AIA Seattle Honors 2004

The AIA Seattle Board awards recognize achievements by architects and their allies that have advanced the profession in the mission areas of AIA Seattle.

AIA Seattle Medal 2004:
·John F. Nesholm FAIA
AIA Seattle Honorary Members 2004:
�Debbi & Paul Brainerd
�Robert Filley (posthumous)
�Tomio Moriguchi
�Jon & Judith Runstad
Allied Organization Award 2004:
�U.S. Green Building Council Cascadia Chapter
Community Service Award 2004:
·Mel Streeter AIA
Special Citation 2004:
·University of Washington College of Architecture - Urban Planning Library

AIA Seattle Medal 2004:
John F. Nesholm FAIA
The highest award that AIA Seattle can confer on one of its own Members, the AIA Seattle Medal recognizes distinguished lifetime achievement in architecture including design and professional practice and service to the profession, the community, education, and the arts, or any combination of these. AIA Seattle first gave the Medal in 1984 to Paul Hayden Kirk FAIA and Paul Thiry FAIA. Then and since, it recognizes architects who have had a substantial influence in shaping and advancing the architecture of the Northwest as it grows in national and international importance.

Visionary in both architectural practice and philanthropy, John Nesholm (BArch MIT 1965) has materialized Seattle's cultural landscape over two decades. In his quiet but powerful way, he has brought together the forces of arts development and design to create the Seattle Symphony's Benaroya Hall, Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, and Seattle's new Central Library - strong contributions to the Northwest arts legacy, and recipients of design accolades for LMN Architects. For decades to come, visitors and citizens of Seattle will enjoy special access to cultural experiences, thanks to the memorable, enduring structures and vital institutions shaped by the deft and generous hand of John Nesholm and the Nesholm Family Foundation. As a professional exemplar, John Nesholm manifests the architect as a responsible societal leader, helping Seattle achieve its potential as a city of the world.

A Founding Partner of LMN Architects (subject of LMN Architects: Design in the Public Realm, 2003) and long a mainstay of the Seattle Opera and other cultural organizations, John served as AIA Seattle President 1990-91. Here he helped to achieve a highly visible public presence for architecture in reconfiguring both the organization and its First Avenue storefront space. He also cochaired the AIA Seattle Centennial Commission that developed the year-long observance, in 1994, of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of AIA in Seattle and Washington, resulting in significant new appreciation of the professional heritage of Northwest design excellence.

On receiving news of the honor, John Nesholm responded in his typical self-effacing fashion, asking to note that "this recognition ... also extends to my family who are intimately involved in everything I do, to my partners who have been so supportive of my activities, and at least symbolically [to].. all architects who give to the community in ways beyond their practices."
Reference: John Nesholm FAIA remarks on receiving the AIA Seattle Medal 6/26/04

AIA Seattle Honorary Members 2004:
·Debbi & Paul Brainerd
·Robert Filley (posthumous)
·Tomio Moriguchi
·Judith & Jon Runstad
AIA Seattle Honorary Membership recognizes those who have contributed notably to achievement of the mission and goals of AIA Seattle.

Debbi & Paul Brainerd
We commend and admire Debbi & Paul Brainerd for their thoughtful action on a shared commitment to community and environmental stewardship, demonstrated in singularly wise investment seen in the work of the Brainerd Foundation and Social Venture Partners, among other Brainerd initiatives. In its first years of operation on Bainbridge Island, IslandWood has introduced thousands of visitors of all ages to concepts of environmentally conscious living, while its award-winning design by Mithun has advanced professional achievement in and understanding of sustainable design.

Robert Filley (posthumous)
In practice and as an educator, the late Bob Filley brought together the sometimes disparate cultures of development and design. As Director of the University of Washington Center for Community Development and Real Estate (now known as the Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies) at the College of Architecture and Urban Planning, he helped establish a unique collaborative approach to the discipline of real estate studies. Recognizing his special genius, the Bob Filley Fund supports a fellowship program for UW students pursuing studies at the Runstad Center, providing financial aid via a work study program. At the Honors Gala, Mary Linda Filley will accept the honor on behalf of her late husband.

Tomio Moriguchi
In a lifelong quest shared also with earlier and future generations of the Moriguchi family, Tomio Moriguchi has advanced the special culture of the Asian-American community through thoughtful urban development projects and stewardship of Seattle's International District. The visionary redevelopment of the emblematic Uwajimaya store in "the ID" as a mixed-use center for housing and retail has become a much-visited model of success. Through activism on boards of local, regional, and national community and cultural institutions, Tomio Moriguchi draws others from all backgrounds into innovative community investment in the preservation of a unique urban ethnic heritage. He notes, "Architects we may not remember helped to define the ID's physical character many decades ago. Today's architects and others have a responsibility to preserve and carry forward what makes the ID so special for Asian Americans and our entire community."

Judith & Jon Runstad
Throughout their careers, these two civic leaders, with backgrounds in law and real estate, have developed the art and science of urban investment. Their establishment of the Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies at the University of Washington College of Architecture and Urban Planning perpetuates their commitment to "real estate as a 'unique, interdisciplinary school of behavioral thought.'"

Allied Organization Award 2004:
U.S. Green Building Council Cascadia Chapter
The Allied Organization Award, first given in 1993, recognizes "... an organization which has notably contributed to the goals of AIA Seattle."

The U.S. Green Building Council, at the local level as well as nationally, has allied the design and building industries in the quest for achieving sustainability. By establishing performance standards, the USGBC has challenged and guided providers of services and products, in practical ways, to manifest in real projects our lofty ideals for a built environment in harmony with nature.

Community Service Award 2004:
Mel Streeter AIA
First given in 2001, this award recognizes "an individual or group, including an AIA or Assoc. AIA Member of AIA Seattle, for the achievement of significant community service objectives and for exemplifying the application of architectural skills, values, and dedication to the advancement of community goals."

Over several decades, Mel Streeter brought to prominence the Northwest's largest African-American-owned architecture firm. His courageous vision, unswerving commitment, and remarkable energy have made Streeter & Associates Architects a center for mentoring K-12 youth, architecture students, and emerging professionals from minority and disadvantaged backgrounds. Many young people credit Mel with helping them to overcome obstacles that continue to challenge ethnic minorities in entering the design professions. For many of them, Mel's presence and active participation in community activities puts a face on the achievement of architects of color. As a Founding Member of the AIA Seattle Diversity Roundtable, Mel Streeter shared his idealism and commitments with colleagues to help develop inspiring and effective programs to engage youth and emerging professionals in the possibilities of design and community-building.
* Reference: Jerry Large in The Seattle Times 4/11/96: 'Breaking Barriers, Building Hope: He long ago proved he could succeed as a Black architect; now Seattle's Mel Streeter is helping others to do the same'
* Celebrate with Mel and his family and friends of the Diversity Roundtable in the Summer Solstice Sequence 6/24-26/04.

Special Citation 2004:
University of Washington Architecture-Urban planning Library
In June 2004, Librarian and AIA Seattle Honorary Member Betty L. Wagner will depart her post after more than 50 years of service. Generations of design professionals have benefited from her support for their studies, as she has developed the collections of publications, images, and data bases that inform design exploration and learning. As design professionals' need for information broadens and intensifies, resources like the Library both preserve the intellectual heritage of architecture and facilitate access to new design knowledge.

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AIA Seattle recognizes with gratitude the achievements of many who have helped advance the community and the profession, and welcomes all to join in congratulations and in celebration of these honors.