On October 15, architect Alan Lapidus passed away in his home in Naples, Maine after battling prostate cancer. His legacy is often connected with his architect father, Morris Lapidus, and being "Donald Trump's architect." However, after working with his father for many years, he used those lessons and experiences he gained to establish a long architecture career designing hotels and casinos.

In a New York Times obituary written by Sam Roberts, he notes that even when Lapidus etched a name for himself while working at his father's firm, "Mr. Lapidus did not try to outdo his father, whose motto was 'Too much is never enough.' But he followed his advice, designing palatial lodgings and capacious gambling halls to create 'participatory theater,' he wrote, in which guests could 'indulge and fulfill their fantasies.'"

Some of his most notable projects are the Crowne Plaza Times Square Manhattan, the Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, the Hilton Hotel at Disney World in Orlando, and the now-demolished Trump Plaza Hotel Casino in Atlantic City, to name a few. In his memoir, Everything by Design: My Life as an Architect, Lapidus discussed his thoughts on his career, lessons he learned as an architect, and gave insight into his time working with Fred and Donald Trump during the construction of the Trump Plaza Hotel Casino. 

However, according to Roberts, Lapidus' perspective on his career and the architecture profession took a turn after a series of setbacks like bankruptcy, building collapses, difficult lenders, client retention, and failed project builds. As a result, his views on the field "grew dimmer," writes Roberts. Yet, despite it all, Lapidus frankly narrated the risks and rewards of architecture, especially commercial architecture. While much of his life and career could be read in his memoir, it is safe to say Lapidus' career was anything but perfect. His contributions as an architect, however, provide a snapshot into the light and dark side of the profession and the toll it can take on an architect's career.