2019 AIA Pennsylvania Architectural Excellence Awards Recipient Gallery

This award will be given to any firm or successor firms, whether an individual or an organization of architects, in which the continuing collaboration among individuals of the firm has been the principle force in consistently producing distinguished architecture for a period of at least ten (10) years. Nominations may be made by the AIA Pennsylvania Board, an AIA Pennsylvania local chapter, or a group of ten (10) AIA Pennsylvania members. While serving on the AIA Pennsylvania Board of Directors, board members and their firms are ineligible to be nominated for this award.

This shall be the highest award bestowed upon a living AIA Pennsylvania member. The recipient shall have made contributions to architecture that transcend local boundaries and have been of benefit to the profession and citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Nominations may be made by the AIA Pennsylvania Board, an AIA Pennsylvania local chapter, or by a group of ten (10) AIA Pennsylvania members. Sylvester (Syl) Damianos, FAIA; an honors graduate of Carnegie Institute of Technology (Now Carnegie Mellon University) and Fullbright Scholar at the Technological Institute of Delft, The Netherlands, co-founded his first of three architectural firms in 1967. His dual career of both art and architecture has spanned over 60 years serving clients primarily in non-profit, disability and art-related fields, as well as his commission by fellow architects to produce art for their buildings. He has held national roles such as President of The American Institute of Architects; Chancellor of the AIA College of Fellows and Chair of the American Architectural Foundation. Syl has been honored with the Edward C. Kemper Award from AIA and the Distinguished Achievement Award fromCarnegie Mellon University.

This award shall recognize a building that has endured the test of time and still resonates with the design community and the public. The building must be in Pennsylvania and the parent firm must have been a Pennsylvania firm at the time of construction

This award recognizes exceptional contributions to the profession by an AIA Pennsylvania Associate member who graduated in the last ten (10) years. The award will be given to an Associate who has demonstrated both professional and civic leadership. Patrick Ness, Associate AIA, has been anarchitectural design associateand project manager since receiving a Bachelor ofArchitecture degree from The Pennsylvania State University in 2009. His experience has included assisting with the design and management of a wide range of project types-most of which are focused on adaptive reuse, higher education,urban housing, public parks, interiors, and planning. Patrick currently serves as a Co-Chair of the Conference and Expo Committeeon the AIA Central Pennsylvania chapter Board of Directors. He has additionally served as a committee member of WeCo York since 2016. On the WeCo committee, Patrick has been involved in localized initiatives meant to enhance the community,generate business opportunities,and raise the profile of one of York, Pennsylvania’s underutilized business districts.

This award seeks to recognize the exceptional achievements and future promise of a licensed architect and to promote their continuing development. The applicant’s contribution to the profession can be through one or more of the following: design excellence, leadership in practice, leadership in education, or service to the profession or society. The award is open to registered architect members of AIA Pennsylvania in their first ten (10) years of licensure as of the date of the application. As the National YAF Chair in 2018 Larry worked to advance a national conversation around Innovative Practice Models, helping to plan the 2017 Practice Innovation Lab, and co-chairing a subsequent iteration at A’19 in Las Vegas. He currently serves as co-chair of the AIA Pittsburgh’s Outreach Committee, as a member of the AIA PA PAC Board, and as a member of the AIA PA Strategic Council. As an Associate at Strada in Pittsburgh, he leads urban design and large scale architecture projects. Whether it’s in practice or in AIA work, or beyond, Larry loves and relishes working with great teams.

This award honors individuals, corporations, associations or other groups who do not practice architecture. Recipients will be cited for their direct contributions to the profession such as a building program, a public works project, publications, theoretical or applied research in zoning, urban design, interiors, planning, energy conservation, preservation, restoration transportation, industrial design, artistic endeavors, or other significant disciplines which have had a strong influence on the field of architecture Rebecca L. Flora, is the founder and owner of ReMake Group, LLC, a woman-owned and operated consulting company. Rebecca’s 30+ years of organizational leadership and project management experience spans projects at the local, national and global scale. Rebecca has served in leadership positions on numerous local and national boards, and was elected to serve as the first woman board chair of the USGBC in 2008 in an open election. She has been internationally recognized for her work in sustainable community development through awards and invited speaking engagements.

This award is given in recognition of significant contributions to, or particular support of, the profession and business of architecture and/or the built environment. Anyone working in state or local government, such as a legislator, state or township official, etc., is eligible for this award as an individual or as a specified group. Don became involved in public service following his career in consulting services. Having lived in New Cumberland since 1972, he had seen the ebbs and flows in the downtown stability and the residential community. In order to help revitalize New Cumberland, he ran for Borough Council and was elected as Councilman in 2015.

Senator Tim Kearney represents the 26th District, which covers parts of Delaware and Chester Counties.Tim is a longtime community leader who, before his election to the State Senatein 2018,chaired the Swarthmore Borough Planning Commission and served as Mayor of Swarthmore. A practicing architect for over 30 years, Tim has worked on a variety of projects with diverse clients, including the Walt Disney Company and the Philadelphia Orchestra. He also runs an architecture design firm with his wife Claudia.

This award will be given for contribution to the built environment by a contractor, developer, civil engineer, or other allied professional. It is to honor those professionals who bring our work into reality and who uphold the tenets of design, sustainability and collaboration. Michael has spent nearly 20 years with Pyramid Construction Services for which he currently serves as the Executive Vice President, he has served on the Board of the ACE Mentor Program of Central PA for last 10 years. Seeing the growth and impact that the ACE program has had in the Central Pennsylvania marketplace over those years has been extremely beneficial in exposing the next generation of students to Architecture, Construction Management, and Engineering.

This award recognizes Impact Designers span a wide range of design disciplines but are tied together by a common goal to design and create a better world through innovative, scale-able and measurable solutions. Impact design is rooted in the core belief that design can be used to create positive social, environmental and economic change, and focuses on actively measuring impact to inform and direct the design process. Timothy McDonald is an Architect, Certified Passive House Consultant/Tradesman (CPHC) and President of Onion Flats LLC, a development/design/build collective centered in Philadelphia. He has been teaching and practicing for over 20 years with a focus on community development, multidisciplinary thinking and making, high-performance building technologies and alternative construction methodologies. Through his research and practice, Tim, along with his partners at Onion Flats, has developed, designed and built some of the first LEED Platinum and Certified Passive House, carbon-neutral projects in Pennsylvania.