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The AIA has chosen five
outstanding young architects, defined as professionals who have been practicing
10 years or fewer, regardless of their age, to receive its 2003 Young
Architects Award. The award honors individuals who have shown exceptional
leadership and made significant contributions to the profession early
in their careers.
Lisa
M. Chronister, AIA, is passionate about increasing public awareness
of the value of architecture. Most recently, she devoted her time and
talents to ensuring that one of Oklahoma’s most precious historic
resources, the Gold Dome Bank near downtown Oklahoma City, was saved from
demolition. She helped lead a coalition of advocates supporting preservation
of the futuristic 1958 building and its distinctive gold geodesic dome
roof. Chronister worked on all aspects of the campaign, particularly the
public-relations piece of the protest, disseminating information to local
and national press. As spokesperson for the group, she generated local
press coverage and national attention by making television and radio appearances.
The demolition permit was eventually denied, and the decision was upheld
through the appeals process in July 2002, when a preservation-minded buyer
rescued the property. The National Trust for Historic Preservation validated
the group’s efforts by naming the bank one of its 2002 Eleven Most
Endangered buildings in the U.S.
Chronister,
a project manager/architect at LWPB Architects, Oklahoma City, has served
on the AIA Oklahoma Board of Directors in virtually every leadership position
during the last five years, culminating in her election to the presidency
this year. She engages in many other chapter activities, such as the Disaster
Assistance Team, the Food Bank Harvest Food Drive, and the 2001 Central
States Regional Conference. Chronister shows equal dedication to her design
career: Since her 1994 graduation from the University of Oklahoma, she
has worked full-time as an intern, project architect, and project manager
for several Oklahoma City firms. She was largely responsible for the design
of projects that include the Individual Artists of Oklahoma Gallery renovation,
Federal Corporation Showroom Remodel, and For Heaven’s Sake Child
Development Center. She also served as project architect for the downtown
YMCA Child Development Center, Department of Environmental Quality Office
Renovation, and the Center for Design Arts.
Paul
D. Mankins, AIA, contributes much to the profession through his
roles of associate principal at Herbert Lewis Kruse Blunck Architecture
(named the AIA 2001 Firm Award winner), AIA Iowa president, Iowa
Architect editor, and adjunct professor of architectural design
at Iowa State University’s Department of Architecture. His professional
abilities earn him high levels of design recognition for projects ranging
from the smallest hand-crafted interiors to complex urban planning efforts.
Mankins, who currently leads the team developing and documenting the New
Central Library for the City of Des Moines (with David Chipperfield Architects,
London), recently received a 2002 National AIA Honor Award for Architecture
for the Meredith Corporation Expansion and Interiors, Des Moines. Since
1994, he has also garnered 19 honor and merit awards from the AIA Central
States Region, AIA San Francisco, and AIA Iowa. He has several other honors
under his belt: Mankins is the youngest architecture alumnus to receive
the Design Achievement Award from Iowa State University’s College
of Design, and his work has been featured in many national and international
design publications.
Mankins’ commitment
to the profession continues well past the hours he spends at his award-winning
firm. He served as president of AIA Iowa in 1999, twice chaired AIA Iowa’s
Convention Committee, lobbied Congress on behalf of AIA Iowa, and hosted
a fundraising reception at the Octagon for the restoration the Iowa’s
governor’s residence. AIA Vice President and Associate Dean of Iowa
State University’s College of Design Kate Schwennsen, FAIA, writes,
“Paul’s design and leadership abilities transformed the Iowa
Architect into a nationally recognized publication. Those same
abilities, combined with wit and patience, make him a highly sought-after
teacher in a nationally ranked accredited program.”
Mankins received his MArch from Yale University and continues to pursue
a passion for education and research. He received a research grant from
The Graham Foundation for Advance Studies in the Fine Arts to publish
his book documenting independent formal analysis and historical research.
He also organized a national exhibition of analytical drawings and models,
“Giuseppe Terragni: Two Projects,” and a national design competition
and exhibition, “Houses From the Eighties,” featured at the
Des Moines Art Center and Archicenter in Chicago.
Paul
Neuhaus, AIA, writes that he gains his highest sense of purpose
as an architect from “collaborating on the design of a project that
lights a fire in me, excites and inspires my client, and enriches the
lives of those who come in contact with the building.” Neuhaus,
now designer/project manager at The Leonard Parker Associates, Minneapolis,
came to architecture from the visual arts and says he has always regarded
the discipline as an art form. His conviction to use architecture to best
benefit society began when he entered the Peace Corps after college, making
his home for two years in a small community of subsistence farmers where
he initiated projects that relied on his experience in art and design
to improve their quality of life. Since returning to the U.S. and entering
the field, first at Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle, Ltd., and now at
TLPA, Neuhaus has focused on making a direct contribution to his community
through his designs of public buildings, including libraries, a school,
courthouse, a university dance studio, an art museum, a police station,
and laboratories that benefit their neighborhoods by providing important
civic, cultural, educational, or public-safety functions.
Peers
and mentors recognize Neuhaus for his firm and quiet leadership and “ability
to focus, remain calm under pressure, and achieve maximum impact.”
He is active in AIA Minnesota as a member of the Awards and Publications
Committees.
Ronald
Todd Ray, AIA, principal of Studio27architecture pllc, Washington,
D.C., began his practice in 1999, just three years after becoming registered.
His firm, which is committed to achieving significant architectural design
for any budget, has received eight local and state design awards, and
its work has appeared in papers a dozen times. In addition to nurturing
a flourishing architecture practice, Ray tends to a new generation of
architects by serving as adjunct professor at The Catholic University
of America, Washington, D.C., where he challenges his design studio students
and encourages their development. He has also served as an adjunct professor
at the Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science, and as a visiting
critic there and at Catholic, as well as at Syracuse University, the University
of Pennsylvania, and the University of Virginia.
Ray dedicates
many weekends and evenings to the Washington Architectural Foundation
Community Design Services, recently leading a team of architects and interns
in an Emergency Design Charrette for the tornado-ravaged town of La Plata,
Md. He also promotes architecture education through volunteer work at
the National Building Museum and by talking to middle-school, high-school,
and college classes about being an architect. In addition, he offers career
guidance to intern architects moving to the Washington area. This year
he formalized the activity by founding the AIADC Intern Mentoring Program.
Paul
Woolford, AIA, senior vice president with HOK Architecture and
HOK Board of Design Directors member, shows his passion for the community
and profession through carefully crafted designs tailored to client needs
and active participation in the AIA at the local, state, and national
levels. Woolford is responsible for some of the largest and most complex
buildings completed by his firm, including the Georgia State Archives
in Morrow; University of Alabama’s 227,000-square-foot Interdisciplinary
Science Building, Shelby Hall; and the South Bank Arts Centre Master Plan
along the River Thames in London. His design for the 325,000-square-foot
Whitehead Research Building for the School of Medicine at Emory University,
Atlanta, won a Silver LEED rating, and his design for the San Francisco
International Airport Bay Area Rapid Transit Station received a 1996 AIA
Certificate of Merit Award.
Woolford
works with both the national AIA component and AIA Georgia to enhance
and enrich the profession. As the 2001 chair of the Young Architects Forum
(YAF), Paul guided the coordination of the national “Point Break:
Changing in the Context of the Profession” conference, which he
cochaired. That event examined innovation and vision in the marketplace
as well as capitalized on the profession’s values. Woolford serves
as AIA Georgia’s vice president-elect for fellowship and chaired
its 2002 design awards jury. He has taught at the Graduate College of
Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, and he has lectured
around the world, including at national and regional AIA conventions.
Copyright 2003 The American Institute of Architects.
All rights reserved.
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