AIA Gold Medal 2024 awarded to David Lake and Ted Flato

WASHINGTON – December 14, 2023 – The Board of Directors and the Strategic Council of The American Institute of Architects (AIA) are honoring David Lake, FAIA, and Ted Flato, FAIA, with the AIA Gold Medal 2024.  

The Gold Medal honors an individual whose significant body of work has had a lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture. As a pair, Lake and Flato have delivered on their vision to connect people to nature through restorative and sustainable strategies. Their San Antonio-based firm Lake|Flato continues to be at the forefront of sustainable design, winning an industry best 15 COTE (Committee on the Environment) Top 10 Awards and designing healthier, more sustainable, and inclusive places inspired by nature.

Austin native David Lake founded Lake|Flato with Ted Flato in 1984. Outspoken advocates for urban development, Lake and Flato have established themselves as citizen architects through their numerous plans and designs in cities across Texas and beyond.  

Since receiving his Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Stanford University, Flato has built a career that has received wide acclaim for his straight-forward designs that leverage each unique site and connect people to the natural environment. Flato’s collaborations and environmental advocacy, alongside, Lake, have helped protect and preserve accessibility to 50,000 acres of land in Texas, a state where less than 4 percent of land is publicly available, while conserving 35,000 acres of critical habitats from West Virginia to the Florida Everglades.  

At the helm of Lake|Flato over the last 40 years, Lake and Flato have reframed the conversation around sustainability and social and environmental responsibility through their inclusive design practice that will reverberate for decades to come.

Learn more about Lake and Flato’s selection as the AIA Gold Medalist 2024.