image courtesy of Washington Post

As Secretary of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, Thomas Luebke doesn’t actually have a vote on the panel that oversees essential architectural and design decisions in the nation’s capital. Created in 1910, the commission was largely responsible for overseeing the realization of the enormous changes to the center of Washington envisioned by the Senate Park Commission, which created what is now known as the McMillan Plan.

Officially, the body is run by its chairman, while the secretary is in charge of the day-to-day operations of the staff. But the secretary can have enormous influence, both through indirect suasion and organizational acumen, and since he was appointed to the position in 2005, Luebke has managed both gracefully. Friday, the American Institute of Architects rewarded that legacy with one of its highest honors, the Thomas Jefferson Award. Luebke won in the category dedicated to “Public officials or other individuals who by their role of advocacy have furthered the public’s awareness and/or appreciation of design excellence.” In the other two categories, Thomas E. Lollini won for his work as a public sector architect who has served the University of California at its Berkeley and Merced campuses. There was no reward, this year, in the third category, for private architects who have done significant work in the public sector.......Continue Reading

> via washingtonpost.com