that it was all in one pile now.鈥�

That project 鈥� Ankrom Moisan Architects’ first with prominent developer John Gray 鈥� spurred a lot of the firm’s success, Bowery said. They teamed up again for the Oregon Public Broadcasting headquarters on Macadam Avenue in Southwest Portland.

鈥淭hat was our first multistory office building,鈥� Bowery said. 鈥淎nd it was the relationship John had with a budding young architect named Stewart Ankrom that gave him the faith that they would deliver.鈥�

Another notable project Ankrom worked on was OHSU’s Physicians Pavilion. It was completed in 1993, and initiated a lasting relationship that has now produced more than 200 projects, according to Bowery.

鈥淗e was so actively involved in this project that we actually got a bunch of the bricks craned up onto an adjacent building,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd we stacked them into different patterns and reorganized the brick mix. It was super. It was a big event for the firm because we hadn’t done anything that prominent.鈥�

Mirabella Portland, a senior housing project completed in 2010 in the South Waterfront, was one of Ankrom’s favorites, Bowery said. It was the first senior living project of its kind in the U.S. to receive a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum rating.

One of Ankrom’s last projects was another of his favorites, according to Bowery. In fact, he liked The Strand condominium tower so much he purchased two units and had one of them outfitted with a room-size flight simulator, she said.

鈥淗e was always fun to travel with,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e got into flying through simulators, and when we would travel he would fly the route.鈥�

Ankrom showed no sign of illness when he retired, Bowery said. But an all-office presentation a year ago left no doubt about his physical decline.

鈥淗e was in a wheelchair and he couldn’t really move; it was fairly shocking to some people,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut he was OK with letting people see him, where most people would not be that vulnerable, that’s for sure.鈥�

A celebration of Ankrom’s life will take place Oct. 10, at 1 p.m., at Beaverton Foursquare Church. Donations to CurePSP, in honor of Ankrom, can be made at www.psp.org.