New York-based architecture office WEISS/MANFREDI Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism has been named the 37th recipient of the Louis I. Kahn Award, offered by DesignPhiladelphia. The firm, founded by Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi, is recognized for its wide range of projects, from cultural institutions to urban landscapes, all demonstrating and responding to contextual conditions, sustainability standards, and centered around the human experience.
WEISS/MANFREDI has left an indelible mark on the fields of landscape and architecture with projects such as the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Visitor Center, the Singh Center for Nanotechnology at the University of Pennsylvania, and Hunter's Point South Waterfront Park in New York. In 2019, the office was selected to reimagine the renowned La Brea Tar Pits and Museum in Los Angeles. Additionally, in 2021, the firm broke ground on the U.S. Embassy In New Delhi, India.
The office has gained recognition with the New York AIA Gold Medal and the Academy Award in Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, as well as numerous other awards and competitions. Additionally, both Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi hold esteemed positions in academia, with Weiss serving as the Graham Chair Professor of Practice at the University of Pennsylvania and Manfredi as a Senior Critic at Harvard University.
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Marion Weiss: "You Could Spend 30% Less and With Good Design, Do Something That's 200% Better"The 2024 Louis I. Kahn Award has been established to honor the memory of the celebrated Estonian-born Philadelphia-based architect, who has created celebrated designs such as the Salk Institute in California, the National Assembly Building in Bangladesh, and the Richards Medical Research Laboratories in Philadelphia. The award organized by DesignPhiladelphia also raises funds to finance the Design Education program which brings volunteer architects, designers, and engineers to school classrooms to introduce students to the design process.
As in its previous edition, the 37th Louis I. Kahn Award is sponsored by Gattuso Development Partners. Last year, Pritzker Prize Winner Herzog & de Meuron was chosen as the recipient of the honor. Past awardees also include Sir David Adjaye, Jeanne Gang, Bjarke Ingels, and Sir Norman Foster.
