Summary: Recognizing his distinguished career of extraordinary accomplishments as an architect, AIA North Carolina named Paul Davis Boney, FAIA, as this year’s recipient of that chapter’s highest honor, the F. Carter Williams Gold Medal.

Boney and his two cousins were the third generation to lead the eponymous Wilmington-based firm their grandfather, Leslie Boney Sr., formed in 1922 and subsequently passed to his three sons. Boney Architects merged with Charleston, S.C.-based LS3P Associates Ltd. in 2005.

“Paul embodies the characteristics for which the Institute exists: fellowship, transferring knowledge, supporting each other, and overcoming the competitive nature that might inhibit those benefits,” said 2004 AIA President Thom Penney, FAIA. “We enjoyed working together so much on the AIA Board that I appointed him the chair of the 2004 AIA Convention. The theme was Design Matters: Poetry and Proof. In that time, we came to share that vision and we merged our companies, respectful of where we have been, yet with a vision to the future. We have developed one firm over five cities, and have grown tremendously since we’ve merged. Paul saw the value of pooling our resources because size matters in terms of the resources we can bring to clients. As chief strategic officer, Paul focuses on our firm mission: enhancing client strategies.”

A legacy carried forward
“The Boney name has been synonymous with the design of educational facilities in North Carolina for more than half a century,” says fellow Carolinian and 1973 national AIA President S. Scott Ferebee Jr., FAIA.

Likewise the Boney name has been synonymous with service to the AIA. “In my time working with him, I have been overwhelmed by Paul’s dedication and loyalty to the AIA,” says AIA North Carolina Executive Vice President David Crawford. “He is a quiet, thoughtful leader who builds consensus and trust. And, of course, he continues to serve in this state in many capacities: as chief strategic officer for LS3P/Boney, in service to the profession, and in serving the public through his work on state boards and local commissions.”

“Remarkably, yours is a career clearly distinguished by excellence in all three—community, profession, and as AIA member,” wrote AIA EVP/CEO Chris McEntee in congratulations. “What an honor you are to the Boney legacy and what a role model you are for the profession. Effective leaders never set themselves above their friends and colleagues except when it comes to carrying responsibilities. Such leadership is both your inheritance and your gift to succeeding generations of architects you will inspire for years to come.”

An individual of extraordinary accomplishment
Boney’s AIA leadership roles date to 1990, when he was president of the AIA Wilmington Section. From 1993 to 1996 he held, in sequence, the AIA North Carolina offices of secretary, treasurer, vice president/president-elect, and president. During that time, he also served as chair of the national AIA Architecture for Education Committee and on the Long Range Planning Committee for AIA North Carolina, AIA South Regional Conference in Charlotte, N.C. (1996), and AIA North Carolina Political Action Committee (1998). Boney received his AIA Fellowship in 1999, and AIA North Carolina awarded him the Deitrick Service Medal in 2005.

On the national level he sat on the AIA Board representing the South Atlantic Region, the AIA/AGC Committee, and the AIA Government Affairs Committee and was the national chairman of the 2003 AIA Convention in San Diego. In 2004 he served on the AIA Executive Committee as vice president.

Boney earned his bachelor's degree in environmental design in architecture from North Carolina State University School of Design in 1977. He is licensed to practice architecture in North and South Carolina, Virginia, and Georgia.