The AIA named the winners for its highest annual honors in education and public service.
Robert Greenstreet, Intl. Assoc. AIA, won the 2013 Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education, the AIA's top award for education work, in honor of Greenstreet's 20-year career as the dean of the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Greenstreet, who received his architectural education at Oxford Polytechnic University in London, has served as an educator for a number of U.S. universities, including Ball State University, Kansas State University, and the University of Kansas. He is the author of seven books on architecture and planning and more than 150 internationally published articles and papers. In 2007, Greenstreet helped to launch a design-focused public high school in Milwaukee, the School for Urban Planning + Architecture.
"I have witnessed him act as mentor and friend to the most influential deans, and offer reassuring assistance to the most junior professor," wrote North Carolina State University College of Design dean and former AIA president Marvin Malecha, FAIA, in a recommendation letter. "I never met an individual more generous with his time and energy to our beloved architectural community."
Greenstreet has devoted more than 20 years to the development of Milwaukee, as chair of the City Plan Commission from 1993 to 2004 and as chair of city development, a post he currently holds. Community Design Solutions, a program founded by Greenstreet, connects Wisconsin-Milwaukee students with AIA members working on pro bono projects in the community. He also served as an adviser.
Among other projects, Greenstreet also conceived and executed a program called Community Design Solutions, which helps UWM students work with AIA members so that they can provide pro bono services to inner-city neighborhoods and community groups. Greenstreet also advised Antoine Predock, FAIA, on the design for the Indian Community School of Milwaukee. "His energy, enthusiasm, and scope are boundless" Predock wrote in a recommendation letter.
The AIA also recognized John D. Anderson, FAIA, with the Edward C. Kemper Award for Service to the Profession.
Anderson was president of the AIA in 2001 when the profession, and the nation, faced its gravest challenge since the country's founding. After the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Anderson shaped the AIA's response and worked closely with the New York chapter to coordinate local and national recovery efforts, in particular through the New York New Visions program.
"He is a person of great integrity, dignity, and humility; an exceptional leader who has devoted his lifetime to enhancing our profession through his service to the AIA, his city, and state," wrote George Miller, FAIA, and Joseph Aliotta, AIA, in their joint nomination letter on behalf of AIA New York.
The architect's Denver-based firm, Anderson Mason Dale Architects, has received more than 100 regional and national awards. He has served as an adviser and instructor for the University of Colorado College of Architecture and Planning. As a member of the AIA, he encouraged the participation of women and minorities in the industry. Anderson was the first Coloradan to be named the president of the AIA, but his early agenda was interrupted by the 9/11 attacks—which dominated the rest of his administration. Anderson launched a compensation fund for victims and family members affected by the attacks.
Greenstreet will receive the Topaz Medallion at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture annual meeting in San Francisco in March, and both Greenstreet and Anderson will also be recognized at the 2013 AIA National Convention and Design Exposition in Denver in June.
