The Gold Medal is the highest honor that the American Institute of Architects can bestow on an individual. It is conferred by the national AIA Board of Directors in recognition of a significant body of work of lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture.
Past Gold Medal Recipients

Submissions

2009 Gold Medal Submission Memo
2009 Gold Medal Submission Forms

The required number of photos and forms has doubled so nominators will be using two official binders per submission. All exhibits must be submitted in two AIA uniform binders, obtained by contacting AIA Honors and Awards, 202-626-7586.  


Eligibility

Any individual (not necessarily an American or an architect), living or dead, whom the Board believes qualified is eligible to receive the Gold Medal. No more than one such award shall be made in any year.

Nominations that are made by an AIA component, Knowledge Community, or a member of the Institute’s Board of Directors will be accepted for review by the Gold Medal/Firm Award Advisory Jury. The jury will also accept nominations by petition if a nominee receives signatures from either 5 Fellows or any 10 AIA members in good standing. Petition signers may not be a principal and/or employee of the nominee or the nominee’s firm.

Criteria

Candidates will be evaluated on how well they meet the program criteria as established by the Board, which may include:

• The candidate shall have evidenced great depth, having a cumulative effect on the profession of architecture.
• The candidate shall have evidenced great breadth, having influenced the direction/profession of architecture.
• The candidate shall be an individual whose contributions to the profession of architecture have consistently been directed toward the future as well as respectful of the past.
• The candidate shall have evidenced the ability to transcend specific areas of expertise or shall have made connections between areas, in the event that the candidate's areas of focus might be considered circumscribed.
• The candidate shall be widely known by the quality of his or her products: by those who practice architecture, by those who teach architecture, and by those who perhaps do neither.

Jury

Edward J. Vidlak, AIA, Omaha (Chair)
LEO A DALY

Thomas B. Braham, AIA, Chicago
Gensler

Andrea Cohen Gehring, FAIA, Santa Monica, Calif.
WWCOT

Michael Graves, FAIA, Princeton, N.J.
Michael Graves & Associates

Gerald Hines, AIA, Bethesda, Md.
National Institutes of Health

Michael Johnson, Assoc. AIA, San Francisco
Em Johnson Interest Inc.

Sharon C. Park, FAIA, Washington D.C.
Smithsonian Institution

Jane Weinzapfel, FAIA, Boston
Leers Weinzapfel Associates Architects Inc.

Contact:
Helen Looney
202.626.7586
honorsawards@aia.org
1735 New York Avenue, NW
Washington DC

Sponsoring Organization:
The American Institute of Architects