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Walter Hood, a 'contemporary prophet of landscape and public space,' is awarded the Architectural League 2021 President's Medal

2021-08-04T09:00:00-04:00

There is much to reflect on when thinking of Walter Hood's illustrious career. Hood started his design practice in 1992 after he graduated from UC Berkley where he received his Master's in Landscape Architecture. Since then, his commitment to merging architecture, art, and urbanism has led him to become one of the most prolific landscape architects for social change and spatial equity.

Early this July, Archinect contributing writer Rukshan Vathupola conducted an in-depth interview with Hood. In his piece, Othering Blackness in Design: Reflections with Walter Hood, Vathupola crafted a discussion that highlighted Hood not only as a practitioner but as an individual who challenges the perception of landscape architecture, design, and urbanism as a cultural practice.

View overlooking the Walter Hood-designed New de Young Museum gardens in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. Image taken from the 9th-floor observation deck. Image © Mandy Sui Ta via Instagram/Courtesy of @deyoungmuseum

The hi...

The Aga Khan to receive the 2017 Architectural League President's Medal

2017-05-15T21:05:00-04:00

The Architectural League of New York awarded their 2017 President's Medal to the honorable Aga Khan, the League revealed in an announcement today. The President's Medal is the League's highest accolade bestowed to an individual in recognition of a distinct body of work in architecture, urbanism, art, or design.

Architectural League President Billie Tsien will present the award to the honorable Aga Khan during a dinner on May 18 in New York.

The Medal's notable roster of recipients include Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, Ada Louise Huxtable, Richard Meier, Amanda M. Burden, Renzo Piano, Henry N. Cobb, artist Richard Serra, and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, among others.

Learn more on Bustler.

RIBA announces 2016 President's Awards for Research winners

2016-12-06T18:34:00-05:00

The Royal Institute of British Architects announced today four winners of the 2016 President's Awards for Research, which recognizes top-quality architectural research from academics and practitioners...This year's competition received 75 applications from 14 countries on five continents, making it the most competitive to date...

The winning research projects this year are:

History and Theory: Dr Edward Denison, Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, UK; Medhanie Teklemariam and Dawit Abraha, Asmara Heritage Project, Eritrea
Project: “Asmara – Africa’s Modernist City: UNESCO World Heritage Nomination”

Cities and Community: Dr Irit Katz, University of Cambridge, UK
Project: “The Common Camp: Temporary Settlements as a Spatio-political Instrument in Israel-Palestine”

Design and Technical: Dr Michael Ramage and Dr Rob Foster, University of Cambridge, UK; Simon Smith, Smith and Wallwork, UK; Kevin Flanagan and Ron Bakker, PLP Architecture, UK
Project: “Supertall Timber: Design Research for the Next Generation of Natural Structure”

Learning from Projects: David Roberts, Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, UK
Project: “Make Public: Performing Public Housing in Ernö Goldfinger’s Balfron Tower”

Head over to Bustler for more.

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Henry Cobb presented with 2015 Architectural League of NY President's Medal

2015-05-07T15:30:00-04:00

Over 300 guests gathered at New York's Metropolitan Club for the Architectural League of New York's 2015 President's Medal dinner to honor medal recipient Henry N. Cobb, a founding partner at Pei Cobb Freed & Partners.

Bestowed by the League's President and Board of Directors as the organization's highest honor, the President's Medal recognizes a distinguished body of work in architecture, urbanism, art, or design. Architectural League President Billie Tsien, who also previously received the Medal, presented the award to Cobb.

Here's more about the event from the Architectural League.

2015 President's Medal Dinner. Photo: Fran Parente.

In presenting the award, Tsien remarked:

"'There’s a lovely moment that happens from time to time when you look at a person’s face and you can see exactly what they looked like as a child. It is fleeting, and it is very beautiful. Now, often that look happens when curiosity is sparked and with it a sense of wonder. I have been lucky enough to spend some ti...

Recipients of the 2014 NCARB President’s Medal

2014-07-01T16:01:00-04:00

Six architectural professionals were recently honored with the NCARB President's Medal for Distinguished Service, the organization's highest award. The President's Medal acknowledges individuals for their commitment to the architectural profession and to the Council's mission of ensuring the public’s health, safety, and welfare through the regulation of licensure and credentialing standards.

Speaking of licensure, NCARB also made recent announcements of major proposals and reforms regarding licensure upon graduation as well as the Intern Development Program (IDP) and the Architect Registration Examination (ARE).

Richard Serra is the first artist to receive the President's Medal from the Architectural League of New York

2014-04-23T17:44:00-04:00

Known for his large-scale sheet-metal sculptures, Richard Serra will be the first artist to receive the President's Medal from the Architectural League of New York. As the highest honor from the League, the Medal is presented by the organization's president and Board of Directors to an individual in recognition of a significant body of work in architecture, design, urbanism, or art.

Serra will formally receive the medal on May 6 during a dinner at the Metropolitan Club in New York. Emily Rauh Pulitzer (early Serra patron and Founder and Chairman of The Pulitzer Foundation) as well as architects Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi (designers of Seattleʼs Olympic Sculpture Park that features the major Serra work Wake) will be present at the event to give brief remarks on Serra and his work.

Here's more detail from the Architectural League:

"In presenting this award, the League honors Richard Serra for contributions his work makes to the way we think about space, viewer and object, site, an...

The Bartlett wins ALL three top honors at 2013 RIBA President’s Medals student awards

2013-12-04T20:58:00-05:00

London's The Bartlett School of Architecture scored big times at today's presentation of the 2013 RIBA President’s Medals Student Awards taking home all of the three top prizes. [...] Dating back to 1836, the prestigious President's Medals are awarded annually to students nominated by schools of architecture worldwide.

The project "Kizhi Island" by Ben Hayes received the RIBA Silver Medal for this year's best post-graduate design work. Ness Lafoy was awarded the Bronze Medal for the best undergraduate design project with the project "Helsinki Archipelago Town Hall". The Dissertation Medal went to Tamsin Hanke's research project "Magnitogorsk: Utopian Vision Of Spatial Socialism".

Architectural League of New York Presents 2013 President’s Medal to Renzo Piano

2013-04-11T15:00:00-04:00

Renzo Piano has been awarded the highest honor of the Architectural League of New York, the President's Medal. The prize is bestowed annually on individuals in recognition of extraordinary body of work in architecture, urbanism, or design.