Alan Robert Lipman has a distinguished career as an architect, architectural critic and academic which has reached far beyond the domain of architects themselves. His writing, teaching and practice has contributed significantly to dispelling a narrow understanding of architecture as fashion and has been responsible for a deeper appreciation of architecture concerned with order and relationship rather than appearance and preference: about space, light and organisation; not style and charm.

After serving in the South African Air Force during the second world war, Alan Lipman graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand in 1950 and worked in Britain for three years before he entered practice in South Africa, eventually in Durban on his own behalf. As a result of his political activities his practice in Durban struggled and was patronised predominantly by Indian and African clients, finally closing upon his return to Johannesburg in 1961. Alan and his wife Beate were forced into exile in 1963, and after a short spell in architectural practice he began his academic life in Britain at the University of Wales, Cardiff. Alan's twelve years experience in practice added considerably to his expertise in teaching and, on his retirement from the University after a distinguished career, was conferred the title Professor Emeritus.
On his return to South Africa in 1990 he turned experience, gained over a lifetime of critical thought, into writing about architecture using, in the main, nationally read public platforms. His return home coincided with the opening up of debate in the greater South African society, repressed for decades, and of the expression of critical thought in all spheres of life, including architecture. Alan's political commitment and personal integrity determined that his architectural writing takes account of the social conditions in the country, seeking to link these in ways that have widened the understanding of the South African public, as well as architects, of the importance of design and architecture in our society. Alan's writing culminates in his book 'Architecture on my Mind’ (2004).

Few architects were either able or courageous enough to counter the erosion of ethics in the profession that was prevalent during the years of apartheid. A system guaranteeing a steady flow of commissions, particularly government commissions, resulted in complacency on the part of the profession that helped it to ignore the reality of the wider society. Alan, helping to raise new enthusiasm for a sharper, more relevant architecture, has critically dissected this. His contribution to the theory of architectural conservation was recognised when, in association with Henry Paine, he was jointly awarded the South African Institute's most prestigious Award for Excellence for the Workers Library and Museum in Newtown. The project was cited as ‘a role model for all architects faced with the challenge of making our built history relevant to our changing society’.

He spontaneously engages with students and younger colleagues, always asking the difficult questions, encouraging debate. With his personal and informal teaching style he has inspired many architects over the past decade, and the consequent respect he commands is confirmed by his continued inclusion on professional teams such as the recently completed Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies, Somkhele in KwaZulu-Natal.

Alan's architectural career has, in all areas of endeavour, contributed nationally to architectural thought and practice in South Africa and has been recognised in the conferment of Honorary Doctorates from the University of Natal and the University of the Witwatersrand. His international experience, keen mind, ebullience and generosity allowed him to engage directly with the public, thereby regaining for South African architecture its universal, humanist value system.