2006 American Institute of Architects Gold Medal
Washington, D.C., December 8, 2005 — The Board of Directors of The American
Institute of Architects (AIA) is pleased to announce that architect Antoine
Predock, FAIA, is the recipient of the 2006 AIA Gold Medal. The AIA Gold
Medal, given annually, is the highest honor the AIA confers on an architect.
The Gold Medal honors an individual whose significant body of work has
had a lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture. The
award will be presented at the American Architectural Foundation Accent
on Architecture
Gala, February 10, 2006 at the National Building Museum in Washington,
D.C.
“I was thinking, is this happening? Am I dreaming?” said Predock
when notified by AIA president Douglas L Steidl, FAIA, MRAIC, that he
had been selected for the award. “I am deeply honored. In some ways
I feel like my career is just starting, this is the ultimate. Thank you
so much. I can really put the pedal to the medal now!”
Predock is the 62nd AIA Gold Medalist, joining the ranks of such visionaries
as Thomas Jefferson (1993), Frank Lloyd Wright (1949), Louis Sullivan
(1944), LeCorbusier (1961), Louis Kahn (1971), I.M. Pei (1979), Cesar
Pelli (1995) and last year’s recipient, Santiago Calatrava. In recognition
of his legacy to architecture, Predock’s name will be chiseled into
the granite Wall of Honor located in the lobby of the AIA headquarters
in Washington, DC.
In nominating Predock for the award, Thomas S. Howorth, FAIA, chairman,
AIA Committee on Design Gold Medal Committee, explained, “Arguably,
more than any American architect of any time, Antoine Predock has asserted
a personal and place-inspired vision of architecture with such passion
and conviction that his buildings have been universally embraced.”
Howorth continued, “Antoine Predock designs buildings that grow
out of their unique landscapes, creating, at the same time, symbols that
are fearlessly expressive and sincere, simultaneously complex and guileless.”
His approach to design is born out of his geographic surroundings, the
American West, an open desert full of history and expansive space. The
scale of Predock’s work ranges from the famed Turtle Creek house,
built in 1993 for bird enthusiasts along a prehistoric trail in Texas,
to a $285 million ballpark for the San Diego Padres that reinvents the
concept of a stadium as a “garden” rather than a sports complex.
His influence also reaches international sites, namely the new National
Palace Museum in Taiwan. Additionally, his masterful integration of contemporary
work in historical context, a skill for which he is well-known, is apparent
in his buildings at Stanford and Rice Universities.
Physical interaction with the land plays a vital role in his design process
and he is known for making the voices of his clients ring clearly throughout
the entire project. It has been said by many that Predock’s work joins
the “mind” of architecture with the “body,” and
embeds both with a sense of spirituality that connects the land, the space,
the client, and society together seamlessly.
Predock’s concentration of award-winning projects in the American
West and throughout the United States are a testament to his unique ability
to design highly contextual works. His list of national awards include:
the American Architecture Award, Pima Community College Learning Center,
Green Valley, AZ (2005); GSA Design Award, U. S. Federal Courthouse, El
Paso, TX (2004); the Tucker Architectural Awards, Shadow House, Santa
Fe, NM (2004); the AIA Western Mountain Region Honor Award, Robert Hoag
Rawlings Public Library, Pueblo, CO (2004); USITT, Spencer Theater for
the Performing Arts, Alto, NM (2004); and the AIA/New Mexico Honor Award,
Shadow House, Santa Fe, NM (2004).
Predock attended architecture school at the University of New Mexico and
graduated from Columbia University. Rather than trends or reactions, Predock’s
approaches to architectural design, such as listening to the land, building
with environmental sensitivity, and embracing all facets of a site’s
culture, have shaped his philosophy from the beginning of his career.
His spiritual connection to his work is credited as the reason that he
has been, and continues to be, a legendary American architect. He currently
practices from his home base just off historic Route 66.
For almost 150 years, members of The American Institute of Architects
have worked with each other and their communities to create more valuable,
healthy, secure, and sustainable buildings and cityscapes. AIA members
have access to the right people, knowledge, and tools to create better
design, and through such resources and access, they help clients and communities
make their visions real.
(This press release comes from the American Institute of Architects)
Press:
WASHINGTON POST
NEW YORK TIMES
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