It’s official: Two of the most iconic buildings in the United States—the Empire State Building and the White House—top the list of America’s Favorite Architecture, a public poll of the 150 best works of architecture conducted and released today by Harris Interactive and the American Institute of Architects (AIA). This time, at least, the White House beat the U.S. Capitol building, which ranked #6.

Even the fallen World Trade Center Towers live on in the poll, ranking 19th. Other notable structures that made the list of America’s Favorite Architecture are the Golden Gate Bridge (5th), Biltmore Estate (8th), and the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas (22nd).

The poll was conducted in conjunction with the AIA’s commemoration of its 150th anniversary, which occurs in 2007 and is dedicated to “Celebrating the Past, Designing the Future.” The 150th anniversary is an opportunity to focus on how AIA members can help shape the built environment over the next 150 years. The cornerstone program of AIA150, Blueprint for America has provided funding for community-service projects in 156 communities across the country. Blueprint initiatives celebrate the vital role of architects in creating a healthy, more sustainable world.

“This poll of America’s Favorite Architecture confirms that architecture resonates with people,” said RK Stewart, FAIA, 2007 AIA president. “The choice of the Empire State Building shows that when you ask people to select their favorites, they chose buildings and designs that symbolized innovation and the spirit of their community – but also, more importantly – they chose structures that hold a place in their hearts and minds.”

The Empire State Building, one of the most popular tourist attractions in the U.S., star of movies from King Kong to An Affair to Remember, and the dominant feature of midtown Manhattan, clearly rose above the rest, literally and figuratively.

Completed in 1931, the Empire State Building stands 1,454 feet tall and is second only to Chicago’s Sears Tower (#42 in the survey) as the tallest building in the United States.

Link to webcast of the press conference: http://www.mtitv.com/imre/press%5Fconferencevod/softvnetplayer.htm

The Top 10 List

Washington’s public buildings and memorials dominated the top 10 list, but New York city easily led the list for the sheer number of structures in the top 150. Following are the top 10 structures and their architects and designers:

1. Empire State Building - Shreve, Lamb & Harmon
2. The White House - James Hoban
3. Washington National Cathedral - George Bodley and Henry Vaughan, FAIA
4. Jefferson Memorial - John Russell Pope, FAIA
5. Golden Gate Bridge – Irving F. Morrow and Gertrude C. Morrow
6. U.S. Capitol - William Thornton, Benjamin Henry Latrobe, Charles Bulfinch, Thomas U. Walter, FAIA, Montgomery C. Meigs
7. Lincoln Memorial - Henry Bacon, FAIA
8. Biltmore Estate/Vanderbilt Mansion - Richard Morris Hunt, FAIA
9. Chrysler Building - William Van Alen, FAIA
10. Vietnam Veterans Memorial - Maya Lin with Cooper-Lecky Partnership

New York, D.C., and Chicago: Destinations for America’s Favorite Architecture

The Harris Interactive survey of 1,804 randomly selected Americans ranked America’s Favorite Architecture from a list pre-selected by an AIA panel of 248 structures in numerous categories, including famous homes, public buildings, sports arenas, transportation hubs, and office buildings. Nearly one-half of the projects in America’s Favorite Architecture are in three cities: New York, Washington, D.C., and Chicago.

The list of 150 buildings in America’s Favorite Architecture reads like a tour book for New York City, as 32 of the city’s most prominent architectural landmarks dominate the list. The list includes St. Patrick’s Cathedral (11th), Grand Central Station (13th), the St. Regis Hotel (16th), and Rockefeller Center (56th).

Seventeen of the projects ranked in America’s Favorite Architecture are located in Washington, D.C., and include the U.S. Supreme Court (15th) and the Library of Congress (28th). Chicago is well represented with 16, including Wrigley Field (31st), the Sears Tower (42nd), the Tribune Tower (38th), and the Field Museum (52nd).

Where We Live, Work, and Play

The list represents a broad swath of architectural styles from diverse periods of American history. Buildings and structures represent where we live, such as Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater (29th) in Pennsylvania; where we vacation, such as the Hotel Del Coronado (18th) in San Diego; and where we escape to have fun, such as Baltimore’s Oriole Park at Camden Yards (122nd) and the Ingalls Ice Arena (149th) at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.

Transportation hubs and structures are also among America’s Favorite Architecture. The Golden Gate (5th) and Brooklyn (20th) bridges are here, as are many main rail stations, including Cincinnati Union Terminal (45th), Union Station in St. Louis (40th), and Union Station in Kansas City (127th), among others.

“The 150 buildings, bridges, monuments, and memorials on this list represent the best of America’s architectural heritage. And members of the AIA are taking the milestone of our 150th anniversary to rededicate themselves to helping create healthy and sustainable buildings and cityscapes that could be future candidates for America’s Favorite Architecture,” said Christine McEntee, Executive Vice President/CEO of the AIA.

Methodology

On behalf of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Harris Interactive conducted research to identify America’s favorite works of architecture. The research included interviews with AIA members followed by a survey of the general public.

Interviews were conducted online with a random sample of AIA members. Members could nominate as many as 20 of their favorite structures in 15 predetermined categories; an “other” category was included for structures that did not clearly fit in the 14 specific categories. [1] The interviews were conducted online between October 18, 2006, and November 22, 2006. The final results included nominations from 2,448 AIA members (some of whom did not complete the full interview).

From the member nominations, a list of the top 248 structures was developed for inclusion in the survey of the public. These 248 structures represent all works receiving six or more individual mentions from AIA members. For the general public survey, 1,804 U.S. adults, age 18 and older, were interviewed online between December 27, 2006, and January 3, 2007. Respondents evaluated up to 78 structures, selected in random order from the larger list of 248. Respondents were shown a photograph of each structure they evaluated. Like the member survey, the public survey included the option to write in other works that were not among the subset evaluated.

The list of America’s Favorite Architecture was calculated using the mean score from the likeability scale used to evaluate each project in the public survey. In the case of ties in the mean score, structures were ranked by the number of times they were mentioned as a respondent’s personal favorite, and then by the number of nominations the structure received by the AIA members.

During the compilation of the list of 248 works, the Apple Store Fifth Avenue in New York City was inadvertently omitted from the public survey. The building was subsequently evaluated by a separate online survey of the general public, using the same question and overall structure as the original survey. Based on the results of interviews with 2,214 U.S. adults for this survey, the Apple Store Fifth Avenue ranked 53rd on the overall list. These interviews were conducted between January 16, 2007, and January 18, 2007.

For both of the general public surveys, figures for gender, age, race/ethnicity, income, education, and region were weighted where necessary to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was adjusted for respondents’ propensity to be online.

With pure probability samples and 100 percent response rates, it is possible to calculate the probability that the sampling error (but not other sources of error) is not greater than some number. With a pure probability sample of 1,804 U.S. adults, one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 2.31 percentage points. With a pure probability sample of 2,214 U.S. adults, one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 2.08 percentage points. However, these percentages do not take other sources of error into account. The online surveys are not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

About AIA150
Celebrating 150 years, the AIA is the premier professional organization for America's architects. The AIA150 program, “Celebrating the Past, Designing the Future.” honors architects for their dedication and commitment to excellence in design and livability in our nation’s buildings and communities. The cornerstone program of AIA150, the Blueprint for America, serves as a nationwide platform to unite architects and citizens to collaborate on their communities’ design priorities. For more information on other AIA150 news and events, including the Blueprint for America, visit www.aia150.org. AIA150 is supported, in part, by Founders Circle and official media sponsor, McGraw-Hill Construction.

About The American Institute of Architects
For 150 years, members of the American Institute of Architects have worked with each other and their communities to create more valuable, healthy, secure, and sustainable buildings and cityscapes. AIA members have access to the right people, knowledge, and tools to create better design, and through such resources and access, they help clients and communities make their visions real. Go to www.aia.org.

About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is the 13th largest and fastest-growing market research firm in the world. The company provides research-driven insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more confident decisions, which lead to measurable and enduring improvements in performance. Harris Interactive is widely known for The Harris Poll, one of the longest running, independent opinion polls and for pioneering online market research methods. The company has built what could conceivably be the world’s largest panel of survey respondents: The Harris Poll Online. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its United States, Europe and Asia offices, its wholly-owned subsidiary Novatris in France and through a global network of independent market research firms. The service bureau, HISB, provides its market research industry clients with mixed-mode data collection, panel development services as well as syndicated and tracking research consultation. More information about Harris Interactive may be obtained at www.harrisinteractive.com.