SAH Presents the Annual Awards for Architectural Excellence at 75th Anniversary Gala

Sep 17, 2015 by SAH News
Nov. 6  Awards Gala to Honor Renowned Architecture Writer Paul Goldberger, Architect T. Gunny Harboe and Preservationist Richard Longstreth

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Currently celebrating its 75th anniversary, the Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) will host the 6th annual Awards for Architectural Excellence gala Friday, Nov. 6 at the Woman’s Athletic Club (626 North Michigan Ave.) This year, SAH is proud to present the Architectural Journalism Award to Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic Paul Goldberger, the Heritage Conservation award to architect T. Gunny Harboe (perhaps best known for his work on Chicago’s Rookery and Reliance buildings) and the Architectural Scholarship & Preservation Advocacy award to Richard Longstreth of The George Washington University, a past president of SAH.

This year’s gala co-chairs are Thomas Beeby, FAIA, Kirsten Beeby and Tom Rossiter, FAIA. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. with an exclusive tour of the Woman’s Athletic Club, followed by a 6 p.m. cocktail reception with an auction, and culminates with the awards presentation beginning at 7 p.m.  The event is open to the public; tickets are on sale at sah.org/gala.

“Institutions like the Society of Architectural Historians can only exist and thrive thanks to the work of passionate people like this year’s honorees,” said Pauline Saliga, executive director of SAH. “Paul Goldberger’s eloquent writing inspires the public to become ardent supporters of preservation. Gunny Harboe’s meticulous work makes historic buildings relevant for contemporary culture while honoring the beautiful designs of their creators.  Richard Longstreth is an indefatigable advocate for the protection, stewardship and rehabilitation of historic places and a personal role model for me. They embody the mission of SAH and have done exemplary work in their individual fields and practices to earn this year’s distinguished awards.”

SAH is a non-profit that promotes the study, interpretation and conservation of architecture, design, landscapes and urbanism worldwide. The Awards Gala is one of the many special events that the Society hosts each year. SAH is headquartered in Chicago’s National Historic Landmark Charnley-Persky House (1891–92), one of the few extant Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright residences.
 
About the Awards

The Awards for Architectural Excellence began in 2010 and represent a unique coming together of architectural practice and academic study. The proceeds from the Awards Gala benefit the Society’s educational mission and the ongoing restoration of the Charnley-Persky House. This year’s gala co-chairs are: Thomas Beeby, FAIA, Kirsten Beeby and Tom Rossiter, FAIA.

About the Honorees

Paul Goldberger was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Criticism for his work at The New York Times. He is currently a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and the Joseph Urban Chair in Design and Architecture at The New School.  Goldberg was the former dean of the Parsons School of Design in New York City. Golberger is the author of several books, including Why Architecture Matters, Building Up and Tearing Down: Reflections on the Age of Architecture and the forthcoming Building Art: The Life and Work of Frank Gehry. His numerous awards include the President’s Medal of the Municipal Art Society of New York, the medal of the American Institute of Architects, and the Medal of Honor of the New York Landmarks Preservation Foundation for what the Foundation called “the nation’s most balanced, penetrating and poetic analyses of architecture and design.”  He is a Life Member of the Society of Architectural Historians.

T. Gunny Harboe founded his own architecture firm, Harboe Architects, a Chicago-based firm, in 2006. The firm specializes in sustainable design and historic preservation. Harboe has gained a national reputation for his award-winning restorations of the Rookery Building (Burnham and Root, 1888) and the Reliance Building (Burnham, 1895). He has been the preservation architect for many iconic modern masterpieces, including Mies van der Rohe’s S.R. Crown Hall and 860-
880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments; Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House, Unity Temple, and Taliesin West; and Louis Sullivan’s Carson Pirie Scott & Co. Store.  The American Institute of Architects named Harboe a “2001 Young Architect” and Chicago Magazine named him “Chicagoan of the Year” in 2010. Harboe currently serves as the vice president of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on 20th Century Heritage.

Architectural historian Richard Longstreth is a professor of American Studies, director of the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation at The George Washington University and the current president of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy.  Longstreth worked for the Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission and taught at Kansas State University. He has written extensively on architecture in the U.S. from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. His City Center to Regional Mall and The Drive-In, the Supermarket, and the Transformation of Commercial Space in Los Angeles 1914–1941 won four national awards in the fields of architectural history, urban history, and historic preservation.  He currently chairs the Maryland Governor’s Consulting Committee on the National Register of Historic Places. Longstreth served as president of the Society of Architectural Historians from 1998 to 2000 and is a Life Member of SAH.
 
Tickets for the Awards Gala

The SAH 75th Anniversary Awards Gala will be Friday, Nov. 6 at the Woman’s Athletic Club (626 North Michigan Ave.)  Tickets for the SAH Awards Gala are available now and are priced at $175. Tickets can be purchased at  sah.org/gala or by calling 312.573.1365.

About the Society of Architectural Historians

Founded in 1940, the Society of Architectural Historians is a nonprofit membership organization that promotes the study, interpretation and conservation of architecture, design, landscapes and urbanism worldwide. SAH serves a network of local, national and international institutions and individuals who, by vocation or avocation, focus on the built environment and its role in shaping contemporary life. SAH promotes meaningful public engagement with the history of the built environment through advocacy efforts, print and online publications, and local, national and
international programs. Learn more at  sah.org.