The American Institute of Architects (AIA) yearly honors architects and firms who distinguish themselves in the built environment. These prestigious awards include: AIA Architecture Firm Award, Gold Medal, Edward C. Kemper Award, AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education, and Whitney M. Young Jr. Award.
“Through more than thirty programs, AIA Honors & Awards highlights best practices and recognize exemplary projects, engages and supports members in the diverse practice of the profession, and opens opportunities to collaborate among peers and colleagues in the built environment.” (The American Institute of Architects, 2019)
The following is a look at the 2020 award recipients of these awards, and the people and firms behind them.
2020 AIA Architecture Firm Award bestowed upon Architecture Research Office (ARO)
The annual AIA Architecture Firm Award is the highest honor the AIA bestows on an architecture practice. The award recognizes a firm that has consistently produced distinguished architecture for at least 10 years.
Architecture Research Office Staff. Photo credit: © Architect Research Office
“ARO’s work, ranging from their extensive work on additional American university campuses to the cultural work they are doing for the Rothko Chapel and have done for the Judd Foundation to the research work that they’ve done on urban climate issues as well as material fabrication, has been consistently tight in its articulation (no excess), but it emerges from a keen understanding of each project and a keen appreciation for each deployed material rather than coming from a school of minimalism,” Sarah M. Whiting, Assoc. AIA, dean and Josep Lluís Sert professor of architecture at Harvard University, wrote in a letter supporting ARO’s nomination for the award. (The American Institute of Architects (AIA), 2019)
Upper Learning Building at the Riverdale Country School’s lower school River Campus in New York. Photo credit: © James Ewing/OTTO
2020 AIA Gold Medal awarded to Marlon Blackwell
The Gold Medal honors an individual whose significant body of work has had a lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture. Marlon Blackwell is being recognized for his important body of transcendent work in the hills of Northwest Arkansas. (The American Institute of Architects (AIA), 2019)
Marlon Blackwell, FAIA. Photo credit: © Mark Jackson
“Marlon Blackwell is a student of his ‘Place’ in the world. This ethic provides a philosophical coherence to his work,” wrote Brian MacKay-Lyons in a letter supporting Blackwell’s nomination for the Gold Medal. “His is a uniquely American architecture; he builds confidently upon the American cultural landscape. His ‘cultural realist’ approach is democratic, looking to the ordinary and the everyday for inspiration. It is connected to society, rather than being aloof. This is not a nostalgic architecture, but an architecture of its time and place.” (The American Institute of Architects (AIA), 2019)
The Steven L. Anderson Design Center and Vol Walker Hall at the University of Arkansas. Photo credit: © Timothy Hursley
2020 AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education awarded to David Leatherbarrow
The Board of Directors and the Strategic Council of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) announced December 12 David Leatherbarrow as the 2020 recipient of the AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education. “The AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion honors an individual who has been intensely involved in architecture education for more than a decade and whose teaching has influenced a broad range of students” stated The American Institute of Architects press release.
David Leatherbarrow. Photo credit: © David Leatherbarrow
“Professor Leatherbarrow’s work moves effortlessly between architectural history, cultural theory, and environmental ethics, making his teaching particularly relevant in today’s world,” wrote Professor Mari Hvattum of The Oslo School of Architecture and Design in a letter supporting Leatherbarrow’s nomination. “Students intuit this relevance immediately, and I have rarely sensed such a poignant concentration as during his lectures or seminars.” (The American Institute of Architects (AIA), 2019)
2020 Edward C. Kemper Award bestowed upon Carole Wedge
The Edward C. Kemper Award, named in honor of the AIA’s first executive director, is given annually to an architect who has contributed significantly to the profession through service to the Institute.
Carole Wedge, FAIA. Photo credit: © David Salafia
“Since 2007, Carole Wedge has been a significant contributor to AIA National conventions. As the chair during 2008 in Boston, she led the effort to raise nearly $1 million to create scholarships for emerging professionals to attend. The following year, Wedge was selected as one of seven women from the Boston Women Principals Group to pilot the AIA Women’s Leadership Summit, now in its 10th year. Through her participation at all of the summits, Wedge has emerged as an influential mentor and advocate for women design professionals across the country,” stated the AIA announcement on December 12.
Exterior view of Harvard Innovation Lab (I-Lab). Photo credit: © Anton Grassl/Esto
“Carole is such a positive and powerful role model, so steadfastly committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion, in her service and in her firm leadership,” Kate Schwennsen, FAIA, 2006 AIA president, wrote in a letter supporting Wedge’s nomination. “To take Shepley Bulfinch, a leading, 150-year-old firm, to national certification as a woman-owned business, with majority female leadership, is a hugely important example in and for the profession. She has shown us all what is possible, and that diversity and inclusion are good for business.” (The American Institute of Architects (AIA) , 2019)
2020 Whitney M. Young Jr. Award given to Gabrielle Bullock
Established in 1972, the Whitney M. Young Jr. Award honors architects and organizations that champion a range of social issues. Named for civil rights leader Whitney M. Young Jr., this award distinguishes an architect or architectural organization that embodies social responsibility and actively addresses a relevant issue, such as affordable housing, inclusiveness, or universal access.
Bullock was inspired to become an architect in order to positively affect the lives of African-Americans and other people of color. She was the first African-American and first woman to assume the role of managing director at Perkins and Will. Additionally, she has served as the firm’s director of global diversity since 2013. In that position, she has been charged with broadening the firm’s culture of inclusion and is helping reshape society by confronting issues of equity through meaningful work. (The American Institute of Architects (AIA) , 2019)
Gabrielle Bullock, FAIA. Photo credit: © Noah Pylvainen, Perkins and Will
“Having her advocating for architects of color, of which I am one, and others marginalized within the profession has been and will continue to be extremely valuable,” Carlton T. Smith, FAIA, wrote in support of Bullock’s nomination. “Using the international platforms made available to her through her innate desire to serve has increased awareness not only within the profession, but also to a much larger audience. Her message will continue to resonate for years to come.” (The American Institute of Architects (AIA), 2019)
Destination Crenshaw, an open-air museum along Crenshaw Boulevard in Los Angeles. Photo credit: © Perkins and Will
Each person and firm honored with these awards offer the built environment something unique and unquantifiable. Their efforts and work are felt and seen in architecture around the world and positively impact today’s architect and as well as tomorrow’s. We offer our utmost congratulations to these recipients, and our gratitude to the AIA for honoring them.
References
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) . (2019, December 12). 2020 Edward C. Kemper Award: Carole Wedge, FAIA. Retrieved from The American Institute of Architects (AIA) : https://www.aia.org/showcases/6226358-carole-wedge-faia
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) . (2019, December 12). Architect Gabrielle Bullock honored with 2020 Whitney M. Young Jr. Award. Retrieved from The American Institute of Architects (AIA) : https://www.aia.org/press-releases/6245187-architect-gabrielle-bullock-honored-with-2
The American Institute of Architects (AIA). (2019, December 11). 2020 AIA Architecture Firm Award: Architecture Research Office. Retrieved from The American Institute of Architects (AIA): https://www.aia.org/showcases/6224883-architecture-research-office
The American Institute of Architects (AIA). (2019, December 11). 2020 AIA Gold Medal Awarded to Marlon Blackwell. Retrieved from The American Institute of Architects (AIA): https://www.aia.org/press-releases/6244859-2020-aia-gold-medal-awarded-to-marlon-blac
The American Institute of Architects (AIA). (2019, December 12). 2020 AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion for Architectural Education: David Leatherbarrow. Retrieved from The American Institute of Architects (AIA): https://www.aia.org/showcases/6226585-david-leatherbarrow
The American Institute of Architects (AIA). (2019, December 12). 2020 Whitney M. Young Jr. Award: Gabrielle Bullock, FAIA. Retrieved from The American Institute of Architects (AIA) : https://www.aia.org/showcases/6227362-gabrielle-bullock-faia
The American Institute of Architects (AIA). (2019). AIA Honors & Awards. Retrieved from The American Institute of Architects (AIA): https://www.aia.org/pages/6153986-aia-honors–awards
