The National Arts Club (NAC) presented its Medal of Honor to architecture and design studio Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) on Tuesday, September 24, 2019. DS+R was recognized by the NAC’s President, Board of Governors, and Architecture Committee for its outstanding architectural achievements and contributions to New York City’s landscape. 

“We are particularly excited to recognize the work of Diller Scofidio + Renfro, given the studio’s distinct dedication to the arts, with projects including the transformation of Lincoln Center’s campus, the recently-completed Shed, and the ongoing renovations and expansion of The Museum of Modern Art. Few other architects have made such an impact on New York’s arts and culture community,” said Linda Zagaria, Club President.

Founded in 1981, DS+R’s practice spans the fields of architecture, urban design, installation art, multi-media performance, digital media, and print. With a focus on cultural and civic projects, the studio addresses the changing role of institutions and the future of cities. The studio is based in New York and is comprised of over 100 architects, designers, artists and researchers, led by four partners—Elizabeth Diller, Ricardo Scofidio, Charles Renfro and Benjamin Gilmartin.

DS+R has completed some of the largest architecture and planning initiatives in New York City’s recent history. In addition to their contribution to the arts, they are responsible for the adaptive reuse of an obsolete, industrial rail infrastructure into the High Line, a 1.5 mile-long public park. Other projects include the 35-acre Zaryadye Park adjacent to the Kremlin in Moscow; the Museum of Image and Sound on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro; The Broad, a contemporary art museum in Los Angeles; the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive at the University of California, Berkeley; the Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center at Columbia University in New York; and The Juilliard School in Tianjin, China. Most recently, the studio was also selected to design: the London Centre for Music, which will be a permanent home for the London Symphony Orchestra and the Victoria and Albert Collection and Research Centre in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

DS+R has been distinguished with the first MacArthur Foundation fellowship awarded in the field of architecture, Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential” list, the Smithsonian Institution’s 2005 National Design Award, the Medal of Honor and the President’s Award from AIA New York, and Wall Street Journal Magazine’s 2017 Architecture Innovator of the Year Award.

The National Arts Club Medal of Honor is awarded to exemplary leaders in their respective fields. Previous honorees for architecture include R. Buckminster Fuller (1976); I.M. Pei (1981); Daniel Libeskind (2007); Steven Holl(2008); Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill (2011); and Robert A.M. Stern (2014).