“An Unrivaled Architect for the People”, Carol Ross Barney Receives the 2023 AIA Gold Medal

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has named Carol Ross Barney, FAIA, as the recipient of the 2023 AIA Gold Medal, the institution’s highest annual honor. The award recognizes and applauds Carol Ross Barney’s focus on design excellence, social responsibility, and generosity. Through her transformative projects, she has endeavored to make the world a better place and, according to the jury, made “an indelible mark on the profession.”

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In the beginning of her career, Barney worked in the Peace Corps alongside the newly formed Costa Rican National Park Service. Since then, her work has been based on the principle that good design is a right, not merely a privilege. After founding her practice, Ross Barney Architects, in 1981 in her native city, Chicago, she received a traveling fellowship which solidified her interest in works in the public realm, an interest that defined the rest of her career.

In 1997, Barney was selected as the lead designer for the Oklahoma City Federal Building, which replaced the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, destroyed in the 1995 bombing. It marked the first time a woman architect had been selected to lead such an important commission. The building, inaugurated in 2005, defined a new character for the site, as it is designed with respect for pedestrians and the surrounding city while also integrating the necessary security measures.

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Barney is well known for championing the movement to revitalize the Chicago River area, an effort that resulted in the Chicago Riverwalk, a 1.25-mile-long civic space to serve the residents of the city. The progressive urban park represents an exploration of new relationships between the city and the river.

Barney’s works have influenced the lives of many Chicago residents, from infrastructure and urban systems that have influenced the city’s fabric to buildings that enrich communities and create space for civic life. Barney has mentored a generation of architects both in her studio and through her position as an adjunct professor at Chicago’s Illinois Institute of Technology. As recognized by the jury, “her pioneering approach and ethics exemplify the highest aspirations of architecture.”

Previous winners of the award include Edward Mazria, in 2021, recognized for his work to combat the climate crisis and motivate the profession to take action; Marlon Blackwell, in 2020, for his lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture; Richard Rogers, in 2019, due to his positive influence on the built environment; and James Stewart Polshek, in 2018, for his “unparalleled vision and leadership.”