Mrs. Brigitte Knowles, a former Huntingdon Valley resident, 1961 graduate of Upper Moreland High School in Willow Grove, architect, and professor emerita at Temple University, passed away on Thursday, July 3. She was 82 years old.

Knowles, a former chair of Temple’s Department of Architecture and Environmental Design, won a fellowship and extra credit for her field work at the University of Pennsylvania, and earned a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1965, bachelor’s degree in architecture in 1968, and master’s degree in 1971.

From her obituary in The Inquirer:

For nearly 50 years, from 1970 to her retirement in 2018, Professor Knowles was a pioneering expert on architectural history, urban planning, facilities management, and the spirituality of the built environment. A groundbreaker as one of the first female architects, she earned two bachelor’s degrees and a master’s degree in architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, and was an original faculty member of Temple’s new Department of Architecture in 1971.

She was an energetic recruiter and engaging instructor, former students said, and she organized local walking tours and exciting architectural field trips to Spain, Portugal, and elsewhere. She became senior associate dean later and, in 2012, oversaw the department’s move to a larger facility on Temple’s campus and the expansion of the undergraduate and graduate programs.

A celebration of her life is to be held later. Donations in her name may be made to the Temple University Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Institutional Advancement, Box 2890, New York, N,Y, 10116.

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Photo: Temple