The Board of Directors and the Strategic Council of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) are honoring Lord Richard Rogers, Hon. FAIA, with the 2019 Gold Medal.
The Gold Medal honors an individual whose significant body of work has had a lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture. Rogers is being recognized as his influence on the built environment has redefined an architect’s responsibilities to society.
Born in Florence, Italy, Rogers was trained as an architect in London at the Architectural Association School of Architecture and at Yale University. His outlook on the profession is as urbane as his early life and education. The Centre Pompidou was one of his earliest projects, which boasts themes that have become trademarks in his architecture since the mid-1960s. His work has been celebrated with nearly every major architectural honor, including the 1985 RIBA Royal Gold Medal, the 2007 Pritzker Architecture Prize, the 2006 and 2009 Stirling Prize and was named a Praemium Architecture Laureate by the Japan Art Association in 2000. In addition, Rogers was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1991 and sits as a Labour peer in the House of Lords.
Rogers, who is a founding principal at Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, tackles projects that continue to invigorate the environments they inhabit. His buildings are renowned for their detailing rigor, extreme flexibility and technology-driven sustainability. Echoing the firm’s six guiding ideals of context, public realm, legibility, flexibility, energy and teamwork, the melding of craft and social mission resonate within every project. Recent work, including the celebrated Terminal 4 at Madrid’s Barajas Airport and the recently completed 3 World Trade Center, display Rogers’ mastery of large urban buildings coupled with his brand of architectural expression. His projects engage the public and inspire occupants to consider how they perceive space.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
PCA partners with MIT on concrete research center
MIT today announced the creation of the Concrete Sustainability Hub, a research center established at MIT in collaboration with the Portland Cement Association (PCA) and Ready Mixed Concrete (RMC) Research & Education Foundation.
| Aug 11, 2010
Study explains the financial value of green commercial buildings
Green building may be booming, especially in the Northwest, but the claims made for high-performance buildings have been slow to gain traction in the financial community. Appraisers, lenders, investors and brokers have found it difficult to confirm the value of high-performance green features and related savings. A new study of office buildings identifies how high-performance green features and systems can increase the value of commercial buildings.
| Aug 11, 2010
Architecture Billings Index flat in May, according to AIA
After a slight decline in April, the Architecture Billings Index was up a tenth of a point to 42.9 in May. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. Any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings.
| Aug 11, 2010
Architecture Billings Index drops to lowest level since June
Another stall in the recovery for the construction industry as the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) dropped to its lowest level since June. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the August ABI rating was 41.7, down slightly from 43.1 in July. This score indicates a decline in demand for design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings).
| Aug 11, 2010
RTKL names Lance Josal president and CEO
Lance K. Josal FAIA has been named President and CEO of RTKL Associates Inc., the international planning, design and engineering firm. Josal succeeds RTKL’s current President and CEO, David C. Hudson AIA, who is retiring from the firm. The changes will take effect on 1 September 2009.
| Aug 11, 2010
Balfour Beatty agrees to acquire Parsons Brinckerhoff for $626 million
Balfour Beatty, the international engineering, construction, investment and services group, has agreed to acquire Parsons Brinckerhoff for $626 million. Balfour Beatty executives believe the merger will be a major step forward in accomplishing a number of Balfour Beatty’s objectives, including establishing a global professional services business of scale, creating a leading position in U.S. civil infrastructure, particularly in the transportation sector, and enhancing its global reach.
| Aug 11, 2010
Construction unemployment rises to 17.1% as another 64,000 construction workers are laid off in September
The national unemployment rate for the construction industry rose to 17.1 percent as another 64,000 construction workers lost their jobs in September, according to an analysis of new employment data released today. With 80 percent of layoffs occurring in nonresidential construction, Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America, said the decline in nonresidential construction has eclipsed housing’s problems.
| Aug 11, 2010
Billings at U.S. architecture firms exceeds $40 billion annually
In the three-year period leading up to the current recession, gross billings at U.S. architecture firms increased nearly $16 billion from 2005 and totaled $44.3 billion in 2008. This equates to 54 percent growth over the three-year period with annual growth of about 16 percent. These findings are from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Business of Architecture: AIA Survey Report on Firm Characteristics.
