Today, the AIA named Terrance Brown, FAIA, the recipient of the 2016 Edward C. Kemper Award, which honors architects who made significant contributions to the profession through service to the AIA. Brown is currently a senior architect in the Albuquerque, N.M., office of Anchorage, Alaska–based WHPacific and special adviser to (and former chair of) the AIA National Disaster Assistance Task Force. Brown co-authored an AIA disaster assistance handbook and led the creation of a response system that helps the Institute, its components, and members better prepare for disasters and to respond to them alongside federal, state, and local authorities. He has also developed response programs for cities, regions, and states in the U.S. and internationally.

Brown has served held numerous AIA positions including 2001 vice president of AIA, 1991 president of AIA Albuquerque, 1996 president of AIA New Mexico, 2001–2003 president of New Mexico Architectural Foundation, AIA director of the Western Mountain Region, New Mexico representative to the AIA State Government Network, and 1996–2001 AIA liaison to the Federation of Pan-American Architect Associations.

Brown received the AIA’s Whitney M. Young Jr. Award, given to honor an architect or organization that exemplifies the profession’s responsibility to society, in 2004, the AIA New Mexico Architects Silver Medal for Lifetime Achievement in 2013, and the AIA Western Mountain Region Silver Medal in 2000.

Brown joins last year’s recipient, Edward Mazria, AIA, a leader in the battle against climate change and founder of the 2030 Challenge. Other recent winners include New York City Department of Design and Construction executive director of design and construction excellence Fredric Bell, FAIA, in 2014, and former AIA president John Anderson, FAIA, of Denver-based firm Anderson Mason Dale Architects, in 2013.

This year's jury for the Edward C. Kemper Award included Axis Architecture & Interiors principal Drew White, FAIA (chair); Fredric Bell; KG&D Architects project manager Sarah Dirsa, AIA; Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission executive architect Daniel Feil, FAIA; and Studio Southwest Architects project manager Jennifer Penner, Assoc. AIA.

This is a breaking news story, and will continue to be updated. 

Read ARCHITECT’s complete coverage of the 2016 AIA Honor Awards.