Acadia logo bug

Awards


ACADIA Awards of Excellence

Inaugurated in 1998, the ACADIA Awards of Excellence represent recognition, by colleagues worldwide, of consistent contributions and impact on the field of architectural computing.

Through 2005, awards were given in three categories: Teaching, Service, and Research. In 2006 an award was added in Emerging Digital Practice and the prior three were renamed as Teaching Excellence, Innovative Research, and Society. In 2007, an additional award for an innovative academic program was added to recognize individual or collective efforts in the establishment of an innovative academic program that contributes to the education of students in the field of digital design.

At most one award is presented each year in each category, to an individual or academic program that, in the eyes of the review committee, exhibits "evidence of exceptional and innovative achievement."

Categories

  • ACADIA Digital Practice Award of Excellence

  • This award recognizes creative design work that advances the discipline of architecture through development and use of digital media.

  • ACADIA Innovative Research Award of Excellence

  • This award recognizes innovative research that contributes to the field of digital design in architecture. The award distinguishes research with the potential to transform contemporary architecture.

  • ACADIA Innovative Academic Program Award of Excellence

  • This award recognizes an innovative academic program that contributes to the education of students in the field of digital design. The award distinguishes one or more individuals responsible for the establishment, success, growth, or management of the academic program.

  • ACADIA Teaching Award of Excellence

  • This award recognizes innovative teaching in the field of digital design in architecture. Teaching approaches that can be adopted by other educators are recognized in particular.

  • ACADIA Society Award for Leadership

  • This award recognizes extraordinary contributions and service to the ACADIA community.

    Grants

    The ACADIA Board of Directors is actively working on developing a Grant opportunities for our members. Please check back soon for more information on our grants.

    Scholarships

    Each year ACADIA awards several scholarships to students who have had papers accepted at the annual conference to help enable them to attend and present their research. For more information on the scholarship application process, please email the ACADIA membership officer at membership@acadia.org

    Current Recipients

    Year Award Title Name Affiliation
    2023 Design Excellence Award Odile Decq Studio Odile Decq and Confluence Institute for Innovation and Creative Strategies in Architecture
    2023 Innovative Research Award of Excellence Joseph Choma Director and Professor, Florida Atlantic University School of Architecture
    2023 Teaching Award of Excellence Terry Knight William and Emma Rogers Professor of Design and Computation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    2023 Digital Practice Award of Excellence NADAAA Nader Tehrani, Principal
    2023 Society Award for Leadership Kathy Velikov Professor and Associate Dean for Research and Creative Practice, University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning and Co-Founder rvtr

    Past Recipients of the ACADIA Awards of Excellence

    Year Award Title Name Affiliation
    2022 Design Excellence Award Höweler + Yoon Höweler + Yoon Architects, Harvard Graduate School of Design + Cornell College of Architecture, Art, and Planning
    Teaching Award of Excellence Rajaa Issa Robert McNeel and Associates, Adjunct Professor, NewSchool of Architecture and Design
    Innovative Research Award of Excellence Felecia Ann Davis Associate Professor, The Pennsylvania State University and Director of SOFTLAB, Stuckeman Center for Design and Computation
    Society Award for Leadership Jason Kelly Johnson FUTUREFORMS and Professor, California College of the Arts
    2021 Lifetime Achievement Award Wolf dPrix Co-founder, CEO, and Design Principal, Coop Himmelb(l)au
    Digital Practice Award of Excellence Alvin Huang Associate Professor and Director of Graduate and Post-Professional Architecture, USC and Founder of Principal of Synthesis Design + Architecture
    Innovative Research Award of Excellence Caitlin Mueller Associate Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Society Award for Leadership Brian Slocum Founder of tresRobots and Adjunct Professor, Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City
    Teaching Award of Excellence Axel Kilian Visiting Assistant Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    2020 Digital Practice Award of Excellence Nervous System Jessica Rosenkrantz and Jesse Louis-Rosenberg, Founders
    Innovative Academic Program Award of Excellence DigitalFUTURES Program, Tongji University Represented by Co-Organizers Philip F. Yuan, Professor at Tongji University and Founder of Archi-Union Architects, and Neil Leach, Professor at Tongji University, FIU, and EGS
    Innovative Research Award of Excellence Sean Ahlquist Associate Professor, University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning
    Society Award for Leadership Mike Christenson Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, University of Minnesota
    Teaching Award of Excellence Jane Burry Professor and Dean, School of Design, Swinburne University
    2019 Digital Practice Award of Excellence Roland Snooks Studio Roland Snooks / RMIT University in the School of Architecture and Urban Design
    Innovative Academic Program Award of Excellence Master of Science in Digital and Material - accepted by Catie Newell University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning
    Innovative Research Award of Excellence Jose Sanchez USC School of Architecture / Plethora Project
    Society Award for Leadership Chris Yessios The Ohio State University / AutoDesSys, Inc.
    Teaching Award of Excellence Dana Cupkova Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture / EPIPHYTE Lab
    2018 Digital Practice Award of Excellence Jenny Wu and Dwayne Oyler Oyler Wu Collaborative
    Innovative Academic Program Award of Excellence Institute of Advanced Architecture Catalonia - accepted by Areti Markopoulou Institute of Advanced Architecture Catalonia
    Innovative Research Award of Excellence Madeline Gannon NVIDIA Robotics
    Society Award for Leadership Sigrid Brell-Cokcan and Johannes Braumann Association for Robots in Architecture
    Teaching Award of Excellence Mónica Ponce de León Princeton University School of Architecture
    2017 Design Excellence Award Thomas Heatherwick Heatherwick Studio
    Digital Practice Award of Excellence Lisa Iwamoto and Craig Scott IwamotoScott Architecture / UC Berkeley / California College of the Arts
    Innovative Academic Program Award of Excellence B-Pro Program Bartlett School of Architecture
    Innovative Research Award of Excellence Wesley McGee University of Michigan / Matter Design
    Society Award for Leadership Bob Martens TU Wien
    Teaching Award of Excellence Heather Roberge UCLA
    2016 Lifetime Achievement Award Elizabeth Diller Diller, Scofidio and Renfro / Princeton University
    Digital Practice Award of Excellence Ron Rael and Virginia San Fratello Emerging Objects / UC Berkeley / San Jose State
    Innovative Academic Program Award of Excellence Centre for Information Technology and Architecture (CITA) - Accepted by Mette Ramsgaard Thomsen The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts
    Innovative Research Award of Excellence Andrew Payne Autodesk
    Society Award for Leadership Chuck Eastman Georgia Tech
    Teaching Award of Excellence J. Meejin Yoon MIT
    2015 Digital Practice Award of Excellence KieranTimberlake KieranTimberlake
    Innovative Academic Program Award of Excellence Institute for Computational Design (ICD) - Accepted by Achim Menges University of Stuttgart
    Innovative Research Award of Excellence Skylar Tibbits Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Society Award for Leadership Branko Kolarevic University of Calgary
    Teaching Award of Excellence Andrew Kudless California College of the Arts / Matsys
    2014 Lifetime Achievement Award Zaha Hadid Zaha Hadid Architects
    Digital Practice Award of Excellence Jenny Sabin Jenny Sabin Studio
    Innovative Academic Program Award of Excellence Columbia Building Intelligence Project (CBIP) - Accepted by Scott Marble Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation
    Innovative Research Award of Excellence Martin Bechtold Harvard University Graduate School of Design
    Society Award for Leadership Nancy Cheng University of Oregon
    Teaching Award of Excellence Neil Gershenfeld Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    2013 Digital Practice Award of Excellence Cecil Balmond Balmond Studio
    Innovative Academic Program Award of Excellence AADRL Design Research Laboratory - Accepted by Brett Steele and Theodore Sypropoulos The Architectural Asssociation (London)
    Innovative Research Award of Excellence Elena Manferdini Atelier Manferdini / SCI-Arc
    Society Award for Leadership Mahesh Daas Ball State University
    Teaching Award of Excellence Greg Lynn University of California, Los Angeles / Greg Lynn FORM
    2012 Digital Practice Award of Excellence Gehry Technologies - Accepted by Dennis Shelden Gehry Technologies
    Innovative Academic Program Award of Excellence Center for Architecture Science and Ecology (CASE) - Accepted by Anna Dyson Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute / Skidmore Owings and Merrill
    Innovative Research Award of Excellence David Rutten Robert McNeel and Associates
    Innovative Research Award of Excellence Lira Nikolovska Autodesk
    2011 Digital Practice Award of Excellence Phillip Beesley Phillip Beesley Architect / University of Waterloo
    Innovative Research Award of Excellence Ellen Do Georgia Institute of Technology
    Teaching Award of Excellence John Frazer Queensland University of Technology
    2010 Innovative Research Award of Excellence Kostas Terzidis Harvard University Graduate School of Design
    Society Award for Leadership Brian Johnson University of Washington
    Teaching Award of Excellence Robert J. Krawczyk Illinois Institute of Technology
    2009 Digital Practice Award of Excellence Fabio Gramazio and Matthias Kohler Gramazio Kohler Architects
    Innovative Research Award of Excellence Paul Coates School of Architecture and the Visual Arts, University of East London
    Society Award for Leadership Tom Seebohm School of Architecture, University of Waterloo
    Teaching Award of Excellence Mark D. Gross School of Architecture, Carnegie Mellon University
    2008 Digital Practice Award of Excellence Fabian Scheurer Design to Production
    Innovative Academic Program Award of Excellence AA Emergent Technologies and Design - Accepted by Michael Weinstock The Architectural Association (London)
    Innovative Research Award of Excellence Robert Woodbury Simon Fraser University
    Society Award for Leadership Tom Maver Mackintosh School of Architecture
    2007 Digital Practice Award of Excellence Achim Menges The Architectural Association (London)
    Innovative Research Award of Excellence Branko Kolarevic University of Calgary
    2006 Digital Practice Award of Excellence Evan Douglis Evan Douglis Studio
    Innovative Research Award of Excellence Mark Burry RMIT University
    Society Award for Leadership Robert Aish Bentley Microsystems
    Teaching Award of Excellence Julio Bermudez University of Utah

    2012 ACADIA Awards of Excellence Recipients

    CATEGORY: INNOVATIVE RESEARCH AWARDS

    RECIPIENT: Lira Nikolovska (AutoDesk)

    This award recognizes innovative research that contributes to the field of digital design in architecture. The award distinguishes research with the potential to transform contemporary architecture.

    The selection of Lira Nikolovska for the award in Innovative Research recognizes her pioneering work in developing next-generation parametric tools in the context of ever-shifting design practice, user interactions, design processes and pedagogical trajectories. Lira is a Principal Designer and User Experience Architect at Autodesk, Inc. Her current research and design work include leading and crafting the vision for next generation digital tools in the context of user experience with BIM and parametric environments.

    Ms. Nikolovska has a PhD in Design Computation from MIT. Her research interests are at the nexus of architecture, furniture, interaction and pervasive computing. Her work probes and challenges how social situations are restructured in the context of technology, which has subsequently impacted her current work in the realm of computational tool making and user experience. Her interests and work at the socio-cultural and ethical levels of digital tool-making are timely, relevant, and important. She curated the Design and Computation galleries in 2008 at SIGGRAPH and was chair of SimAUD this past year. Lira has taught at RISD and was a Senior Interaction Designer at Philips Design.

    Lira

    CATEGORY: INNOVATIVE RESEARCH AWARDS

    RECIPIENT: David Rutten (McNeel)

    The selection of David Rutten for the award in Innovative Research recognizes his profound impact to architecture and computation as the developer of the Logical Modeling plug-in, Grasshopper, for the Rhinoceros 3D CAD application. Grasshopper has been pivotal to the transformation of parametric design practices over the past five-plus years.

    The Grasshopper environment is notable for empowering its users to generate behaviors and associations in digital models without the need to know conventional scripting techniques. Through the creation of this program, as well as Galapagos, he has made parametric design and system optimization easily accessible, and usable, to thousands of academics and practitioners. Mr. Rutten is known among his peers for being remarkably generous with his time. He provides continuous assistance to Grasshopper users through his tireless involvement on the Grasshopper blog and has remained actively supportive of the ACADIA community for many years.

    Rutten

    CATEGORY: EXCELLENCE IN DIGITAL PRACTICE AWARD

    RECIPIENT: Gehry Technologies (representative - Dennis Shelden)

    This award recognizes creative design work that advances the discipline of architecture through development and use of digital media.

    The selection of Gehry Technologies for the award in Excellence in digital practice recognizes their work in developing digital technologies and providing design and project management technology and consulting services to leading owners, developers, architects, engineers, general contractors, fabricators, and other building industry professionals worldwide. GT solutions increase creativity and control; reduce project risks, costs, and completion times; and improve processes and decisions through collaboration, project visibility, and information access. GT is privately held, with offices in Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Mexico City, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing.

    John holds the Chair of Design Science at Queensland University of Technology where he is in both the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Engineering and where previously he was the Head of the School of Design. He trained as an architect at the independent Architectural Association in London and started his career as a lecturer at Cambridge University and the Architectural Association. He was Head of School and Professor at the University of Ulster before moving to the Hong Kong Polytechnic University where he was Swire Chair Professor and Head of School of Design. He was then appointed as International Research Co-ordinator for the Gehry Technologies Digital Practice Ecosystem. He holds honorary Professorships from the Universities of Dalian, Fudan and Shandong in China as well as being a Visiting Professor at the Universities of Salford and Brighton. He is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a Fellow the Chartered Society of Designers.

    Sheldon

    CATEGORY: INNOVATIVE ACADEMIC PROGRAM

    RECIPIENT: C.A.S.E. (Center for Architecture, Science and Ecology, RPI / SOM | representative - Anna Dyson)

    This award recognizes an innovative academic program that contributes to the education of students in the field of digital design. The award distinguishes one or more individuals responsible for the establishment, success, growth, or management of the academic program.

    The selection of C.A.S.E. for the award of Innovative Academic Program recognizes their efforts in bridging diverse worlds by proposing a new collaborative model for building research that unites interdisciplinary academic research with building and development practices. Co-located on the Rensselaer campus and in lower Manhattan, CASE unites advanced architectural and engineering practices with scientific research through a unique and intensive collaboration between multiple institutions, manufacturers and professional offices within the building industry. By bringing together ambitious building design professionals with research faculty and advanced students dedicated to the exploration of emerging building technologies, the research center is pushing the boundaries of environmental performance in urban building systems.

    Ms. Dyson is the founding Director of CASE (2007-present). She teaches design, technology, and theory at the School of Architecture at Rensselaer. She has worked as a design architect and product designer in several offices in Canada, Europe, and the United States. Her work has been exhibited in the MoMA YoungArchitects Series, and was a finalist in the international Next Generation Design Competition.

    This year’s ACADIA Awards Committee consisted of: Marc Swackhamer (Chair), Susannah Dickinson, Michael Fox, Jenny Sabin.

    Dyson

    Past Recipients

    2011 Recipients

    2011 ACADIA AWARD FOR EMERGING DIGTIAL PRACTICE
    Philip Beesley
    Professor University of Waterloo

    This award recognizes creative design work that advances the discipline of architecture through development and use of digital media. The award honors extraordinary individuals at the beginning of their careers.

    Phillip Beesley’s architecture, sculpture and design practice presents a rich body of digitally enabled work that goes well beyond digital technique to digital enablement of practice. His projects feature interactive kinetic systems that use dense arrays of microprocessors, sensors and actuator systems arranged within lightweight ‘textile’ structures. These environments pursue distributed emotional consciousness within synthetic and near-living systems. His mesmerizing exhibit, “Hylozoic Ground” transformed the Canadian Pavilion at the 2010 Venice Biennale with an environment made of tens of thousands of digitally-fabricated components fitted with meshed microprocessors and sensors.

    Phillip’s work is widely published and exhibited, and has been distinguished by awards including VIDA 11.0 and FEIDAD, and by the Prix de Rome in Architecture (Canada). He was educated in visual art at Queen’s University, in technology at Humber College, and in architecture at the University of Toronto. He is currently a professor in the School of Architecture, University of Waterloo. Phillip has consistently involved students in his professional work. Many have been gifted with an accelerated start to their careers through Philip's graceful guidance. In addition we are fortunate to note that Philip has been a leader in the ACADIA community for several years.

    2011 ACADIA AWARD FOR INNOVATIVE RESEARCH
    Ellen Do
    Associate Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology

    This award recognizes innovative research that contributes to the field of digital design in architecture. The award distinguishes research with the potential to transform contemporary architecture.

    Ellen Yi-Luen Do has been creating design tools that incorporate user needs since the mid-90's, connecting design thinking and cutting edge technology. Her work engages designers, programmers and interdisciplinary partners in creating new interfaces that feel natural. Her research comes from careful observation, insightful analysis, a can-do attitude and a persistence that allows her work to reach the highest standards of excellence. Her careful analysis of conceptual sketching in architectural design allowed her to translate specific sketch actions into computer input for tools such as the Electronic Cocktail Napkin. The initial program spawned a whole set of prototype applications (such as 2D glyph recognition for database retrieval, 3D annotation, 3D modeling) which proved that sketch input could be a natural, viable way to design with computers.

    Ellen smoothly transitioned from sketching applications to gesture-based computing and tactile interfaces. Her teams have been agile at incorporating motion detectors and cameras into design tools and healthcare applications. She has effectively worked with inter-disciplinary teams to make environments for improved patient outcomes.

    Ellen is an associate professor in the College of Architecture, and the College of Computing, at Georgia Institute of Technology. Before joining Georgia Tech in 2006, Ellen co-directed the Computational Design Laboratory CoDe Lab at Carnegie Mellon University. and the Design Machine Group at University of Washington. Prior to UW, Ellen worked at University of Colorado at Boulder (94-99) as a researcher and instructor for the Sundance Lab for Computing in Design and Planning.

    2011 TEACHING EXCELLENCE
    John Frazer
    Professor and Chair of Design Science, Queensland University of Technology

    This award recognizes innovative teaching in the field of digital architecture. Teaching approaches that can be adopted by other educators are recognized in particular.

    Professor John Hamilton Frazer is a pioneer of the use of computers in architecture specifically with the development of intelligent and interactive building design systems and evolutionary design computation. He created of one of the first tangible construction kits for creating virtual models, and has been an inspiration for much work in our field. His work has been instrumental in developing many methodologies that are used today. His first book, An Evolutionary Architecture, published in1995, documents his early teaching at the AA in London and is regarded as the seminal work in the field.

    John holds the Chair of Design Science at Queensland University of Technology where he is in both the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Engineering and where previously he was the Head of the School of Design. He trained as an architect at the independent Architectural Association in London and started his career as a lecturer at Cambridge University and the Architectural Association. He was Head of School and Professor at the University of Ulster before moving to the Hong Kong Polytechnic University where he was Swire Chair Professor and Head of School of Design. He was then appointed as International Research Co-ordinator for the Gehry Technologies Digital Practice Ecosystem. He holds honorary Professorships from the Universities of Dalian, Fudan and Shandong in China as well as being a Visiting Professor at the Universities of Salford and Brighton. He is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a Fellow the Chartered Society of Designers.

    2010 Recipients

    2010 ACADIA AWARD FOR INNOVATIVE RESEARCH
    Kostas Terzidis
    Graduate School of Design, Harvard University

    The selection of Kostas Terzidis for the award in Innovative Research recognizes his contribution to research in design computation and the use of computation for expressive form. As a professional computer programmer he is the author of many computer applications on form-making, morphing, virtual reality, and self- organization. His most recent work is in the development of theories and techniques for using permutations in architecture. He is the author of three books: His first book Expressive Form: A Conceptual Approach to Computational Design, published by London-based Spon Press (2003), offers a unique perspective on the use of computation as it relates to aesthetics, specifically in architecture and design. His second book, Algorithmic Architecture (Architectural Press/Elsevier, 2006), provides an ontological investigation into the terms, concepts, and processes of algorithmic architecture and provides a theoretical framework for design implementations. His third book, Algorithms for Visual Design Using the Processing Language (Wiley, 2009) provides students, programmers, and researchers the technical, theoretical, and design means to develop computer code that will allow them to experiment with design problems.

    Kostas Terzidis is an Associate Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He teaches courses in Kinetic Architecture, Algorithmic Architecture, Permutation Design, and Design Research Methods. Kostas is the head of research and development at THE MEME, a user-experience design company based in Cambridge MA. His research work at the company focuses on language syntax analysis for the purpose of automated storytelling.


    2010 ACADIA AWARD FOR TEACHING EXCELLENCE
    Robert J. Krawczyk
    College of Architecture, Illinois Institute of Technology

    The selection of Robert J. Krawczyk for the award in Teaching Excellence recognizes his 28 years of teaching at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) with a focus on digital craftsmanship. He has developed and taught a series of digital design courses covering 2D and 3D CAD, image composition, animation, and form generation methods. These courses became the preparation for a course that could introduce algorithmic methods in architectural design. The Digital Form Generation/Algorithmic Design course has first taught in the Fall of 1995 and continues today. Its concepts have been the basis of over 20 conference papers and presentations; two PhD and one Master's thesis research. It has also been the basis for exhibited artwork and architectural studies since 1999. In 2009 Princeton Architectural Press published the contents of the course as The Codewriting Workbook: Creating Computational Architecture in AutoLISP.

    Robert is an Associate Professor, an advisor in the PhD and Master's programs and currently serves as Director of the Undergraduate Program. He has mentored many students whose letters of support for his nomination indicated the positive and lasting influence he has had on their education.


    2010 ACADIA SOCIETY AWARD
    Brian Johnson
    Department of Architecture, University of Washington

    The selection of Brian Johnson for the Society Award recognizes Brian's long term service to ACADIA. As an all-volunteer organization, it relies on its members to help steer, maintain and expand its mission. Brian Johnson exemplifies what it means to be a committed ACADIAN. He has set the bar very high and serves a model for other to follow. Brian began his association with the organization by attending its first workshop at RPI in 1984. Thereafter he has served on and off on the Steering committee starting in 1990 until 2008. He is a past ACADIA president serving from 1999-2000 and Site Coordinator for ACADIA'95 in Seattle. In addition, Brian has served as ACADIA's webmaster for most of the last decade, as webmaster for the ACADIA Online Competition in 1998 and as CAMEO 2.0 development lead and administrator. He was awarded the 2002 ACADIA Award for Excellence in Research. He remains an active member and "history consultant" of ACADIA.

    Brian Johnson is an associate professor in the Department of Architecture. His interests include developing computer supported collaborative work (CSCW) tools for small groups, constructing better digital support systems for design decision making in both co-located and distributed situations, assessing the impact of digital technologies on architectural space, and assembling an outstanding design-computing curriculum.

    2009 Recipients

    2009 AWARD FOR EMERGING DIGITAL PRACTICE
    Fabio Gramazio and Matthias Kohler
    Gramazio-Kohler, Architecture and Digital Fabrication, Zurich, Switzerland

    ACADIA recognizes Fabio Gramazio and Matthias Kohler for their innovative work on "digital materiality," the interconnection of data and material and the resulting implications on architectural design. Their award-winning Zurich practice, which combines the expertise of architects, craftsmen, physicists and computer programmers, pushes the boundaries of digital fabrication.


    2009 AWARD FOR INNOVATIVE RESEARCH
    Paul Coates
    School of Architecture and the Visual Arts, University of East London, London, UK

    The selection of Paul Coates for this award recognizes his influence on the field of Computation in Architecture since the 1970s. Coates's early interests lay within the combination of cybernetics and the structure and growth of unplanned settlements. In the late 1970 Coates developed the first Space Syntax applications with Bill Hillier and John Peponis at the University College London. Coates is particularly well known for his forays into Genetic Programming, L-systems and 3D Cellular Automata. In 2004 Coates set up the Centre for Evolutionary Computing in Architecture with Christian Derix at the University of East London, where research also includes implementation of research into live projects with large UK based architectural companies.


    2009 AWARD FOR TEACHING EXCELLENCE
    Mark D. Gross
    School of Architecture, Carnegie Mellon University

    Mark Gross's commitment to teaching as mentoring is evidenced by his long and substantial record of papers co-authored with students. Together with longtime collaborator and research partner Ellen Yi-Luen Do, Gross has co-authored papers with students and assisted these students in bringing their work to the attention of national and international audiences. Gross's recent work on Modular Robotics is pioneering a potentially profound new direction in the application of architectural computation


    2009 ACADIA SOCIETY AWARD
    Tom Seebohm
    School of Architecture, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

    This award recognizes Thomas Seebohm posthumously for his positive spirit of collaborative inquiry. Thomas brought an openness to others as he saw "collaboration as a wellspring for creative design". He inspired his peers through his appreciation of historical, cultural and aesthetic aspects as well as the technical innovations behind new architectural representations. He wanted us to incorporate the human spirit in our digital dreams. His spirit lives on in those who knew him.

    2008 Recipients

    2008 AWARD FOR EMERGING DIGITAL PRACTICE
    Fabian Scheurer
    Design to Production

    Fabian Scheurer is a computer scientist with Design to Production, an interdisciplinary consultancy for the digital production of complex architectural designs based in Zurich.


    2008 AWARD FOR INNOVATIVE RESEARCH
    Robert Woodbury
    Simon Fraser University

    Dr. Woodbury was the founding Chair of the Graduate Program in the School of Interactive Arts and Technology at SFU and a founding member of the Master of Digital Media program jointly offered by four Vancouver institutions.


    2008 AWARD FOR INNOVATIVE ACADEMIC PROGRAM
    Michael Weinstock
    Architectural Association

    Professor Weinstock is the Academic Head of the Architectural Association, London, and co-director of AA's Emergent Technologies program.


    2008 SOCIETY AWARD
    Tom Maver
    Mackintosh School of Architecture

    Professor Maver is currently Research Professor in the Mackintosh School of Architecture at the Glasgow School of Architecture and is an Emeritus Professor of the University of Strathclyde.

    2007 Recipients

    2007 AWARD FOR EMERGING DIGITAL PRACTICE
    Achim Menges

    The Awards Committee recognizes professor Menges, for his innovative design and pioneering research into evolutionary computing and parametric design. In particular the Awards committee has noted that in his emerging practice professor Menges has been able to synthesize his theoretical and academic endeavors, developing a series of small but critical projects and installations. His work has become an important reference in the design and computing community.


    2007 AWARD FOR INNOVATIVE RESEARCH
    Branko Kolarevic

    This distinction testifies to the lasting contributions professor Kolarevic has made to the substance of contemporary architecture and to his outstanding ability to synthesize and clearly delineate various architectural research programs.

    2006 Recipients

    2006 AWARD FOR EMERGING DIGITAL PRACTICE
    Evan Douglis

    This award is conferred to creative design work that advances the discipline of architecture through the development and use of digital media. Evan Douglis has been widely recognized for his innovative design and pioneering research into self-generative techniques and fabrication methods. In particular the Award committee has noted that Evan in his emerging practice has been able to synthesize his theoretical and academic endeavors developing a series of small but critical projects and installations. The Awards Committee has found Evan Douglis projects, made under the pragmatics of practice, provide an exemplary route for an emerging generation of designers that are engaged in the implementation self-generative techniques and fabrication processes in design. His work has become an important reference in the design and computing community. Douglis work has been widely published in periodicals such as: Frame, Architectural Design, NY Magazine, Domus, Metropolis, Dialogue, A+U, Space, and 32. He has received numerous awards and recognitions for his design work including the FEIDAD merit award in 2006, Architectural Record Design Vanguard 2005, Emerging Voices of the Architectural League 1999. He is currently the chair of Undergraduate Studies at Pratt Institute and a frequent lecturer, visiting professor and guest juror at many institutions including Sci-Arc, Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, Columbia University, Huebi Institute of Fine arts, Tulane University, and others.


    2006 AWARD FOR INNOVATIVE RESEARCH
    Mark Burry
    RMIT

    This award recognizes innovative research that contributes to the field of digital design in architecture. It is presented to Mark Burry in recognition for his years of research into the area of spatial information architecture as Professor of Innovation at RMIT. In particular the Committee would like to distinguish Mr. Burrys outstanding ability to integrate collaborations between education, practice and industry in the realm of architectural research. Mr. Burry has provided a model for how architectural research can advance through dedicated and persistent explorations. The Awards Committee is pleased to present this award on behalf of ACADIA, as well as the entire field of Architecture, for the outstanding inspiration Mr. Burry has provided.


    2006 AWARD FOR TEACHING EXCELLENCE
    Julio Bermudez
    University of Utah

    This award recognizes distinguished contributions to pedagogy related to the digital practice of architecture. Julio Bermudez, who is currently Associate Professor of Architecture at the University of Utah, has had a long productive teaching career characterized by his passion, dedication, and sensibility to investigate with his students a timeless architecture. Bermudez has written extensively on the design studio, foundational education in architecture, has promoted the idea of interdisciplinary data representation practices, interdisciplinary approaches to design, interface between the digital and the physical, and hybrid representation media: analog and digital. In collaboration with colleagues has presented the Analog-Digital workshop at schools of architecture in the United Sates, Chile and Argentina. Bermudez has conducted interdisciplinary work on medicine, finance, and computer science among others; his work has been exhibited widely, he has been actively involved with organizations dealing with computing internationally, has lectured at many universities, and presented his work at conferences hosted by organizations in many disciplines other than architecture. The Awards Committee considers Bermudezs trajectory and contributions are of tremendous significance to a mature architectural digital pedagogy.


    2006 SOCIETY AWARD
    Robert Aish
    Bentley Microsystems

    This award recognizes extraordinary contributions and service to the ACADIA community. Robert Aish is a founding member of the SmartGeometry group an "Educational Charity" which examines the geometric relationships in architecture and places Computer Aided Design as the central agent for examining those relationships. The Awards Committee considers Aishs workshops at ACADIA and academic institutions have served spark the field of generative systems, and has proven influential in the current discourse of computing in architecture. The groundbreaking research of SmartGeometry Group has contributed to ushering in a new era of architectural production, an era that is central to the aims and ideas of ACADIA. Most significantly is Robert's genuine interest in our society and the network of individuals that comprise our organization. His meritorious career and genuine commitment to furthering the cause of Computer Aided Design in Architecture is worthy of one of our most highly distinctive awards: the ACADIA Society Award. Robert Aish is the Director of Research and Senior Scientist at Bentley Systems. He has been leading the development of GenerativeComponents parametric extension to Microstation. In that capacity he has formed key relationship with a number of professional, research, and academic institutions including ACADIA, MIT, The Architectural Association, Foster and Partners, Greg Lynn Form, Morphosis, Arup, Buro Happlod, KPF, NBBJ, SOM and Grimshaw.

    2002 Recipients

    2002 AWARD OF EXECLLENCE IN TEACHING
    James A. Turner
    University of Michigan

    James A. Turner, Professor of Architecture at the University of Michigan, had been selected to receive the Award of Excellence in Teaching. The award was presented to Prof. Turner on behalf of ACADIA by Dr. Ted Hall (Chinese University of Hong Kong), Prof. Wassim Jabi (New Jersey Institute of Technology), Prof. Filiz Ozel (Arizona State University), and Prof. Carmina Sanchez-del-Valle (Hampton University) The package submitted in support of Prof. Turner's nomination included an unexpectedly large number of enthusiastic letters of recommendation, praising his knowledge of the subject matter, geniality, accessibility, helpfulness, and ability to tie together research and education. Letters came from current students and from long-time colleagues, as well as from former students, many of whom had themselves gone on to become professors, directors of laboratories, or in one case, a department chair. The volume of letters received and the care devoted to each one indicated that his students and colleagues hold Prof. Turner in special regard. One student credited him with giving the student's career a new direction. Another wrote, "Of all the professors I have studied with, no one was able to communicate the subject matter to me with such skill, succinctness, lucidity, efficiency and humor." Still another wrote, "My life and work has been truly blessed by knowing and working with Jim Turner." One colleague wrote that "In many ways, Jim has been the 'unsung hero' of the graduate program at his school." Clearly, his supporters feel that while a school may have many valued instructors, Prof. Turner is truly exceptional.


    2002 AWARD OF EXCELLENCE IN SERVICE
    John Tector
    North Carolina State University

    John Tector was a founding member of ACADIA more than 20 years ago. He has tirelessly served ACADIA as an elected Board of Directors member for several terms and has served as the host of the 1987 ACADIA Conference. The award was presented to Prof. Tector by Prof. Ganapathy Mahalingam, the President of ACADIA.


    2002 AWARD OF EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH
    Brian R. Johnson
    University of Washington

    The award was presented to Professor Johnson on behalf of ACADIA by Prof. Loukas Kalisperis of Penn State University. Professor Johnson's recent research has focused on web-based collaboration environments. In addition to participation in two virtual design studios, he has developed a number of innovative applications, including the web-based discussion system (ConferWeb) which is used by ACADIA's Board of Directors for its internal communications. He also developed the review and evaluation system (EVAL) used for ACADIA's first on-line competitions, ACADIA's online voting system and protocols, and the Compadres collaboration (groupware) system. Prof. Johnson was the site chair of the 1995 ACADIA conference. He has been elected to the ACADIA Board of Directors several times, and served as ACADIA's President from 1999 to 2000.

    2001 Recipients

    2001 AWARD OF EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING
    William J Mitchell
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology

    Dean Mitchell started his education with a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, worked for a couple of years as an Architect with Yuncken-Freeman Architects, Melbourne, Australia, and then came to the United States to earn a Master of Environmental Design degree at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.

    His teaching career began at UCLA, and he soon headed the Architecture and Urban Design Program of that school. During his time at UCLA he started a program of computing in architecture which became internationally known because of the achievements by individuals that passed through it. In those early years of his academic career, while writing the fundamental work Computer Aided Architectural Design, the book that put the double-A in CAAD, Dean Mitchell managed to round out his education with a Master of Arts degree from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, where he also lectured for a few years. He stayed connected with practice as President of The Urban Innovations Group in Los Angeles, and later as Founding Partner of The Computer-Aided Design Group in Marina Del Rey, California.

    In the mid-eighties Dean Mitchell moved from the West to the East to become the Director of the Master in Design Studies Program at Harvard's Graduate School of Design in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In the early nineties he moved within the neighborhood and added another university of high renown to his curriculum vitae. He joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as Professor of Architecture and Media Arts and Sciences and Dean of the School of Architecture and Planning, positions he still holds at present.

    During all these years Dean Mitchell found time for numerous commitments as a visiting critic or visiting professor allowing even more students to benefit from his teaching at institutions like Yale, Carnegie-Mellon, and in Australia and Hong Kong.

    His list of publications is too long to mention more than his fundamental work "Computer Aided Architectural Design" from 1977, and his popular "City of Bits" from 1995.

    The awards program at ACADIA is new, therefore, ACADIA at this time seems to be last in line to bestow yet another honor onto Dean Mitchell, after his fellowships at the Royal Australian Institute of Architects and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, his honorary doctorates from the University of Melbourne and the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and his winning of the Appreciation Prize of the Architectural Institute of Japan for his "achievements in the development of architectural design theory in the information age as well as worldwide promotion of CAD education."

    ACADIA wants to sincerely thank Dean Mitchell for his achievements in teaching computer aided design in architecture.


    2001 AWARD OF EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH
    Charles M. Eastman
    Georgia Institute of Technology

    Professor Eastman started his education at the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned both a Bachelor of Architecture and a Master of Architecture in the mid-1960's. Chuck Eastman began his pioneering career as a teaching assistant for Christopher Alexander. This experience piqued Chuck's interest in design decision making which was the subject of his Master's thesis. His work continued at the University of Wisconsin with research on protocol analysis. In 1967 he joined the faculty at CMU where he remained for 15 years greatly affecting the future of design computing. Eastman's students from this period have defined the state of the art in Computer-Aided Design. During his years at CMU Chuck Eastman was the mentor for a number of the most prominent researchers in the area of computer applications in architecture. At Carnegie Mellon he directed several laboratories, including the Center for Building Sciences and CAD-Graphics Lab.

    In 1987 he joined the faculty at the Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning at UCLA where he served as the Director of the Center for Design and Computation. In 1995 he joined the faculty of Architecture and Computer Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he heads the Ph.D. program in Design Computing.

    Professor Eastman is the author of over 90 papers and five books in the areas of CAD, engineering and geometric modeling. His research in design data management is shaping the future of design computing. In 1999 he published an authoritative volume on building product models. He currently holds editorial positions on five journals in the area of design computing and is the representative in the International Alliance for

    Professor Eastman was one of the founders and the first President of ACADIA.

    ACADIA at this time wants to recognize and thank Professor Eastman for his achievements and contributions to the field of computer aided design in architecture.


    2001 AWARD OF EXCELLENCE IN SERVICE
    BJ Novitski

    B.J. Novitski had been selected to receive the 2001 ACADIA Award of Excellence in Service. The award was presented to BJ Novitski by Prof. Brian Johnson (University of Washington) and Prof. Anton Harfmann (University of Cincinnati). Ms. Novitski's contributions to the early years of ACADIA, during which she served as Membership Coordinator, Newsletter Editor, Annual Conference Technical Chair, and member of the Board of Directors represented one set of contributions, but the Awards Committee also recognized her contributions as an author (for her book "Rendering Real and Imagined Buildings") as a journalist (the Progressive Architecture "Technology" series), and an editor (for the Architecture-Week eZine).


    2000 AWARD OF EXCELLENCE IN SERVICE
    Karen M. Kensek

    The second award ever given by ACADIA in the 20 year history of the organization was given to University of Southern California School of Architecture Adjunct Associate Professor Prof. Karen M. Kensek. Kensek has placed a great emphasis on service throughout her career, supporting ACADIA in a number of roles: she served as Editor of the ACADIA Quarterly, Vice-President and President, and active Board of Directors member, serving several terms. She also served as the Technical Chair of the 1992 ACADIA conference held in Charleston, South Carolina and has been a frequent reviewer for ACADIA, as well as organizations and journals outside of ACADIA. In addition to her ACADIA service, Karen has served in leadership positions with the Los Angeles AIA Computer committee and was a co-founder of the East Bay Computer Committee. She has taught hundreds of architects. She has also taught architectural computing to high school and elementary school students, Girl Scouts, and dozens of faculty members. At USC, she helped to establish the CLIPPER Lab, and has created several new courses, and served on the USC Architecture computer committee.

    1998 Recipients

    1998 AWARD OF EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH
    Chris Yessios

    The career and contributions of Dr. Chris Yessios have inspired many, including those who voted to create this series of awards in 1998. As an educator in the Department of Architecture at Ohio State University, he led much significant research into modeling and representation of the built environment. Later, as the founder of auto-de-sys, Inc., the developers of the form-Z software package, Dr. Yessios and auto-des-sys adopted policies that helped schools gain and maintain access to their software at prices that slim budgets could handle. Throughout his career, Dr. Yessios has been a strong supporter of ACADIA (of which he is a founding member).

    Ind small

    LinkedIn Login

    If you've connected LinkedIn to your account, login with LinkedIn.

    Note: This will log you into LinkedIn too.

    Linkedin 64
    Click me