Rupp was born on August 25, 1927 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Frank J. and Sarah Viola Rupp. At eighteen, Rupp was inducted into the U.S. Army as an infantryman. After an extended period of military service, during which time he moved to Florida, he remained in the military reserves until he was honorably discharged in 1955. Post active service, Rupp attended the University of Florida, graduating in 1953 with Phi Kappa Phi honors in design. In 1957, he married Gwendolyn Marie O'Rourke.
Upon graduation, Rupp worked with founding Sarasota School of Architecture member Paul Rudolph, eventually managing Rudolph's Sarasota office. In 1955, Rudolph left Florida for New York City, and Rupp opened a private architectural practice at 224 South Orange Avenue, downtown Sarasota. During the next several years, Rupp worked closely with his architectural peers in Sarasota; Ralph Twitchell, Jack West, Gene Leedy, Tim Seibert, Victor Lundy, and Bert Brosmith. In 1959, he formed Associated Architects with friend and fellow architect Joseph Farrell. Although this partnership lasted two years, they produced several significant works, including Uhr Residence-Studio, Rupp Home, Kirsch House, Caladesi National Bank in Dunedin, the Pavilion House, and the dining pavilion at the Ringling Museum of Art. In 1959, Clarence Scott commissioned Rupp and Farrell to design a commercial building that would serve as a showroom for the Barkus Furniture Company. Rupp and Farrell designed the building the following year. The building displays the characteristics of the Sarasota School of Architecture in planning and design, which was a prominent design in Central Florida. The building features a stucco exterior, large picture windows, and large extending concreterafter beams. The Scott Commercial Building was widely recognized as a ground-breaking design utilizing prefabricated concrete structural members. Acknowledging this important architectural achievement, the building was restored, renamed McCulloch Pavilion, and added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2017. In 1962, Rupp was featured in a special edition of Life Magazine, in an article entitled, . In 1965, Rupp moved his architectural practice to Naples, Florida where he worked on several projects; including three apartment complexes, an animal clinic, a restaurant, and his own residence.
In 1968, Rupp joined Morris Ketchum Jr. & Associates in New York as an associate architect. During that time, he developed several renovations and exhibits for The Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium. In 1972, he moved to Amherst, Massachusetts, working with Callister, Payne & Bischoff, Architects and Community Planners. He went into private practice in the mid-1970s. Rupp became a lecturer on architecture at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, eventually obtaining a full-time teaching appointment. By 1978, he was Director of the Architectural Studies Program and the Interior Design Program. In 1989, Rupp co-authored and published the architectural textbook, Construction Materials for Interior Design: Principles of Structure and Properties of Materials. He retired in 1995 and died in 2002 in Montague, Massachusetts.
Awards and citations
1960 Architectural Record, Award for Excellence, House Design
1961 Progressive Architecture Design Award, for Caladesi National Bank, Dunedin, FL
1962 Progressive Architecture Design Award, for the Uhr Studio, Sarasota FL
1963 "Gli Giovani Architetti Americani" Italian Exhibition
