The 2012 Jury of Fellows from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) have elevated 105 members to its prestigious College of Fellows, an honor awarded to those who have made a significant contribution to architecture and society on a national level while achieving a standard level of excellence. The 2012 Fellows will be honored at an investiture ceremony at the 2012 National AIA Convention and Design Exposition in Washington, D.C.

Continue reading for more information and the complete list of newly honored Fellows. read more »

© FG + SG Fernando Guerra

Paulo David has been announced as the eleventh recipient of the Alvar Aalto Medal – a prestigious honor awarded to an architect or architectural firm that has provided significant contributions to the field of architecture. “In an era where the profession is obsessed with computer-generated patterns, ‘design’ in many practices has become greatly interested in manipulating forms rather than place making and the making of architecture.” The jury honors David for his ability to create timeless architecture that plays a significant role in his hometown island of Madeira. David’s respect for history, time, place, culture and technology has allowed him to stand out from the current trend of “desperately interesting architecture” and create a new, meaningful layer within the historic volcanic landscapes of Madeira.

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Netscape, SCI-Arc Graduation Pavilion, Los Angeles, CA, 2011 / © and courtesy of Oyler Wu Collaborative

The Architectural League recently announced the winners of its 30th annual Emerging Voices awards. Each year the League selects eight emerging practitioners through a juried portfolio competition. The award spotlights individuals and firms based in the United States, Canada, or Mexico with distinct design voices and the potential to influence the disciplines of architecture, landscape design, and urbanism. The jury reviews significant bodies of realized work that represent the best of their kind, and address larger issues of architecture, landscape, and the built environment. This year’s jury included Henry Cobb, Geoff Manaugh, Paul Lewis, Jamie Maslyn Larson, Annabelle Selldorf, Claire Weisz, and Dan Wood. More images and information on the awards after the break. read more »

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has selected thirteen recipients to receive the 2012 AIA Young Architects Award. Defined as professionals who have been licensed ten years or fewer, the Young Architects will be honored for making significant contributions to the profession and providing exceptional leadership. The recipients will be presented the award at the AIA 2012 National Convention and Design Exposition in Washington, D.C.

Continue reading for the complete list of the 2012 Young Architects. read more »

© Bill Timmerman

From residences to public and institutional architecture, Steven Ehrlich, FAIA has produced a range of distinctive buildings that have earned him recognition among colleagues and the AIA California Council, which has awarded him with the 2011 Maybeck Award.  According to AIACC this award honors “outstanding achievement in architectural design as expressed in a body of work produced by an individual architect over an extended career”. The honor of Maybeck Award is not granted annually.  The last recipient was in 2007.  It is distinctive from the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Firm Award,  recognizing the individual’s contribution to the practice of Architecture. It was established in 1992, and Steven Ehrlich, principal and founder of Ehrlich Architecture located in Culver City, California, is the 14th recipient of this award.

Follow us after the break for more on the award and Steven Ehrlich. read more »

Young dutch designer Jólan van der Wiel has been announced as the winner of the [D3] Contest for young designers at the imm cologne fair.

Using a magnetic plastic compounds, magnets and simple gravity, Jólan gives birth to the Gravity Stool, an expressive piece of furniture that is like a frozen moment of physics exposing the forces in action. You can see the full process on the above video by Miranda Stet.

© Jólan van der Wiel

The Gravity Stool thanks its unique shape to the cooperation between magnetic fields and the power of gravity.

Departing from the idea that everything is influenced by gravitation, a force that has a strongly shaping effect, I intended to manipulate this natural phenomenon by exploiting its own power: magnetism. The positioning of the magnetic fields in the machine, opposing each other, has largely determined the final shape of the Gravity Stool.

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Twenty-five Year Award Recipient © netropolitan.org

The AIA Honor Award recipients for 2012 were announced this week and will be honored at the AIA 2012 National Convention and Design Exposition in Washington, D.C. The award recognizes works that exemplify excellence in architecture, interior architecture and urban design. Twenty-seven recipients were selected from over seven-hundred submissions.

Continue after the break to view the awarded buildings. read more »

The AIA has selected three recipients for the 2012 American Institute of Architects Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture. Alexander Cooper, FAIA, Daniel Feil, FAIA, and Robert Peck, Hon. AIA, will recieve the 2012 Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture at the 2012 AIA National Convention and Design Exposition in Washington D.C.

The award recognizes “private-sector architects who have established a portfolio of accomplishment in the design of architecturally distinguished public facilities (category 1); public-sector architects who manage or produce quality design within their agencies (category 2); and public officials or other individuals who by their role of advocacy have furthered the public’s awareness and/or appreciation of design excellence (category 3).”

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The winner and two runners-up of the Philips Livable Cities Award have started their projects. You can follow the progress of the recipients – from Yemen, Argentina and Uganda – as they document their process on their blog and video diary. The Philips Livable Cities Award is a “global initiative designed to generate innovative, meaningful and achievable ideas to improve the health and well-being of city-dwellers across the world”. The awardees received grants that will allow them to bring their ideas to life, improving the livability within their local communities.

Continue reading for videos and more information on the three award-winning projects. read more »

99K House © Rice Design Alliance

The AIA recently awarded CultureNOW and Rice Design Alliance the 2012 Institute Honors for Collaborative Achievement. The award, which recognizes and encourages distinguished achievements of allied professionals, clients, organizations, architect teams, knowledge communities, and others who have had a positive impact on or advanced the profession, will be presented at the 2012 AIA National Convention and Design Exposition in Washington, D.C. More details after the break. read more »

Edward Mazria, architect, founder and CEO of Architecture 2030 was awarded this year’s Purpose Prize.  His work over the past eight years, after founding Architecture 2030, has set numerous environmental goals for the building industry.  It has also brought many issues of sustainable design to the forefront of conversations and policies about buildings and their construction.  Watch the video for more information!

More about Edward Mazria and Architecture 2030 after the break.

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Image provided by MICHAEL GRAVES & ASSOCIATES

Michael Graves has been chosen as the 2012 Driehaus Laureate, honoring his lifetime contributions to classical and traditional architecture in the modern world. The jury praised Graves for his “brilliant combinations of tradition and imagination” within his architecture and product design, stating that his deep understanding and respect of the past allows him to enrich the architectural process.

“Michael Graves has enhanced not just the architecture profession with his talent and scholarship, but everyday life itself through his inspiring attention to beautiful and accessible design,” says Michael Lykoudis, Driehaus Prize Jury Chair and Francis and Kathleen Rooney Dean of the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture. “The quality and scope of his work have enhanced how people work, live, and interact in public and private realms, making a profound impact on American life.”

View ArchDaily’s interview with Michael Graves here and continue reading for more information on the Driehaus Prize. read more »

Cornell Plantations Welcome Center © Tom Arban

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Board of Directors and the Association of Collegiate Schools for Architecture (ACSA) has selected George Baird, Intl. Assoc. AIA recipient of the 2012 AIA/ACSA Topaz Award for excellence in architectural education. Baird is known for his extensive association with the University of Toronto’s architecture school and for being one of Canada’s most celebrated architects. His award-winning firm Baird Sampson Neuert was founded in Toronto in 1972. read more »

© RPGS

RPGS‘s “Jack Up The Box” pop-up store concept was selected winner of the DesignByMany’s latest challenge: “A Pop-Up Retail Store”. Vertical retractable drawers embedded within the raised store allow shoppers to inhabit the space underneath, redefining the shopping experience. Judges Carmen Trudell, Daniel Kidd, and Giancarlo Valle reviewed over 40 entries before selecting the winning proposal. For winning the HP-supported challenge, RPGS will take home a brand-new HP Designjet T790 24″ PostScript ePrinter. read more »

Principals - Courtesy of VJAA

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Board of Directors (BOD) selected Minneapolis based firm VJAA for the 2012 AIA Architecture Firm Award. The internationally recognized design firm was noted for their “research into material innovations and digital practice tools.”

“VJAA creates a place and purpose-specific architecture founded on broad societal, technological, and artistic values. Their work eloquently demonstrates the creative possibilities of joining environmental innovation, material exploration, and a thoughtful and economical response to site and program,” stated Andrea Leers, FAIA, of 2007 Firm Award recipient Leers Weinzapfel Associates in her recommendation letter.

The AIA highlighted VJAA’s Charles Hostler Student Center in Beirut, Lebanon and Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life at Tulane University in New Orleans. Leers continues to describe, “In an era frequently characterized by architectural indulgence and excess, VJAA is creating architecture of refinement and restraint.”

Along with AIA Gold Medal winner Steven Holl, VJAA will also be awarded in May at the 2012 AIA National Convention in Washington, D.C.

Reference: AIA

Courtesy of VJAA

Steven Holl, photo © Mark Heitoff

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Board of Directors has awarded Steven Holl, FAIA with the annual AIA Gold Medal. The Gold Medal represents the highest award an architect may receive, honoring their “humanist approach to formal experimentation.” The world renowned architect and Columbia University professor continues to inspire and influence the practice and theory of architecture.

In a recommendation letter, Harry Cobb, FAIA, of Pei Cobb Freed stated, “What, in my view, especially commends him as a candidate for the Gold Medal is his brilliantly demonstrated capacity to join his refined design sensibility to a rigorously exploratory theoretical project.”

The AIA highlighted two of Holl’s projects – Linked Hybrid in Beijing and Vanke Center in Shenzhen – stating they are “emblematic of his approach to architecture and his innovative method of design inquiry.”

 “I am grateful, I am still beginning and I consider this award shared with all my collaborators. I feel this award is a positive advocacy to make theoretical explorations and experimental works. I was on the way to my final review at Columbia University when I received the call from Washington D.C. and felt it connected to my teaching and efforts toward education. I remember John Hejduk’s statement that teaching is a social contract, and I remain committed to teaching.”

- Steven Holl, FAIA

The award will be presented at the AIA Convention in Washington D.C. in May, 2012.

You can watch our interview with Steven Holl and see his projects here.

The AIA Chicago chapter has awarded the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) the 2011 Firm of the Year Award for 75 years of global design excellence. The chapter recognized the outstanding achievements and excellence in the firm’s body of work and their contribution to the advancement of the architectural profession in areas of design, research, planning, technology and architectural practice. This is the highest AIA award a firm can receive.

The Firm Award Jury stated, “Skidmore Owings & Merrill is the jury’s unanimous choice for AIA Chicago’s 2011 Firm of the Year. It is evident in the submission that SOM has a distinct culture that is collaborative and team-oriented with a history of high aspirations for design excellence. For the professional community, SOM’s innovation continues to impact and inform tall building design around the world, while it is also evident that SOM is an involved and active citizen of Chicago, reaching outside of itself to positively impact the community and its organizations.”

A celebration will take place at the AIA Chicago annual meeting and awards presentation on Friday, December 9th, 2011 at ReBuilding Exchange in Chicago, Illinois.

Here are a few SOM projects featured on ArchDaily:

• John Jay College of Criminal Justice
• The Park Hotel
• Miami University Art Museum
• Atlantic Health Jets Training Facility
• McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope, Kitt Peak National Observatory

Courtesy of CMA+U

The University of Melbourne together with partners including the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development have just announced CMA+U and Team winners of the Sustainability Award ʻFuture Proofing Schools Competitionʼ Australia. The competition explores design ideas for next generation relocatable 21st century learning spaces as part of Australia’s research program for Building the Education Revolution. More images and information on the awarded project after the break. read more »

Courtesy of Adjaye Associates

London-based architect David Adjaye was selected for the 2011 Designer of the Year Award by Design Miami – a global forum for design that highlights influential collectors, gallerists, designers, curators and critics from around the world, presenting annual fairs in Miami, USA and Basel, Switzerland. Design Miami praised Adjaye for his “ingenious use of materials and unique ability to showcase light coupled with his democratized approach to the architectural process.”

Continue reading for more information.

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Courtesy of Marte.Marte Architekten

Piran Days of Architecture (PDA) is an international architectural conference with one of the oldest traditions in the world. First presented in 1983 it is held every year at the end of November in the charming, medieval Slovene town Piran. The aim of the conference is to asses current trends in architecture and to present the most progressive and innovative ideas of architectural and spatial production. The conference is traditionally accompanied by several architectural exhibitions. The most important is the international architectural exhibition of recent works by Central European architects which compete for the distinguished international Piranesi Award, which went to Marte.Marte Architekten this year. More images and information on the winners after the break. read more »