The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Young Architects Award honors professionals who have been licensed 10 years or fewer who have shown exceptional leadership and made significant contributions to the profession early in their careers. The award recipients are David Burt, Kevin deFreitas, David Grissino, Christopher Kelley, Brian Malarkey, Gregory Minott, Anthony Piermarini, Kristine Royal and Tricia Stuth.
After graduating from Mississippi State University, David Burt began a short stint working for Foil-Wyatt Architects in Jackson, Mississippi. Shortly after, he began working for the firm LS3P while becoming an AIA member. Burt gained a reputation for his skills across a wide variety of projects and was honored by AIA Charleston in a Design Competition for a Habitat for Humanity Project. Burt was licensed in 2004, and advanced so quickly at LS3P that he was named an associate in March of 2004 and an associate principal in April of 2006. Burt became LEED accredited in 2009, although he has been working on LEED projects since 2006. In September of 2008, he was named LS3P’s youngest principal. Burt served at AIA Charleston as Vice President in 2005, then President in 2006. He was elected in 2006 to a three-year term with the AIA South Carolina Board of Directors as its Communications Chairperson.
Kevin deFreitas graduated cum laude from the University of Arizona. He moved on to form Kevin deFreitas Architects. He regularly provides pro bono services to church and youth-related organizations in addition to being an active Board member of several non-profit and community planning groups. He is well-regarded for his contribution to revitalizing a downtown area of San Diego that had previously been regarded as blighted. All of his commitment to redevelopment and revitalization illustrates how he characteristically uses his profession not just for building beautiful structures, but also for service to his community through strides in urban and social planning. Kevin’s design and development work has been recognized on a local, state and national level, resulting in numerous awards and publications for its thoughtfulness, sustainability and innovation.
David Grissino began his career in design at the University of Massachusetts, where he graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design and helped to establish the Design Student Group, the predecessor to the current AIAS chapter. He earned his Masters in Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. After returning to Massachusetts, Grissino immediately joined the Boston Society of Architects (BSA). He became part of the Urban Design Committee’s South Boston Waterfront Task Force to review and analyze redevelopment initiatives for the waterfront. While participating in the city-wide dialogue for the waterfront plan, Grissino was working on the design and permitting of two projects for William Rawn Associates. Grissini then began work with Goody Clancy in Boston, where he is currently a Senior Urban Designer working on a wide range of architecture, urban design and planning projects. He is also a leader in the firm’s campus planning practice, involved with the marketing, business development, project management and design aspects of nearly every campus planning project in the office.
Christopher Kelley earned a Bachelor of Design with Honors, then a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Florida. He began work in 1997 for Ruyle, Masters, Hayes + Jennewein Architects, PA (RMH+J Architects) in Tampa. Joining the Institute, Kelley immediately saw it as an opportunity to represent and speak on behalf of interns, Associate members and young architects. From his initial position as the first Regional Associate Director from the Florida-Caribbean Region, he has continued to pursue advancements and increases in resources for the next generation of professionals through his work on the National Associates Committee and his experiences as Vice-President (2008) and President (2009) of the Young Architects Forum Advisory Committee. Now at Gensler in Washington, D.C., Kelley works passionately as a project architect, the Assistant Studio Director and a Technical Director.
After graduating from Texas A&M University, Brian Malarkey became a registered architect in 2000 and began his career at Kirksey, where he practiced as a designer before founding Kirksey EcoServices, a consulting group focused on sustainable design. In 2003 he was elected Chairman of the AIA Houston Committee on the Environment (COTE), during which time he organized Gulf Coast Green. For these efforts and his growing body of outstanding architectural projects, Malarkey received the Chapter’s 2004 Ben Brewer Young Architect Award. Three years later, based on his leadership and dedication to the AIA as a Director, Malarkey became President-elect of AIA Houston, becoming arguably the youngest person to ever serve this chapter as President. Malarkey has won four individual awards and 23 design awards for buildings on which he served a leadership role; additionally his projects have repeatedly been featured in national and regional publications.
Gregory Minott was born in Jamaica where he also began his professional career as an architect and continues to consult. In 1999 Minott moved to the US in order to continue his education at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. After acquiring a Master of Architecture and Master in Infrastructure Planning, he continued to work in the northeastern regions, becoming a member of the Boston Society of Architects (BSA). In his current role as a project architect at Elkus Manfredi Architects, Minott has made significant design contributions to award-winning transit-oriented and urban renewal projects throughout the country. Minott is a committed mentor to Boston inner-city youth programs. He conducts design studios, promotes careers in design, and cultivates long-term relationships as a role model. Regardless of the project, whether it be a daycare center or a city hall, it is clear that Minott aspires to hear and translate the dreams and desires of others.
Anthony Piermarini received his Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University and went on to receive a Master of Architecture II at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He is a founding principal of Studio Luz Architects (SLA). SLA is an agile, forward thinking practice that strives to link social responsibility and sustainable construction practices with built material expression. SLA has garnered many awards including being named one of Architectural Record’s Design Vanguards in 2006. Piermarini’s service extends beyond the community and into the classroom as a Critic at the Rhode Island School of Design where he teaches courses on representation. He has also taught at Cornell University, Northeastern University and the Boston Architectural College in design studio and courses in digital fabrication. Committed to social responsibility through practice, Piermarini is responsible for initiating SLA’s participation in the 1% pro-bono program which has contributed to projects such as the Campus D’Espoir for Hope for the Children of Haiti a 501 (c)(3) Non-Profit.
Kristine Royal’s professional activities range widely in scale from local to national arenas, her efforts are consistently focused on advocating for emerging professionals and young architects. A strong proponent of the Young Architects Forum’s (YAF) three part mission of Leadership, Fellowship and Mentorship, Royal utilizes, cultivates, and exemplifies these tenets in all of her endeavors. Royal’s work on the YAF Advisory Committee began in 2005 when she was selected to serve as the committee’s Program Advisor. Royal has teamed with the AIA’s Regional and Urban Design Committee (RUDC) to bring critical and timely discourse to Rhode Island’s design community through RUDC’s SpringRoundtable2007. In her professional practice, Royal’s focus on historic preservation and adaptive reuse showcase her multi-faceted leadership and design skills through responsive and innovative design solutions.
Tricia Stuth is an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee, College of Architecture and Design, a Co-Founder and Partner in the firm Curb, and a Co-Founder and Principal in the architectural collaborative Applied Research, which combines the research interests of four UT faculty members. Stuth holds both BS (1995) and MArch (1997) degrees from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. She spent three and half years as an intern architect at the Miller|Hull Partnership in Seattle where she also served as director for the Architecture in Education program. In 2008, Stuth was one of only two educators nationwide to be awarded the ACSA|AIA Housing Design Education Award, which is granted jointly by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) and the AIA Housing & Custom Residential Knowledge Community (AIA, HCR KC) to recognize “the importance of good education in housing design to produce architects ready for practice in a wide range of areas and able to be capable leaders and contributors to their communities.”
The Young Architects Award will be presented to the recipients at the AIA 2010 National Convention and Design Exposition in Miami.
