The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is recognizing the AIA New York Unified Task Force City and State, the University of Arkansas Community Design Center, and Joseph P. Riley, Jr., Hon. AIA, with its 2022 Collaborative Achievement Award.
The Collaborative Achievement Award recognizes and encourages distinguished achievements of design professionals, clients, organizations, architect teams, knowledge communities and others who have had a beneficial influence on or advanced the architectural profession.
AIA New York Unified Task Force City and State
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the AIA New York Unified Task Force City and State was assembled in just 24 hours in response to an urgent call for assistance from design professionals. A group of AIA New York and AIA New York State architects worked through the night to identify buildings that could be used to expand bed capacity and alleviate the strain on New York’s overwhelmed hospitals. The team was able to identify more than 1,000 buildings throughout the state that could accommodate extra beds and provide additional medical services, saving countless lives.
Once the immediate need for hospital beds was addressed and a team of dedicated architects was in place, the task force began to respond to the pandemic’s wide-ranging and immensely disruptive repercussions. It remains agile and responsive today, ready to address our evolving world rather than a single issue.
University of Arkansas Community Design Center
For more than 20 years, the University of Arkansas Community Design Center has steadily added to its track record of excellence as it strives to make a significant impact on communities facing daunting challenges. Under the leadership of Stephen Luoni, its second director and principal designer since 2003, the center’s work has achieved national recognition and positioned it as one of the most highly respected authorities in urban design and development.
The center was founded in 1995 as an outreach center of the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas. Luoni has since shifted the center’s focus from education in design best practices to a teaching office where the school’s students, from all disciplines, collaborate with the center’s small full-time professional staff on project development. Despite its important work outside of Arkansas, the center’s primary mission is creative development in the state through a combination of design, research, and education solutions.
Joseph P. Riley Jr., Hon. AIA
When Joseph P. Riley became mayor of Charleston, S.C., in 1975, the city’s urban center was quickly deteriorating. Over his 10 terms as Charleston’s leader, Riley completely transformed the city into a top cultural destination and positioned himself as one of the country’s most visionary and effective leaders. Few understand as well as Riley the many ways in which architecture, urbanism, and human fabric intersect to create great places, and he has forged a path for generations of mayors to follow his positive example.
Across four decades of leadership, Riley continuously considered Charleston’s public realm first and foremost. His work to develop the city’s Waterfront Park, the redevelopment of the urban renewal-era Gaillard Center into new city offices, and his insistence that Charleston’s government remain in the city’s heart demonstrate his forward-thinking vision. The International African American Museum, designed by Moody Nolan and Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, will reaffirm Riley’s commitment to the city and, more importantly, to its entire history when it opens later this year. Riley considers the project the most important work of his lifetime.
Complete Collaborative Achievement award information is available on AIA’s website.