The Board of Directors and the Strategic Council of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) are honoring Carol Ross Barney, FAIA, with the 2023 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.
Barney is being recognized for her pursuit of architecture that betters the daily life of all who interact with it through nearly five decades of work. Barney earned her Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Architecture degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. After obtaining her bachelor’s degree, she enlisted in the U.S. Peace Corps and was deployed to Costa Rica where she worked for the fledgling Costa Rica National Park Service.
After her stint in the Peace Corps and time at the architecture firm Holabird & Root, Barney founded her practice, Ross Barney Architects, in 1981 in her native Chicago. Two years later, she was a recipient of the Plym Traveling Fellowship from University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, an opportunity that would invigorate her work in the public realm for the rest of her career.
![Chicago Riverwalk by Carol Ross Barney AIA Gold Medal](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-14%20at%2012.05.39%20PM.png)
In 1997, Barney was tasked with finding hope in the face of overwhelming tragedy as the lead designer for the Oklahoma City Federal Building. The project marked the first time a woman architect had been selected to lead such a commission. The 185,000-square-foot building, completed in 2005, integrates the necessary security measures with respect for pedestrians and the surrounding city. Seemingly at odds with the 1995 bombing incident that destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, Barney’s u-shaped design is a far cry from an impregnable fortress.
For nearly two decades, Barney championed the movement to inject new life into the Chicago River. The resulting Chicago Riverwalk is a 1.25-mile stretch of civic space that stretches from Lake Michigan to several of the river’s confluences. The park references the repurposed infrastructure that defines it in an effort to create discrete rooms between the bridges that span the river. Featuring kayak tours, a wine bar, veterans memorial, and countless public programs, the project has brought positive energy to Chicago’s urban realm and stands as a model for cities rethinking their water resources.
While Barney’s philosophy is evident in her work, she has, for nearly 30 years, delivered it to a generation of architects as an adjunct professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology. The topics of the studio courses Barney leads have been closely related to her practice, from water transportation to mixed use development that spurs a light manufacturing renaissance. Barney has also mentored countless talented architects in her studio, many of whom have built their own successful practices, become university architects, or discovered new paths through the values Barney instilled in them.
![the mcdonald’s global flagship at walt disney world resort,](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-14%20at%2012.05.20%20PM.png)
An unrivaled architect for the people, Barney exudes design excellence, social responsibility, and generosity. Throughout all of her work, she has endeavored to make the world a better place, and, in doing so, made an indelible mark on the profession. Her pioneering approach and ethics are clear examples of the highest aspirations of architecture.
Barney’s work has been celebrated with more than 200 national and international awards, including two COTE Top Ten Awards, the 2005 AIA Award for Public Architecture, and AIA Illinois Firm Award and Gold Medal.
Related Stories
MFPRO+ News | May 28, 2024
ENERGY STAR NextGen Certification for New Homes and Apartments launched
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently launched ENERGY STAR NextGen Certified Homes and Apartments, a voluntary certification program for new residential buildings. The program will increase national energy and emissions savings by accelerating the building industry’s adoption of advanced, energy-efficient technologies, according to an EPA news release.
Women in Design+Construction | May 28, 2024
Commerce Department launches Million Women in Construction Community Pledge
The U.S. Department of Commerce launched its Million Women in Construction Community Pledge this month to boost the ranks of women in construction companies. Federal investments are creating a construction boom that is increasing job opportunities for construction and trade workers.
Laboratories | May 24, 2024
The Department of Energy breaks ground on the Princeton Plasma Innovation Center
In Princeton, N.J., the U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) has broken ground on the Princeton Plasma Innovation Center (PPIC), a state-of-the-art office and laboratory building. Designed and constructed by SmithGroup, the $109.7 million facility will provide space for research supporting PPPL’s expanded mission into microelectronics, quantum sensors and devices, and sustainability sciences.
MFPRO+ News | May 24, 2024
Austin, Texas, outlaws windowless bedrooms
Austin, Texas will no longer allow developers to build windowless bedrooms. For at least two decades, the city had permitted developers to build thousands of windowless bedrooms.
Resiliency | May 24, 2024
As temperatures underground rise, so do risks to commercial buildings
Heat created by underground structures is increasing the risk of damage to buildings, recent studies have found. Basements, train tunnels, sewers, and other underground systems are making the ground around them warmer, which causes soil, sand, clay and silt to shift, settle, contract, and expand.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | May 23, 2024
The Cincinnati Open will undergo a campus-wide renovation ahead of the expanded 2025 tournament
One of the longest-running tennis tournaments in the country, the Cincinnati Open will add a 2,000-seat stadium, new courts and player center, and more greenspace to create a park-like atmosphere.
Hospital Design Trends | May 23, 2024
The unique design needs of Critical Access Hospitals
BWBR healthcare principals Brad Krump, AIA, and Scott Kirchner, AIA, discuss their industry experience and passion for supporting the role that critical access hospitals play in their communities.
Mass Timber | May 22, 2024
3 mass timber architecture innovations
As mass timber construction evolves from the first decade of projects, we're finding an increasing variety of mass timber solutions. Here are three primary examples.
MFPRO+ News | May 21, 2024
Massachusetts governor launches advocacy group to push for more housing
Massachusetts’ Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll have taken the unusual step of setting up a nonprofit to advocate for pro-housing efforts at the local level. One Commonwealth Inc., will work to provide political and financial support for local housing initiatives, a key pillar of the governor’s agenda.
Building Tech | May 21, 2024
In a world first, load-bearing concrete walls built with a 3D printer
A Germany-based construction engineering company says it has constructed the world’s first load-bearing concrete walls built with a 3D printer. Züblin built a new warehouse from a single 3D print for Strabag Baumaschinentechnik International in Stuttgart, Germany using a Putzmeister 3D printer.