The Board of Directors of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) voted to posthumously award the 2017 AIA Gold Medal to Paul Revere Williams, FAIA, whose portfolio of nearly 3,000 buildings during his five-decade career was marked with a number of broken barriers. The Gold Medal honors an individual whose significant body of work has had a lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture. Williams’ legacy will be honored at the 2017 AIA National Convention in Orlando.
Williams, the first African-American architect to receive the AIA Gold Medal, was born in Los Angeles in 1894. He was orphaned by the age of four and was later raised by a foster mother who valued his education and encouraged his artistic development. Despite a high school teacher’s attempts to dissuade him from pursuing architecture for fear that he wouldn’t be able to pull clients from the predominantly white community while the black community would not sustain his practice, Williams persevered.
Williams garnered accolades in architectural competitions early in his career while developing tactics like rendering his drawings upside down so that his white clients could view his work from across the table rather than by sitting next to him. Williams was the first black architect to become a member of the AIA, and, later, the first black member to be inducted into the Institute’s College of Fellows. Williams opened his practice in the early 1920s when Southern California’s real estate market was booming. His early practice focused both on small, affordable houses for new homeowners and revival-style homes for his more affluent clients.
Williams’ practice expanded and among the 2,000 homes he designed included graceful private residences for legendary figures in business and entertainment such as Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Lon Chaney, Frank Sinatra, and Barron Hilton.
While Williams was more than comfortable with the historical styles endemic to Southern California, his fluency in modernism is reflected in the work outside of his residential practice. Among his number of schools, public buildings, and churches are American architectural landmarks, including the Palm Springs Tennis Center (1946) designed with A. Quincy Jones, the space age LAX Theme Building (1961) designed with William Pereira, Charles Luckman, and Welton Becket, and his 1949 renovation of the iconic Beverly Hills Hotel. Eight of Williams’ works have been named to the National Register of Historic Places.
Williams, who passed away in 1980 is the 73rd AIA Gold Medalist. In recognition of his legacy to architecture, Williams’ name will be chiseled into the granite Wall of Honor in the lobby of the AIA headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Related Stories
Projects | Apr 17, 2017
BD+C's 2017 Design Innovation Report
Façades that would make Dr. Seuss smile, living walls, and exterior wall space that doubles as gallery space are all represented in this year's BD+C Design Innovation Report.
Healthcare Facilities | Apr 13, 2017
The rise of human performance facilities
A new medical facility in Chicago focuses on sustaining its customers’ human performance.
Laboratories | Apr 13, 2017
How to design transformative scientific spaces? Put people first
While most labs are designed to achieve that basic functionality, a transformational lab environment prioritizes a science organization’s most valuable assets: its people.
Hotel Facilities | Apr 12, 2017
Hotels embrace place
Today’s hospitality environments emphasize unique, localized experiences to attract and engage guests.
Green | Apr 11, 2017
Passivhaus for high-rises? Research demonstrates viability of the stringent standards for tall residential buildings
A new study conducted by FXFOWLE shows that Building Teams can meet stringent Passivhaus performance standards with minimal impact to first cost and aesthetics.
Curtain Wall | Apr 11, 2017
Masters of geometry
Three firms that specialize in façades that curve, twist, and turn see themselves as artisans of the unthinkable.
Office Buildings | Apr 10, 2017
Innovation lab makes developing eye care solutions a collaborative affair
The Shop East innovation lab presents 13,500 sf of workspace across two floors with an emphasis on collaboration.
Architects | Apr 10, 2017
New Bjarke Ingels documentary gives a peek behind the curtain
The movie takes a slightly darker tone than previous projects chronicling the starchitect’s rise to prominence.
Architects | Apr 4, 2017
Architect Howard Elkus dies at 78
Cofounder of Elkus Manfredi Architects, his career spanned five decades, and included a spectrum of major design projects.
