Brian Edward James Collins

Brian Edward James Collins passed away peacefully December 31, 2023 lovingly surrounded by his wife, his children and his youngest sister.

Brian was born December 10, 1957 in Brooklyn, NY.

In 1964, his family moved “upstate” to Greenwood Lake, NY where his parents and grandparents had previously spent summers. He was a member of Holy Rosary Catholic Church and served as an altar boy for many years. Living in Greenwood Lake, full time, afforded Brian an idyllic childhood filled with little league baseball, pond hockey, CYO basketball and a close knit community of people who became lifelong friends. He loved NY and he loved the Jersey shore.

His passion for designing and building began at age 12 when he got his first job building docks at Sullivan’s Marina.

Brian loved basketball and loved to reminisce about attending Willis Reed’s All Star Basketball camp with his dearest cousin, Rick. He was a devoted NY Knicks fan and especially loved the Giants and the Yankees, just like his dad, Eddie, and his Uncle Jim. He remained true to his NY roots in all things sports and looked forward to his daily delivery of the NY Post.

Brian also loved music. He took guitar lessons as a kid and grew up to become a collector of vintage guitars. He loved the harmonies of The Beach Boys, the angelic voice of Frankie Valli, the soulful sounds of the Mamas and the Papas and the NJ rock sounds of Southside Johnny and Bruce Springsteen. 

He got his love of cooking from his Italian mother and grandmother. He recreated all the dishes of his childhood and loved nothing better than cooking for friends and family. Entertaining was a joy in his life; his culinary skills were as legendary as his famous BrianBurgers.

Brian graduated from Monroe Woodbury High School, received his Associate’s degree from Orange County Community College, followed by his Bachelor’s Degree from New York Institute of Technology School of Architecture and Design. While attending college, Brian worked at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill in NYC.

Brian’s love of mentoring was instilled upon him by his mentors, Ross R Momola, AIA and Robert A Neblung, AIA, who gave Brian his first job upon graduation. He never forgot their kindness and guidance and would pay forward that kindness and mentorship throughout his entire career.  Brian started his own firm BJC Architecture, Planning and Interiors in Cliffside Park, NJ.

The luckiest day of Brian’s life was the day he walked into the Binghampton Restaurant  and Bar in Edgewater, NJ and set eyes upon the beautiful bartender who would later become his wife. Brian and Eva relocated to Palm Beach County, Florida in 1994 when Brian was given the opportunity to become a partner in what eventually evolved into Affiniti Architects in Boca Raton, Florida. In Boca Raton, Brian and Eva built a beautiful life with their 3 active children full of beach time, barbecues, volleyball, taekwondo, good food and great friends. As a family they traveled around the world with many visits to Sweden, Hawaii, Portugal, France and Brian’s personal favorite Lake Como, Italy among many other places. 

Brian was the recipient of many architectural awards for design during his 28 years as partner at Affiniti. Among the most prestigious awards Brian received were: 2013 Aurora Awards Detached Single Family Home $2,000,001-$3,000,000 Royalton Model, Old Palm Golf & Country - Palm Beach Gardens, FL. 2014 PRISM Awards - Gold Prism Award - Single Family Detached -Architecture $2,000,001 - $3,000,000 Dutch West Indies. Aurora Awards- Custom Home (One of a kind) $2,000,001 - $3,000,000 5 Angelfish Residence, Key Largo, FL. 2016 NAHB The Nationals Award - Silver Award - Best Architectural Design of a One of a kind Custom Lakeside Modern. 2019 Aurora Awards - Custom Home - 4,000 - 8,000 SQ Ft Contemporary Flagler - West Palm Beach, FL.  Aurora Awards - Grand Aurora Awards - Custom Home - 8,000 - 10,000 SQ Ft Waterway Contemporary Lakes - Boca Raton, FL. 2020 GCBA Gold PRISM Awards.

New Construction : Single Family Architecture/Overall $3,000,001 + Waterway Contemporary Lakes - Boca Raton, FL. 2021 Grand Aurora Awards - Custom Home (One of a Kind) 8,000 - 10,000 SQ Ft Riverside West Indies, Jupiter, FL. Best Multi - Family Housing Community - Duplex Contemporary Town Point, Lighthouse Point, FL. Best in American Living Awards Platinum - Single Family Production Best in Region - South Atlantic 5th Avenue Enclave, Boca Raton, FL. 2022 Grand Aurora Awards and GCBA Gold Prism Award Custom Home (One of the Kind) over 8,000 SQ Ft. Lakeside Transitional, Delray Beach, FL. 

The award he held dearest to his heart, however, was the one he received for his mentorship: 2019 Emerging Professional Mentorship Award from A1A Palm Beach, Florida. Brian’s passion in life has always been helping others.

He was a very humble and talented artist and the scope of his work, both commercial and residential, was vast. He was very proud of his many projects including Haj Terminal and Royal Saudi Air Force, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, McKinsey and Co. New York, NY, The Charlton Condominium, Fort Lee, NJ. Villa Garri Restaurant, Fort Lee, NJ. In Florida Old Palm Golf and Country Club, Royal Palm Golf and Country Club, Celebration Orlando.  Brian was also sought out to design many homes of CEOs as well as many professional athletes in basketball, baseball, golf, tennis and horse racing.

Brian was integral in the development of Lifestyle Architecture, Timeless Designs for Generations; a labor of love chronicling  the magnificent work of the architects of Affiniti. It is a beautiful coffee table book which was published soon after Brian’s retirement.

Brian was met in heaven by his beloved parents, Eddie & Gerry as well as his loving grandparents Joseph & Frances Viso and James & Harriet Collins and his big sister, donna Collins Conforti. Brian is survived by his loving and devoted wife, Eva Sparthan-Collins and his amazing children Annika, Brandon and Michaella.

Brian will be sorely missed by his adoring sister, Pamela, and his brother-in-law, Ray.

He will be lovingly remembered  forever as UB to his nieces and nephews, all of whom Brian always treated as his own kids: Matthew, Alison, Andrew, Dean, Madalyn, Shane, Erica & Colin

Brian will remain in the hearts of all his cousins on both his Italian side and his Irish side; he adored them all.

Brian’s kindness, generosity and smile will be greatly missed by his many friends in Florida and his lifelong Laker friends.

Brian would want everyone to remember how important family is and how precious our time together is. He would want everyone to remember him driving around Florida in his convertible, with his NY Giants visor on, blasting The Beach Boys and loving life. 

“My love’s like the warmth of the sun….it won’t ever die…”

In lieu of flowers and in memory of Brian J. Collins,  donations can be made to; https://fauf.fau.edu/funds/architecture/

Paper checks can be made to FAU Foundation Inc. with memo:  ”School of Architecture Scholarship Fund", IMO Brian J. Collins 

Arrangements: 

Brian’s ashes will be spread by his family in Greenwood Lake, NY, Lake Como, Italy and Stockholm, Sweden.