2022 AIA Young Architects Award
2022 Young Architects Award Recipient Jennifer A. Rittler, AIA
Emerging talent deserves recognition. The AIA Young Architects Award honors individuals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and made significant contributions to the architecture profession early in their careers.
Paul J. Avazier, AIA
Paul J. Avazier, AIA, embraces the challenges architecture presents, resolving its complexities with a thoughtful approach that has allowed him to accomplish much in his young career. His engagement with AIA began during his education at Philadelphia's Drexel University, emerging alongside his desire to give back to his community. After significant contributions to AIA Philadelphia, he was made its 2020 president, the youngest in the chapter's history, and he remains one of its most visible and service-minded members.
Matt Barnett, AIA
Driven by the difficult experiences of his youth, Matt Barnett, AIA, aims to provide a voice to those whose circumstances mirror his own. As an architect, he seeks to shape beautiful and compelling spaces that serve the dispossessed because he knows full well what being without space feels like. He has emerged as a leader and a mentor because he is keenly aware of what it’s like to have no one to follow.
Graciela Carrillo, AIA
Unwavering commitment, fearlessness, and tireless advocacy for emerging professionals are hallmarks of the young career of Graciela Carrillo, AIA. Carrillo is a particularly staunch advocate for women and immigrants in the profession, drawing on her own experiences to elevate young professionals in a quest for a more equitable profession. A true leader, she has stepped up to lead AIA through difficult times while contributing significantly to the vibrancy of the profession.
John J. Clark, AIA
An exemplary young architect, John J. Clark, AIA, advances the profession by connecting and elevating the diverse voices of his peers. Steeped in community initiatives, his design projects have distinct local, cultural, and social relevance. Both an imaginative young designer and a technically skilled architect, Clark’s meaningful contributions represent the highest standards for young architects.
Carolyn Day, AIA
Carolyn Day, AIA, is a champion for people and the planet, and her practice pushes her community, firm, and projects to achieve new levels of sustainability. As an architect, the environment has long been the focus of her career, and she has continually explored ways design can address agendas much more pressing than her own. Through her commitment to collective action, Day has advanced the profession by advocating for the necessary adaptations and mitigation in the face of our climate crisis.
Lori Ferriss, AIA
For Lori Ferriss, AIA, building reuse is a significant form of climate action. Leveraging her multidisciplinary expertise and policy engagement, Ferriss continues to advance civic and professional communities across the world. Her far-reaching work has expanded the role of architects while simultaneously elevating building reuse as a prime way to combat climate change. Ferriss is a true citizen architect, and her contributions to the profession and the health of our planet are deeply meaningful.
Nathan Griffith, AIA
Nathan Griffith, AIA, is an exemplary designer, leader, and community ambassador who empowers his clients and colleagues in his endless pursuit of design excellence. Griffin’s early introduction to architecture through his father’s work as a stained glass artist gave him a broader view of the profession and the ways in which it can deliver positive impacts. His work, consistently thoughtful and energetic, consists of an enviable portfolio that reflects his dedication to the public realm.
Chana Haouzi, AIA
As a licensed architect, Chana Haouzi, AIA, is driven by a sense of responsibility, recognizing that good design holds the potential to address many of society’s issues, transform communities, and change lives. Throughout her career, Haouzi has distinguished herself as a versatile and immensely talented architect as well as a leader with a clear and distinct vision. Her work spans the public and private sectors and, through innovative design solutions, bolsters the built environment and advances architectural education.
Edwin J. Harris, AIA
His design vision firmly set on providing authentic and inspired architecture that improves the lives of those who experience it, Edwin J. Harris, AIA, has assembled an astounding portfolio of work. For more than a decade, Harris has designed culturally significant projects, such as the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta and Emancipation Park in Houston. His concepts are decisive, focused, and rooted in novel concepts, resulting in impactful architecture that serves everyone regardless of means or background.
Ryan J. Jang, AIA
Jang’s introduction to architecture and design began in his San Francisco high school and Enterprise for Youth, a nonprofit that seeks to empower the city’s under-resourced youth through internships. Jang continues to practice in the city where he was raised and is a principal at Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects. He is committed to reinvesting in his hometown by addressing inequality through design, and he infuses his equitable practice with his uplifting attitude.
Parke MacDowell, AIA
Parke MacDowell, AIA, uses the hands-on exploration of shapes to solve design problems and communicate solutions, and he integrates his background in construction to inform design and project management. His deep commitment to fabrication within practice not only enhances ensuing designs but also bolsters equity and adds value to the projects he is involved in. By producing prototypes and full-scale mock-ups, he ensures that all parties have a clear understanding of the problem and a voice in its resolution.
Elizabeth A. McLean, AIA
The profession and the world now require design professionals to do much more than solve individual problems, and Elizabeth McLean, AIA, is accelerating this change by gathering ideas and people to create beautiful and meaningful work. She is deeply committed to advancing the profession and delivering solutions that integrate social, economic, and environmental sustainability. While her work varies in program and scale, she strives to intertwine the richness of place with the goals of the communities she serves.
Christopher Nielson, AIA
Christopher Neilson, AIA, uses design as an act of environmentalism, leveraging sustainable and low-carbon approaches so that both new buildings and historic structures can help address climate change. Driven by a ceaseless curiosity for building systems and enclosures, he envisions innovative solutions that strike a balance between high-performance design and embodied carbon reductions. Neilson is a thought leader in sustainability in Boston and beyond, and he has commanded regional and national audiences, counseled municipalities, and shared his broad experience in the classroom.
Jessica M. O'Donnell, AIA
Jessica O’Donnell, AIA, advances practice through her leadership, which embraces technology and emerging practice models. She continuously fosters transformative change by empowering her peers and colleagues through opportunities to expand their knowledge. Beyond advancing practice, her tireless work has broadened the public’s knowledge of the impact architects have on society while simultaneously expanding the architectural community.
Eric Pros, AIA
Eric F. Pros, AIA, is a community builder as much as he is an architect. He truly embodies the spirit of an emerging generation of architects who have recognized that they must serve as trusted advisors, community activists, and champions for design excellence. Through his many leadership roles and as an artist and educator, Pros envisions new opportunities for innovative collaborations and inspires his colleagues and peers.
Nakita Reed, AIA
Nakita Reed, AIA, is a true leader at the innovative intersection of historic preservation, sustainability, diversity, and community equity. Through her many volunteer contributions and mentoring initiatives, she has helped dismantle silos between those important topics while demonstrating their deep connections to race and gender. Her work has been critical in encouraging her peers to make a difference in the communities they serve.
Jennifer A. Rittler, AIA
Jenifer A. Rittler, AIA, knows that diversity must be intentional and, therefore, must be by design. Her commitment extends beyond the profession and into the communities it serves, demonstrating how architecture can avoid irrelevancy by embracing a deeper talent pool and a broader client base. Ritler has been instrumental in significantly expanding architecture’s diversity in both organization and practice throughout all of her work.
Emily Roush-Elliott, AIA
Motivated by her conviction that the lives of all humans are intertwined, Emily Roush-Elliott, AIA, leverages design, education, and advocacy to broaden equity in the Mississippi Delta. Roush-Elliott has distinguished herself through her commitment to a community-focused, equitable practice throughout her young career. She is a true citizen architect, and her work in affordable housing and community development has had a lasting and meaningful impact on her clients.
Yiselle Santos Rivera, AIA
As an architect, advocate, and thought leader, Yiselle Santos Rivera, AIA, has created positive change in the profession by empowering the next generation of architects. She encourages them to explore innovative solutions that will shape a more resilient and equitable future for all, and the influence she wields is felt by many. Unique in her commitment to making the profession more inclusive and dedicated to justice through design, Santos Rivera is a tireless champion for her professional and physical communities.
Nicole Seekely, AIA
In her professional practice and important community service efforts, Nicole Seekely, AIA, takes a thoughtful and respectful approach that has positioned her as a true citizen architect. An active leader in her firm, community, and AIA, Seekely levies her talents and energy to demonstrate the important contributions young designers can make to the profession.
Melody H. Tang, AIA
In nearly every way, Melody Tang, AIA, exemplifies the highest goals and aspirations of AIA. She leads by example on issues surrounding sustainability, transparency, and collaboration, relying on her multicultural experience to manage complex teams and present new opportunities for young architects from underrepresented communities. A true ambassador for the profession, Tang is a tireless advocate for sustainable design and a champion for anyone who dreams of becoming an architect.
Mario L. Walker, AIA
Mario L. Walker, AIA, is a passionate architect dedicated to advancing architecture as it embraces broader community and cultural engagement. After facing discouragement in pursuing architecture in college, Walker leveraged those negative experiences to serve as a springboard for achieving his current goals and has emerged as an exceptional designer. Moreover, he carefully considers the needs of the users he designs for, infusing each project with an enhanced sense of humanity and compassion.
Allison M. Wilson, AIA
As a trusted sustainability leader, Allison M. Wilson, AIA, is committed to guiding her institutional clients to making more equitable and enduring investments in the built environment. Her professionalism and unwavering commitment to shaping a more promising future—no matter what difficulties she may face—has positioned her as an important member of her firm and the profession at large. Wilson is ready to confront significant challenges facing the design community while ensuring that the next generation of architects is ready to make its mark, too.
Image credits
Sam Brown