Winners of AIA 2017 Thomas Jefferson Award and Collaborative Achievement Award Announced
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has announced the winners of the Thomas Jefferson Award and the Collaborative Achievement Award for the year 2017. The winner of the Thomas Jefferson Award, which addresses services to public architecture, was given to the Fellow of American Institute of Architecture (FAIA) and former Philadelphia Deputy Mayor and Chairman of the City Planning Commission Alan Greenberger. As a mayor, Greenberger was in charge of 11 agencies which include the Department of Commerce. He led the Philadelphia2035 plan for the city’s revival in addition to completing and authorizing the plans for Philadelphia’s 37-mile-waterfront. Greenberger’s services to the city continue with his current role as chairman of the Philadelphia Art Commission, besides his position as Teaching Professor in the Department of Architecture Design & Urbanism at Drexel University and his fellowship at the Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation.
Step Up; Santa Monica, California / Brooks + Scarpa. Image © John Edward Linden
As for the Collaborative Achievement Award, which recognizes work done by architects in collaboration with non-architectural organizations to improve habitable and work spaces, it was given to The Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellowship and architect Lawrence Scarpa. The Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellowship has been active for almost two decades as an “influential force” that supports architects interested in social impact design. 64 fellows of the AIA who have shaped community-based design have benefited from this support. The other recipient of the award, Lawrence Scarpa, is FAIA and co-founder of Brooke + Scarpa based in Los Angeles. He known for his leadership in the field of sustainable design, and he is the co-founder of the non-profit organization Livable Places which promotes affordable and sustainable communities. His 44-unit housing project Colorado Court in Santa Monica, California, was the first multi-family housing project to be certified by the LEED.
Cherokee Studios; Los Angeles / Brooks + Scarpa. Image Courtesy of Brooks + Scarpa
However, that is not all there is to the 57-year-old architect who was recognized by the AIA for his “ unique mix of design excellence, social responsibility, stewardship, and service to the profession.” Scarpa has made good use of his expertise in mustering “new models for collaboration that serve the greater good” and making effective changes in the policies of the state of California.
