Influential figure Deborah Berke, FAIA, LEED AP, has been announced as the recipient of the 2025 AIA Gold Medal, in recognition of her four-decade career integrating design prowess, and academic leadership demonstrating social and environmental responsibility. Her work, encompassing residential, institutional, and adaptive reuse projects, demonstrates a commitment to sustainability and community engagement. Founding Deborah Berke Partners (now TenBerke) in 1982 and serving as the first female dean of the Yale School of Architecture, she has held various leadership positions within the architectural profession and contributed to discussions on design ethics, sustainability, and education.
Rafael Viñoly Architects’ Tokyo International Forum has been honored with the prestigious AIA Twenty-five Year Award. Celebrating its “distinctive transparent character and capacity to engage with the public in the largest metropolitan area in the world.” Rafael Viñoly Architects was first selected to design the structure through Japan’s first international design competition facilitated by Kenzo Tange, the architect of Tokyo’s City Hall and the first Japanese laureate of the Pritzker Prize.
If you follow housing policy in America, you may have noticed a particular term cropping up a lot recently: social housing. Maybe you’ve read a longform academic article, live in a city that is codifying a social-housing policy like Seattle or Atlanta, or seen one of the recent mentions in The New York Times, highlighting U.S. and Viennese success stories. On the design front, Dezeen is running a social-housing revival series.
In an effort to find effective strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change, the Biden-Harris administration has released a draft of a new legislative initiative that strives to impose a National Definition for Zero Emissions Buildings. Overseen by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the draft proposes a standardized and verifiable base for defining the common minimum conditions for such buildings, as well as pathways for transparent verifications by public and private entities. DOE has now launched a ‘request for information' asking for feedback from industry, academia, research laboratories, and other stakeholders before finalizing the document.
Spanning continents and cultures, architecture-focused events serve as platforms for the gathering of diverse groups of professionals to share innovations and embark on dialogues regarding some of the most pressing matters faced by our profession. Embodying the spirit of collaboration, highlighting local cultures and practices, and fostering open debates, this year’s list of events covers a diverse range of biennales, forums, city-wide celebrations, international fairs, and awards.
The American Institute of Architects has announced David Lake and Ted Flato, the founders of Texas-based firm Lake|Flato Architects, as the winners of the 2024 AIA Gold Medal. The pair was selected by the jury for their ability to make "sustainability exciting in a way few other architects have accomplished." Founded in San Antonia in 1984, their office set out to make environmentally conscientious design both accessible and exciting, by finding ways to strengthen he bond between humans and nature.
If you’ve been in the profession of architecture long enough, you come to know a certain rarified subset of fellow professionals: Those who call themselves “architects,” who have a degree, and who may even be licensed and members of the AIA, but who do not practice architecture. They simply like being an “architect.”
The American Institute of Architects has elected Evelyn Lee as the 2025 President-elect. During the AIA annual meeting, Lee has been selected to take the position of 2024 First VP President-Elect, and afterward to become president in 2025. AIA has also elected Heather Philip-O'Neal to serve as Treasurer between 2024-2025, and Latoya N. Kamdang as the elected At-large Director.
Evelyn Lee is the Global Head of Workplace Strategy and Innovation at Slack Technologies, Founder of the Practice of Architecture, and Co-Host of the Podcast Practice Disrupted. She is also a member of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA). From 2020 to 2021, she served as the first female Treasurer to the AIA National Board. She is also widely published, having managed a monthly column for Contract magazine, in addition to various other online publications, where she developed recurring content on the business of architecture. Additionally, Evelyn Lee has been featured as a speaker, panelist, and moderator at national design and architecture conferences, including AIA National Convention, Dwell on Design, and Women in Green.
Every “Year In Review” assessment of anything is both myopic and timely. That being said, 2022 was a "Boom" time for architects (and the building industry in general). This snapshot will change in 2023 when this year’s manufactured interest rate jumps will crib death this short and intense boom.
But some things have more meaning than can be found in the moment. 2022 proved that the “Mad Men” model in the profession as a white male clubhouse is over. Gender and race inequalities remain in architecture, but they are acknowledged flaws in urgent need of correction. Beyond these evolutions and revolutions, a new generation of architects is changing the profession.
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has named Carol Ross Barney, FAIA, as the recipient of the 2023 AIA Gold Medal, the institution’s highest annual honor. The award recognizes and applauds Carol Ross Barney’s focus on design excellence, social responsibility, and generosity. Through her transformative projects, she has endeavored to make the world a better place and, according to the jury, made “an indelible mark on the profession.”
American Copper Buildings. Image Courtesy of SHoP Architects
The first and only formal architecture union in the American private sector was just formed by Bernheimer Architecture's employees after two years of the union campaign. The Union aims to reframe the discipline and profession and create an established sector of better labor rights standards and work conditions. The BA Union will be associated with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers to reshape the industry at a large scale and work on Industrywide problems like long hours and low pay.
The Chapel of St. Ignatius in Seattle, designed by Steven Holl Architects, has been honored by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) with its Twenty-five Year Award. AIA’s award is conferred on a building that has set a precedent, stood the test of time for 25 to 35 years and continues to set standards of excellence for its architectural design and significance. The Chapel of St. Ignatius finished in 1997, reflects the ideal of the Jesuit practice, a religious order of the Catholic Church, in which no single method of worship is prescribed. Instead, the sect recognizes that “different methods helped different people.” That idea is reflected in the Chapel of St. Ignatius, Seattle University’s main chapel, where differences in light unify to support the worship and ritual needs of the university community.
AIA'S 2024 Ppresident-elect Kimberly Dowdell. Image Courtesy of Kimberly N. Dowdell
The American Institute of Architects has elected Kimberly Dowdell as the 100th president of the organization, making her the first Black woman to hold the position in AIA’s 165-year history. Delegates at the AIA’s annual meeting voted Dowdell to serve first as vice president for 2023. Afterward, she will become president in 2024.
During her campaign for president, Dowdell has expressed her support for minorities, while also making clear that she wants to be an AIA president for all. Her platform is based on four key areas of interest: supporting architects in practice, creating a sense of belonging and ensuring access to the architectural profession and education, addressing climate concerns, and designing for the future, considering rapid technological advances. “I firmly believe that the AIA has the power and potential to better serve our profession” she declared in a video made prior to the election.
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has selected 11 projects as winners of its 2022 Architecture Awards. The annual Architecture Award program celebrates the best contemporary architecture, and highlights how spaces can cater to their residents and context and include a sense of place, purpose, history, and environmental sustainability. The selected projects include commercial, residential, and civic typologies, all designed by US-licensed architects.
While research seems intrinsic to the design process, architectural research is a professional path in itself, whose purpose is to highlight scientific evidence and explore alternatives outside of pre-established norms or empirical considerations. Its purpose is to create a framework of knowledge that can inform the design to reach objectively better outcomes. The following discusses the role and state of research in architecture, some prominent areas of inquiry, and the architects or institutions that dedicate their work to these subjects.
The Board of Directors and the Strategic Council of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) have awarded the 2022 Gold Medal to Angela Brooks, FAIA, and Lawrence Scarpa, FAIA, for their lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture. The jurors have also selected MASS Design Group to win the 2022 AIA Architecture Firm Award, the highest honor the AIA bestows on an architecture practice.
JMZ Architects is a firm realizing both long-term visions and local spatial needs. With a background in planning and architecture, they are a Women-owned business creating campuses and new structures alike. Practicing from a single office of 23 employees in Glens Falls, New York, they have focused exclusively on architecture and planning for higher education institutions, primarily public colleges, and universities, and state higher education systems.
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