Archinect - News

Winners of the 2020 Philip Freelon Design Competition have been announced

2020-08-25T14:40:00-04:00

Formerly known as the Design Leadership Council (DLC) Design Competition, the annual Perkins and Will competition was renamed to honor the late architect Philip Freelon in 2019. According to Design Leadership Council Director Casey Jones, "For 17 years, teams around the world have invested enormous amounts of passion and creative thought into our annual design competition. It’s one of the hallmarks of our firm’s design culture, which is rooted in purpose, curiosity, research, and innovation. "

The 2020 competition brief focused on affordable housing and design initiatives addressing this ongoing issue. This year, 68 design teams across all Perkins and Will firms participated in the competition.

Below are the winning projects and project descriptions provided by competition coordinators.

PRIZE WINNERS

First Prize: Arroyo by Vangel Kukov and Hala EL Khorazaty

IImage courtesy of Vangel Kukov and Hala EL Khorazaty

Image courtesy of Vangel Kukov and Hala EL Khorazaty.

Infused with princi...

NOMA International Conference celebrates diverse architectural leadership and excellence

2019-11-07T13:16:00-05:00

In October, the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) hosted their 47th Annual NOMA Conference in Brooklyn. With more than 1,200 registered attendees, this year's event was the largest for the organization.

To conclude the conference, the organization celebrated a banquet dedicated to architecture leadership and excellence awards. With NOMA President Kimberly Dowdell, AIA, NOMA, NCARB, LEED AP presiding over the evening, the special event highlighted some of NOMA's long-time members, such as NOMA’s last surviving founder, Jeh Johnson, an architect who has made tremendous contributions to the organization and the industry.

NOMA founder Mr. Jeh Johnson with NYCOBA NOMA President Samantha Josaph at the 2019 NOMA Honors Banquet and Phil Freelon Professional Design Awards . Image courtesy of nycoba NOMA

A highlight of the evening was recognizing the work of beloved architect, industry leader and long-time NOMA member Phil Freelon, who recently passed away, with the inaugura...

National Museum of African American History shows sign of aging

2017-09-25T13:53:00-04:00

Now that the reflective space is open, and has become a favorite spot in the museum, it stands for both the strengths and weaknesses of the museum’s larger form, created by lead designer David Adjaye and lead architect Philip Freelon. The drama of light and water in the Contemplation Court is as beautiful and striking as the basic design of the corona on the building’s exterior, but there is already corrosion on the ceiling panels near where the water is released.

A year after its opening the building of the National Museum of African American History already shows signs of aging, but the museum attracts a diverse, engaged, multicultural and international audience. "Like so many large buildings in the ceremonial core of Washington, now that it’s there, it seems always to have been there."

Small Details Matter; Archinect Sessions #101 Discusses the 2017 AIA National Conference

2017-05-08T15:06:00-04:00

In this latest episode of Archinect Sessions, Ken and Donna share their experiences and thoughts on the 2017 AIA National Conference. We discuss the conversation with Michelle Obama and the keynotes by Francis Kéré (awesome), Michael Murphy (political), and Elizabeth Diller (meh). We also address the positive changes displayed by the AIA this year, along with signs of complete lack of evolution by the Institute. Ken and Donna also share their excellent run-in and conversation with Phil Freelon and his wife Nnenna.

Listen to "Small Details Matter":

iTunes: Click here to listen, and click the "Subscribe" button below the logo to automatically download new episodes.
Apple Podcast App (iOS): click here to subscribe
SoundCloud: click here to follow Archinect
RSS: subscribe with any of your favorite podcasting apps via our RSS feed: http://archinect.libsyn.com/rss
Download: this episode

Ken and Donna waiting eagerly for Michelle Obama

The power couple, Phil & Nnenna Freelon

Karen E. Hudson, gran...

Harvard GSD launches new fellowship in partnership with Perkins+Will to support students of color

2016-11-04T15:32:00-04:00

Architecture is often criticized for its lack of diversity, and many feel that education is a key way to address the issue for the future. In that vein, Harvard's GSD announced yesterday the establishment of the Philip Freelon Fellowship Fund, designed to "provide expanded academic opportunities to African American and other under-represented architecture and design students at the GSD."

At the announcement, Philip Freelon of Perkins+Will noted the significance of such fellowships in encouraging (and attracting) diversity at the GSD: “As the design profession continues to attract a more diverse talent base, this gift will provide students of color with financial assistance that could make pursuing an advanced degree at the GSD possible. It’s an important step in broadening the GSD’s reach.”

GSD Dean Mohsen Mostafavi thanked Perkins+Will and Phil Freelon, referring to how “the creativity, dynamism, and success of our GSD community are enriched by and even contingent on an increasingly ...

Profile: Philip G. Freelon

2009-04-21T13:25:00-04:00

The News & Observer (NC) profiles Philip Freelon, head of The Freelon Group, who is designing the new Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture, along with David Adjaye and others. TN&O | prev. | related commentary