School of Architecture Faculty Receive Five AIA Arizona 2021 Design Awards

Nov. 23, 2021
Who
Robert Miller, Brad Lang, Oscar Lopez, Claudia Kappl-Joy and Judith Chafee
What
2021 AIA Arizona Design Awards
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2021 AIA Arizona Awards Gala

The 2021 AIA Arizona Awards Gala reception. Photo courtesy AIA Arizona.

School of Architecture faculty members in the College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture at the University of Arizona have been honored with multiple awards by the Arizona chapter of the American Institute of Architects once again. One former and four current faculty members were celebrated during the AIA Arizona Awards Gala held November 12, 2021 at the Phoenix Art Museum.

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Robert Miller

Robert Miller, Director, School of Architecture.

The 2021 AIA Arizona Design Awards recognize excellence in architectural projects and practices in Arizona in the categories of Design, Leadership, Practice, Performance and Education. Their intent is to honor exceptional work (both built and unbuilt) and established practices of excellence as well as to nurture new values and activities that contribute to design and design appreciation, according to AIA Arizona leadership.

For the second year in a row, School of Architecture Director Robert Miller received a top honor by AIA Arizona. Last year, Miller received the Architects Medal, given to members who have advanced the profession of architecture, recognizing their outstanding professional achievements and their sense of social responsibility. This year, Miller received the Chairman’s Award.

“I have been exceedingly fortunate to have worked with some of the best architects in the state in service to our profession,” says Miller. “As is often the case, the service has been its own reward. My sincere gratitude to the Arizona College of Fellows for this recognition.”
 

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Brad Lang and Roy Hawthorne

Brad Lang on site with Roy Hawthorne, Navajo Code Talker Association Vice President and studio liaison. Photo courtesy Brad Lang.

 
Brad Lang
, lecturer in architecture, was awarded the Design Pedagogy Award for his leadership of a studio to design a Navajo Code Talkers Museum and Veterans Center. The award is given for teaching and/or pedagogical excellence in a course, studio, project or other education program. This is the second time Lang has won the Design Pedagogy Award in the last five years. In 2016, he won the award with Michael Kothke, associate professor of practice in architecture, for their work on CAPLA studio projects.
 

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Why I Love Where I Live inteiror

Interior of the Why I Love Where I Live retail store, designed by s p a c e BUREAU. Photo courtesy Oscar Lopez.

 
Senior Lecturer in Architecture Oscar Lopez and Mihir Bavishi of s p a c e BUREAU won this year’s only Interior Award, a Merit designation. The retail store Why I Love Where I Live in Tucson was chosen for its significant achievements in planning, conception, design and execution, exhibiting values esteemed by the Arizona School: sense of place, ecological stewardship, materiality and design quality.
 

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Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art

Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, lighting by CLL. Photo courtesy Claudia Kappl-Joy.

 
Architecture Lecturer Claudia Kappl-Joy and her firm CLL - Concept Lighting Lab won the Consultant Award. This honor is bestowed upon consulting individuals or firms that make a significant contribution to the development and realization of good design through innovation, technology, teamwork and dedication to improving the quality of the built environment.
 

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Ramada House

Ramada House, designed by Judith Chafee. Photo by Bill Timmerman.

 
AIA Arizona’s 25-Year Award is given to a distinguished work of architecture whose aesthetic statement, craft and relevance have endured for 25 or more years, thus withstanding the test of time. This year, the honor was awarded to Judith Chafee for Ramada House. Chafee, who passed away in 1998, “defined her path in architecture as an unrepentant modernist, environmental steward, social justice advocate and demanding University of Arizona professor of architecture,” says Christopher Domin, an associate professor of architecture and author, with Kathryn McGuire, of Powerhouse: The Life and Work of Judith Chafee. McGuire studied under Chafee at UArizona.

View all 2021 AIA Design Award winners or learn more about the eight AIA Arizona and AIA Southern Arizona awards won by CAPLA faculty in 2020.

  

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