Don Hisaka, Prominent Shaker Heights Architect, Dies

A friend has reported to Patch that Don Hisaka, a prominent Cleveland architect and longtime Shaker Heights resident, has died.

Hisaka lived in Berkeley, Cali. when he died last week. An obituary has not been located yet, but Patch will update this article when one is published.

Retired architect Jim Gibans was friends with Hisaka and worked with him on a project locally. The president of the Cleveland Artists Foundation, Gibans and his wife Nina curated an exhibit showcasing Hisaka's work at the Shaker Historical Museum that runs through March 23.

"We were always friends," Gibans said. "He was a very engaging sort of guy but very uncompromising in his beliefs in his design and personal integrity, and how you treat others. He was a very special guy."

Hisaka was the 1970 recipient of the Cleveland Arts Prize in architecture and an American Institute of Architects for his Shaker Heights home.

According to the Shaker Historical Society, Hisaka's work can be found in Signature Square in Beachwood, the glass atrium connecting Thwing and Hitchcock Halls at CASE Western Reserve University and University Center at Cleveland State University.

"He believed in the integrity of form and color, and basically pure design; utilizing space," said Gibans. 

Hisaka had a downtown Cleveland architecture practice from about 1960 to 1985, Gibans added.

Find out more about the exibit Don Hisaka: The Cleveland Years here.