Howard Sims

Howard Francis Sims, (1933–2016), was an American architect, businessperson, and philanthropist, active in Detroit. He founded the architecture firm SDG Associates (formerly Howard Sims & Associates, and later Sim–Varner). Sims helped design the state of Michigan's first construction code. He was a leader in business and sat on various boards. Sims established multiple college scholarships to support Black students in pursuing architecture.

Early life and education Howard Francis Sims was born on July 25, 1933, in Detroit, Michigan. He graduated from Northwestern High School (now Detroit Collegiate Preparatory Academy at Northwestern).

Sims married Judith Perry, and they had four children.

Career

In 1964, Sims established his first architectural Howard Sims & Associates in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and by 1968 moved their office to Detroit. Architect Harold Varner joined the firm in 1973. It is now known as Sims Design Group Associates (or SDG Associates). His notable building design (through his firm) include Millender Center Apartments (1985), and Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History (1997).

In 1973–1975, Sims was worked collaboratively to help design Michigan's first construction code; he was part of the Michigan Construction Code Commission, a nine-person team appointed by Gov. William Grawn Milliken.

In 1979, Sims was elected chairman of the board of directors for the Detroit branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. He served as a co-chairman of the Citizens Education Committee, and co-chair of "Task of Force on Education" within the City of Detroit's Strategic Plan. The Howard and Judith Sims Merit Scholarship at Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan was established in 1983, to encourage and support Black students to study architecture.

The last three years of his life he was mostly retired, and was living in Arizona. Sims died from a heart attack on March 31, 2016, at the age of 82.

Awards and honors He was elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1977. In 1988, Sims was awarded a Gold Medal from the Detroit Chapter of AIA. In 1989, Sims received an Honorary Doctorate of Public Service from Eastern Michigan University.