We are sorry to hear the news from George Ofori that Dr Patricia M. Hopf, whom we all know as Dr Patricia Hillebrandt, passed away last week in the UK after a short illness. George has written the following tribute:
“The author of “Economic Theory and the Construction Industry” and many other seminal and highly influential works, Dr Hillebrandt can be considered to be the originator of the subject of Construction Economics as we know it today.
Dr Hillebrandt was educated at University College London and the London School of Economics. She worked in the UK Foreign Office for a few years, and then for Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd. When she joined the UK firm Richard Costain Ltd, she became the first economist to be employed by a construction firm. Dr Hillebrandt worked with the National Economic Development Office (NEDO) where she was the Secretary of the Building and Civil Engineering Economic Development Committees, before joining the then Bartlett School of Architecture and Planning at University College London.
Dr Hillebrandt was a member of the University College Economics Research Group, led by Professor Duccio Turin, which started the MSc in Building Economics and Management in the 1960s, and completed many assignments for the World Bank and later, the International Labour Office and other bilateral and multilateral organisations. During her time at UCL (1967-84), Dr Hillebrandt taught many students from around the world. She ran her own consultancy firm, and worked on industry development assignments in many developing countries and emerging economies. She also worked with Davis Langdon and Everest and then with the University of Reading.
We have lost a real giant of Construction Economics. May Dr Hillebrandt rest in peace.
The family of Dr Hillebrandt will have a Celebration of Her Life at 2.30pm on 04 August 2022 at Bisley Village Hall, GL6 7BJ. The family invites former colleagues, students, friends and acquaintances to attend the event.”
George Ofori
