If you haven’t yet entered the Architizer A+ Awards, get moving. The deadline is this Friday, January 25.
As you may have gathered, we’re pretty psyched about our awards program, which will showcase the world’s best architecture to the profession and the general public (we call this “breaking out of the architectural echo chamber“). Not only have we brought on key media partners—the Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, GOOD, Cool Hunting—but we’ve also amassed a stellar jury. Leading figures from a variety of fields have signed on: journalists, developers, cultural luminaries, architects, designers, tech gurus, even celebrities.
Today, we present a group of jurors we’re particularly proud of—”do-gooders” who are using their talents to address social and environmental issues. Whether they’re building great architecture in impoverished communities, trumpeting sustainable design, or studying the consequences of poor urban planning on human health, these innovators are all working tirelessly to make the world a better place. We’re honored to those listed below, on our jury.
John Cary
Founder and Editor, PublicInterestDesign.org
Trained as an architect, John is a well-respected writer, speaker, and curator focused on design for the public good. In addition to overseeing PublicInterestDesign.org, which he launched, John works with TED as a strategic advisor for The City 2.0. He also travels extensively to champion do-good design. John served as executive director of the San Francisco-based organization Public Architecture for seven years. His book, The Power of Pro Bono, was published in 2010. (Read John’s story “Design for the Public Good: Top 10 Initiatives to Watch in 2013” on Architizer.)
Ben Flanker
Head of Brooklyn Grange
In 2010, Ben co-founded the remarkable Brooklyn Grange, a 2.5-acre rooftop farm that sells produce and honey to restaurants, farmers’ markets, and CSAs (read about its design on Architizer). Prior to this undertaking, Ben co-founded and managed Eagle Street Rooftop Farms, the first rooftop soil farm in New York. Ben has a background in industrial engineering, business, and marketing. Today, he is one of the leading figures in urban agriculture.
The organization collected “problems” in Corona, Queens. Photo courtesy of Ghana ThinkTank
Ghana ThinkTank
Founders: Christopher Robbins, John Ewing, Matey Odonkor
Founded in 2006, the Ghana ThinkTank is a social experiment that challenges the idea of developed countries solving “Third World” issues. It works like this: The organization solicits problems from communities in the U.S. or Europe and then asks its members in underdeveloped countries to propose solutions. In turn, those solutions are implemented. “Some of these actions have produced workable solutions, but others have created intensely awkward situations, as we play out different cultures’ assumptions about each other,” states Ghana ThinkTank. The group has think tanks in Ghana, El Salvador, Cuba, Iran, Mexico, Serbia, and Ethiopia.
Oberlin College, which was included in the USGBC’s “The Best of Green Schools” list for 2012.
Rachel Gutter
Director, Center for Green Schools at USGBC
A former teacher, Gutter has led the Center for Green Schools since its inception in 2010. The organization works with teachers, students, administrators, elected officials, and community members to promote sustainability in K-12 schools and universities. Rachel and her work have been featured in numerous media outlets, including the New York Times and CNN. She joined the USGBC in 2007 and oversaw the launch of its LEED for Schools rating system.
Dr. Richard Jackson
Professor and Chair of Environmental Health Sciences at UCLA
For the past decade, much of Dr. Jackson’s work has focused on how the built environment affects human health, particularly in regards to obesity and asthma. He has written and spoken extensively on the topic and has served on the AIA’s board of directors. Dr. Jackson has received innumerable honors, including the prestigious Heinz Award (read more on Architizer).
Wayne Lyman Morse United States Courthouse by Morphosis, designed under the GSA’s Design Excellence program. Photo courtesy of Frand Ooms
Casey Jones
Director, Design Excellence program at the U.S. General Services Administration
Casey Jones oversees the GSA’s Design Excellence program, which advocates exemplary design of federal buildings. He’s held this position since 2009 and formerly worked under Ed Feiner, who started the innovative program in 1994. An architect by training, Casey was a principal at the firm jones|kroloff.
Butaro Hospital by MASS Design Group. Photo courtesy of Iwan Baan
Michael Murphy
Founding Partner and Executive Director, MASS Design Group
Michael co-founded the award-winning MASS Design Group while still a student in Harvard’s GSD. The nonprofit firm designed the stunning Butaro Hospital and Kigali Primary School, both in Rwanda. MASS currently is at work on a cholera center in Haiti. Michael has won numerous honors, including being named a “Game Changer” by Metropolis magazine in 2011. The firm received the Curry Stone Design Prize last fall.
Liter of Light, winner of a 2012 Curry Stone Design Prize. Chee Pearlman is a prize curator. Photo courtesy of Jeminah Ferrer
Chee Pearlman
President of Chee Company, Curator of Curry Stone Design Prize
Chee produces editorial and design content for a variety of platforms—magazines, websites, conferences, books, exhibitions. She is also the former Editor-in-Chief of I.D. Magazine and an advisor for the Curry Stone Design Prize, an annual award given to individuals or organizations working to improve the world.
Andrew Shea
Principal at MANY Design, Author of Designing for Social Change
Andrew is a graphic designer, writer, and educator who speaks regularly about creative collaboration and social change. His book Designing for Social Change, with illustrations by Ellen Lupton, was published last year by Princeton Architectural Press.
In 2012, Architecture for Humanity released a follow-up to its popular Design Like You Give a Damn book.
Cameron Sinclair
Co-Founder of Architecture for Humanity
Cameron is a pioneering figure in the do-good design movement. In 1999, he co-founded Architecture for Humanity, where he continues to serve as CEO (“chief eternal optimist”). His ever-growing organization provides design services to communities-in-need around the globe. Cameron has received countless accolades. In 2006, he won the prestigious TED Prize, and in 2011, the Obama Administration appointed him to serve on the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid.
Design for the AIDS Memorial Park.
Christopher Tepper
Founder of NYC AIDS Memorial
Christopher co-founded the NYC AIDS Memorial organization, which is working to create a memorial park in Greenwich Village. He is also the planning director for the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, where he is helping oversee the redevelopment of the historic shipyard.
