The American Institute of Architects has a long tradition of recognizing individuals and organizations for their outstanding achievements in support of the profession of architecture and the AIA.

Since 1949 the Institute Honor Awards program has recognized achievements for a broad range of architectural activity to elevate the general quality of architecture practice, establish a standard of excellence against which all architects can measure performance, and inform the public of the breadth and value of their contributions. 

The award categories have been altered over the years. The ‘Honor Current’ category was for brand-new buildings and the “Honor Extended’ category was for projects ‘incorporating restoration, rehabilitation, or adaptive- re-use’. Currently the program has three divisions: Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Regional & Urban Design.

2015 Gold Medal Recipient

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Salt Lake City Public Library in Salt Lake City. Image courtesy of Timothy Hursley.

Moshe Safdie, FAIA ,2015 AIA Gold Medal Recipient

Safdie is the 71st AIA Gold Medalist. He joins the ranks of such visionaries as Thomas Jefferson (1993), Frank Lloyd Wright (1949), Louis Sullivan (1944), Le Corbusier (1961), Louis Kahn (1971), I.M. Pei (1979), Santiago Calatrava (2005), Renzo Piano (2008), Steven Holl (2012), and Thom Mayne (2013). Holl (2012), Thom Mayne (2013), and Julia Morgan (2014).

2015 AIA Architecture Firm Award Recipient

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Robertson Branch Library in Los Angeles. Image courtesy of Tom Bonner.

Ehrlich Architects ,2015 AIA Architecture Firm Award Recipient

Ehrlich Architects is the 52nd AIA Architecture Firm Award recipient. Previous recipients of the AIA Firm Award include Eskew+Dumez+Ripple (2014), Pugh + Scarpa (2010), Kieran Timberlake (2008), Murphy/Jahn (2005), James Stewart Polshek and Partners (1992), Venturi, Rauch, and Scott Brown (1985), I.M. Pei & Partners (1968), and SOM (1962). In recognition of Ehrlich Architect's legacy to architecture, its name will be chiseled into the granite Wall of Honor in the lobby of the AIA headquarters in Washington, D.C.

2015 Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education

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© Eisenman Architects

Peter Eisenman, FAIA,Notes of Interest

The Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education is awarded jointly by the AIA and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) to an individual—who must be living at the time of nomination—who has spent at least a decade primarily involved in architectural education and whose primary contribution to architectural education has taken place on the North American continent.

Eisenman holds five honorary degrees, and was a 1976 Rome Prize Fellow. In 2001, Eisenman was honored with both the Medal of Honor from AIA New York and the Smithsonian Institute’s Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for Architecture. A frequent participant in the Venice Architectre Biennale, he was honored in 2004 with the Biennale Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. In 2013, he received the New York State AIA Educators Award. 
 

2015 Edward C. Kemper Award Recipient

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© 2013 Jamey Stillings Photography

Edward Mazria, FAIA,Notes of Interest

Named in honor of the AIA’s first executive director, who served from 1914 to 1948, Edward C. Kemper Award past recipients have included William Perkins, FAIA (1950); Norman L. Koonce, FAIA (1998); Norbert W. Young, FAIA (2005); Barbara A. Nadel, FAIA (2009); and James Logan Abell, FAIA (2010).

2015 Whitney M. Young Jr. Award

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© Timothy Hursley

Auburn University Rural Studio Notes of Interest

The Whitney M. Young Jr. Award, established in 1972, is named after the civil rights-era head of the Urban League who confronted head-on the AIA’s absence of socially progressive advocacy at the 1968 national convention.

Members of the AIA Board of Directors, a component, or a knowledge community may nominate architects or architecturally oriented organizations for this award.

On Dec. 10, the Board of Directors of the American Institute of Architects bestowed the 2015 Whitney M. Young Jr. Award on Auburn University’s Rural Studio. The award was granted in recognition of the student-led design/build projects that Rural Studio established to address the dire needs of one of the South’s poorest and most underserved regions.

Established in 1972, the Whitney M. Young Jr. Award has honored architects and organizations that embody the profession’s proactive social mandate through a range of commitments, including affordable housing, inclusiveness, and universal access. The award is named after the civil rights–era head of the Urban League who confronted—head-on—the AIA’s absence of socially progressive advocacy at the 1968 AIA National Convention.

If not the original blueprint for the most recent wave of socially conscious architecture, Auburn’s Rural Studio set an undisputed precedent for new intersections between practical experience and formal study that jointly pursue a singularly important question: How can architecture make a difference in the lives of people who need it most?

2015 AIA Institute Honor Awards for Architecture

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© Eric Staudenmaier

28th Street Apartments,Koning Eizenberg Architecture Inc.

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© Peter Aaron/OTTO

Brockman Hall for Physics,KieranTimberlake

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© Michael O’Callahan; Proehl Studios; Tim Griffith; Jim Simmons

California Memorial Stadium & Simpson Training Center,HNTB Architecture

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© Chuck Choi; Robert Benson

Cambridge Public Library,William Rawn Associates, Architects, Inc.

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© Rasmus Hjortshoj; Luftfoto

Danish Maritime Museum,BIG | Bjarke Ingels Group

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© Eduard Hueber | Archphot; Brett Beye

John Jay College of Criminal Justice ,Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP

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© Albert Vecerka

Krishna P. Singh Center for Nanotechnology, WEISS/MANFREDI Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism

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© Michael Moran / OTTO

LeFrak Center at Lakeside Prospect Park,Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects

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© Rothschild Doyno Collaborative; Sarah Spanagel

Sant Lespwa, Center of Hope ,Rothschild Doyno Collaborative

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© Scott Frances

United States Courthouse, Salt Lake City, Utah,Thomas Phifer and Partners; Naylor Wentworth Lund Architects

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© De Leon & Primmer Architecture Workshop

Wild Turkey Bourbon Visitor Center,De Leon & Primmer Architecture Workshop

2015 Institute Honor Awards for Interior Architecture

The Institute Honor Awards for Interior Architecture acknowledge outstanding building interiors created by architects licensed in the United States. The awards program draws attention to the broad diversity of interior architecture.

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© Eric Laignel

Arent Fox.STUDIOS Architecture

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© Michael Moran

The Barbarian GroupArchitect:Clive Wilkinson Architects; Design Republic Partners Architects LLP

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© Jasper Sanidad

Beats by Dre Headquarters,Bestor Architecture

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© Marlon Blackwell Architect; Timothy Hursley

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Museum Store,Marlon Blackwell Architects

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© Tom Rossiter; Bill Zbaren

Illinois State Capitol West Wing Restoration,Vinci Hamp Architects

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© Timothy Hursley

Louisiana State Sports Hall of Fame and Regional History Museum,Trahan Architects

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© James Ewing; Andrew Moore; Davis Brody Bond

National September 11 Memorial Museum,Davis Brody Bond

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© Tim Griffith; Nic Lehoux

Newport Beach Civic Center and Park,Bohlin Cywinski Jackson

2015 Institute Honor Awards for Regional & Urban Design

The Institute Honor Awards for Regional and Urban Design recognize distinguished achievements that involve the expanding role of the architect in urban design, regional and city planning, and community development. The awards identify projects and programs that contribute to the quality of these environments.

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© Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP; Christopher Grubbs; Squint/Opera

Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts District Master Plan,Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP

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© Daniel Acker/Bloomberg; BIG Team

The BIG UArchitect:BIG | Bjarke Ingels Group

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© Lifang; CBT

Government Center Garage Redevelopment,CBT Architects

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© Morgan Sheff

Recipient Name,Perkins Eastman

2015 Twenty-five Year Award

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