Awards by year

2024 Honor Awards Committee

2024 Chair
Clara Paterson, AIA
2024 Chair-Elect
Michelle Rossomando, AIA

Wendy Dunnam Tita, FAIA
Stephi Motal, AIA
Desmon Odunusi, AIA
Ray Santana Linares, Assoc. AIA

AIA Austin and the Honor Awards Committee are thrilled to announce the 2024 Honor Award recipients.

Firm Achievement Award: Thoughtbarn
Award Underwriter: Austin Concrete Development

Emerging Professional Achievement Award: Mikel Bennett, AIA; Ashley Heeren, AIA
Awards Underwriter: Arrowhead Construction

Associate Member of the Year Award: Alexandra Chaves, Assoc. AIA
Award Underwriter: Rogers-O’Brien Construction

Alan Yamato Taniguchi, FAIA, Award for Public Architecture: Keenan Smith, AIA

John V. Nyfeler, FAIA, Community Service Award: Camille Jobe, AIA
Award Underwriter: Crowell Builders

Community Vision Award: Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation
Award Underwriter: Encotech Engineering Consultants

Honor Awards Brunch
April 12, 10am-12pm
Indeed Tower, 200 W 6th St.


HONOR AWARDS CATEGORIES

1. Firm Achievement Award

The Firm Achievement Award is the highest honor that AIA Austin can bestow on an architecture firm for outstanding contributions to the community, profession, and/or the creation of distinguished architecture.

Criteria: Candidates will be evaluated on how well they meet the following program criteria pertaining to the firm’s architecture and its contributions to the profession and the community: 1.A body of architectural work of great breadth and depth, having influenced the design direction or practice of architecture in Austin past and present. 2. Firm and employee contributions and service to the profession. 3. Firm and employee contributions and service to the community.

Eligibility: Practices of any size are eligible for this award. Firms that have been reorganized and whose names have been changed or modified are also eligible, as long as the firm has been in operation for a period of at least 10 years. Firm principals must be AIA members in good standing in the Austin area. No more than one such award shall be made in any year. Award may not be given annually. As a “member firm” of AIA Austin, all eligible firm principals must be current members.

Submission Package: Submissions are to include a completed nomination form, a one-page nominating letter, summary of the firm’s contributions, a summary of the firm’s history, and a minimum of three letters of support from individuals or organizations outside of the nominated firm.

AIA Austin seeks to honor the achievements of local design professionals in their early years of practice. In 2016, to broaden that recognition, we created two distinct Honor Award categories: Emerging Professionals and Associate Member of the Year.

2. Emerging Professional Achievement Award

The Emerging Professional Achievement Award recognizes professional achievement and leadership by architects who are in their first 10 years of practice after licensure.

Nominees should exemplify exceptional work and general excellence in the practice of architecture, including but not limited to work in some or all of the following categories: design, construction science, literature, education, service to the profession, public service, historic preservation, research, urban design, government, industry, and architectural practice. The Honor Award is intended to recognize both current accomplishment and future potential.

Eligibility: Nominees must be members of AIA Austin in good standing, licensed to practice architecture, and within their first 10 years of practice after licensure. They may be sole practitioners or in association with a firm. Eligible nominees must have received their license on or after Jan. 1, 2010.

Submission Package: Submissions are to include a completed nomination form, a one-page nominating letter, summary of the nominee’s contributions, a resume, a photo, and three supporting recommendation letters.

3. Associate Member of the Year Award

Awarded to an individual Associate AIA member who best exemplifies the highest qualities of leadership, and has demonstrated unparalleled dedication and commitment to the AIA Austin Chapter, the community, and to the profession of architecture. The nominee should be a role model in the organization with these qualities: goes beyond the call of duty in service to the profession, influences improvement in the organization at the local level, encourages participation among fellow members and nonmembers, exemplifies qualities of leadership and of professional practice.

Eligibility: The nominee must be a current Associate Member of AIA Austin who can demonstrate that they are on a path toward licensure.

Submission Package: Submissions are to include a completed nomination form, a one-page nominating letter, summary of the nominee’s contributions, a resume, a photograph, and three supporting recommendation letters.

4. Alan Yamato Tanaguchi, FAIA, Award for Public Architecture

(Formerly the Edwin Waller Award for Public Architecture)
This award is presented to recognize achievements of architects, public officials, or other individuals for their role as advocates for the advancement of architecture through their work with the public, or from which the public and/or community benefits. To reflect the breadth and evolution of Austin’s architecture as well as the diversity of the community who shapes it, this award will be jointly presented by AIA Austin and the Austin Foundation for Architecture with a new name beginning in 2020. Formerly named after Edwin Waller, Austin’s first mayor, for his early contributions to the City, including the establishment of the original city grid, the Award for Public architecture is renamed in honor of Alan Y. Taniguchi, FAIA. As an early stalwart for social consciousness and environmental sensitivity through the practice of architecture, Taniguchi’s professional and academic legacies remain relevant to the criteria that currently shapes our city.

Eligibility: Nominated architecture professionals must be a current Member or Associate Member of AIA Austin. Membership is not a requirement for public officials or other individual advocates.

Submission Package: Submissions are to include a completed nomination form, a one page nominating letter, summary of the nominee’s contributions, a photo, and a minimum of two recommendation letters.

5. John V. Nyfeler, FAIA, Community Service Award

Named to acknowledge the first recipient, John V. Nyfeler, FAIA, for his leadership in the community, this award is for an individual AIA Austin member for extended commitment to their community whether or not this service is directly related to the profession. Recipients should demonstrate how their contributions have improved the standard of living of the community or how they have influenced policies that support those improvements.

Eligibility: Nominated architects must be current members of AIA Austin.

Submission Package: Submissions are to include a completed nomination form, a one page nominating letter, summary of the nominee’s contributions, a resume, a photo, and a minimum of two supporting recommendation letters.

6. Community Vision Award

First awarded to Austin Foundation Communities in 2011, this award serves to recognize an individual or organization that has been instrumental in moving forward an affordable housing initiative in the greater Austin area.

Eligibility: Nominees may be an individual or organization (non-profit status is preferred, but not required).

Submission Package: The submission is to include a nominating letter summarizing the individual or organization’s contributions, material describing the program or activities and a supporting letter of recommendation.