Gold Medal

Below is high-level information about the program criteria to help you determine if you are a good fit for the Gold Medal program. For full criteria and guidelines, please refer to the submission guide in the Resources tab. 

Eligibility

The Gold Medal is open to a single individual, or two (2) individuals who have created one (1) body of distinguished architectural work.

Nominees may be living or dead at the time of submission.

Members of the AIA Board of Directors, Strategic Council, and members of their respective firms are ineligible to be nominated.

Members who have been found to have violated the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct and upon whom the penalties of either Censure or Suspension were imposed are ineligible to be nominated for this award.

Individuals whose membership was terminated due to a violation of the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct are ineligible to be nominated for this award.

Nomination

Any component, Knowledge Community, or AIA member may make nominations for the Gold Medal. Nominators are required to write a letter of support for the candidate that introduces the submission. Nominators also assist the candidate by acting as a point of contact for the reference writers and providing guidance as needed.

Finalist rollover

Finalists who are not selected may rollover their application materials to the next cycle for consideration in the initial pool of applicants.

Criteria

Nominees are evaluated based on how their contributions have:

• Demonstrated great depth and breadth and had a cumulative effect on the profession of architecture.
• Addressed the future of architecture while honoring its tradition.
• Transcended or united specific areas of expertise.
• Become widely known—by architects, designers, educators, and the public—for the quality of their work.

Recognition

• Promotional recognition in AIA communication channels
• Recipient(s) are typically invited to participate in conference sessions and/or a keynote recognizing the Gold Medal.
• Living recipients are automatically elevated to Fellowship, Honorary Membership, or Honorary Fellowship, as eligible. 

Schedule 

For more information on opening and deadline dates, please see AIA Awards FAQ.

Application opens: July 15, 2024

Application deadline: September 15, 2024

Notification to finalists: Early October 2024

Notification to the recipient: December 13, 2024

Public announcement: No later than December 15, 2024

Fee: There is no fee for this program. 

2025 Jury

The AIA Board of Directors and Strategic Council are the jury for this program. To see a full list of those members, visit our leadership page.  

2025 Advisory Jury

The Advisory Jury assists the Board and the Strategic Council in the selection of Gold Medal candidates by reviewing the nominees and identifying three (3) finalists.

Anne Hicks Harney, FAIA, Chair, Long Green Specs, Manasquan, N.J.

Kjell M. Anderson, FAIA, LMN Architects, Seattle

Ung-Joo Scott Lee, AIA, Morphosis Architects, New York City

Amy Slattery, AIA, Odimo, Kansas City, Mo.

Megumi Tamanaha, AIA, ARO, New York City

Roderic Walton, AIA, Moody Nolan, Chicago

Korey White, AIA, DLR Group, Quincy, Ill.

Taryn Williams, SGH, Washington, D.C.

Contacting the jury

To protect the integrity of the awards process, active nominees are prohibited from contacting members of either the Advisory Jury or members of AIA Board of Directors and Strategic Council during the submission process. Communication with any of the above individuals from the time of submittal to completion of the jury process by the candidate or anyone acting on their behalf is cause for immediate disqualification. 

Submission guide

The 2024 Gold Medal Sample Application contains criteria and guidelines for the program, as well as a preview of the fields you will be asked to complete on the submission site.

Previous submission examples

Reviewing previous submissions can be helpful as you prepare your materials. To request a copy of a submission not listed here, you can email our archivist.

Finalist guidelines

If you are selected as a finalist by the Advisory Jury, the next stage of the awards process includes a video presentation shown to the AIA Board of Directors and Strategic Council at their joint meeting, typically in early December. Your submission will also be included in the meeting materials. (Guidelines below are subject to change.)

Video specifications

• .mp4 format
• Max ten (10) minutes
• PowerPoint/slide style, max 40 screens
• No effects including fade-in/out, animations, video within the video, or sound effects.

Video content

The presentation content should:

• Present an overview of the nominee and the ways they are qualified for the honor, specifically addressing how they have met the award criteria.
• Highlight any aspects of the nominee’s work or history related to AIA’s special interest areas including diversity, sustainability, and the mentoring of emerging professionals.
• Only include text and images from your submission. Distributing additional materials to the AIA Board of Directors and Strategic Council is prohibited and may result in disqualification.

Presenter information

Voiceover narration for the video should be from an individual member (any designation) in good standing, who is not the nominee, nor a principal or employee of the nominee’s firm. 

2025 Deborah Berke, FAIA

2024 David Lake, FAIA and Ted Flato, FAIA

2023 Carol Ross Barney, FAIA

2022 Angela Brooks, FAIA and Lawrence Scarpa, FAIA

2021 Edward Mazria, FAIA

2020 Marlon Blackwell, FAIA

2019 Lord Richard Rogers, Hon. FAIA

2018 James Stewart Polshek, FAIA

2017 Paul Revere Williams, FAIA*

2016 Robert Venturi, FAIA and Denise Scott Brown, Hon. FAIA

2015 Moshe Safdie, FAIA

2014 Julia Morgan*

2013 Thom Mayne, FAIA

2012 Steven Holl, FAIA

2011 Fumihiko Maki, Hon. FAIA

2010 Peter Q. Bohlin, FAIA

2009 Glenn Marcus Murcutt, Hon. FAIA

2008 Renzo Piano, Hon. FAIA

2007 Edward Larrabee Barnes, FAIA*

2006 Antoine Predock, FAIA

2005 Santiago Calatrava, FAIA

2004 Samuel Mockbee, FAIA*

2002 Tadao Ando, Hon. FAIA

2001 Michael Graves, FAIA

2000 Ricardo Legorreta, Hon. FAIA

1999 Frank Gehry, FAIA

1997 Richard Meier, FAIA

1995 César Pelli, FAIA

1994 Sir Norman Foster, Hon. FAIA

1993 Thomas Jefferson*

1993 Kevin Roche, FAIA

1992 Benjamin Thompson, FAIA

1991 Charles W. Moore, FAIA

1990 E. Fay Jones, FAIA

1989 Joseph Esherick, FAIA

1986 Arthur Erickson, Hon. FAIA

1985 William Wayne Caudill, FAIA*

1983 Nathaniel A. Owings, FAIA

1982 Romaldo Giurgola, FAIA

1981 Josep Luis Sert, FAIA

1979 Ieoh Ming Pei, FAIA

1978 Philip Cortelyou Johnson, FAIA

1977 Richard Joseph Neutra, FAIA*

1972 Pietro Belluschi, FAIA

1971 Louis I. Kahn, FAIA

1970 Richard Buckminster Fuller, FAIA

1969 William Wilson Wurster, FAIA

1968 Marcel Breuer, FAIA

1967 Wallace K. Harrison, FAIA

1966 Kenzo Tange, Hon. FAIA

1964 Pier Luigi Nervi, Hon. FAIA

1963 Alvar Aalto, Hon. FAIA

1962 Eero Saarinen, FAIA*

1961 Le Corbusier (Charles Edouard Jeanneret-Gris, Hon. FAIA)

1960 Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, FAIA

1959 Walter Gropius, FAIA

1958 John Wellborn Root, FAIA

1957 Ralph Walker, FAIA (Centennial Medal of Honor)

1957 Louis Skidmore, FAIA

1956 Clarence S. Stein, FAIA

1955 William Marinus Dudok, Hon. FAIA

1953 William Adams Delano, FAIA

1952 Auguste Perret, Hon. FAIA

1951 Bernard Ralph Maybeck

1950 Sir Patrick Abercrombie, Hon. FAIA

1949 Frank Lloyd Wright

1948 Charles Donagh Maginnis, FAIA

1947 Eliel Saarinen, FAIA

1944 Louis Henri Sullivan, FAIA*

1938 Paul Philippe Cret, FAIA

1933 Ragnar Ostberg, Hon. FAIA

1929 Milton Bennett Medary, FAIA

1927 Howard Van Doren Shaw, FAIA

1925 Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, Hon. FAIA

1925 Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, FAIA*

1923 Henry Bacon, FAIA

1922 Victor Laloux, Hon. FAIA

1914 Jean Louis Pascal, Hon. FAIA

1911 George Browne Post, FAIA

1909 Charles Follen McKim, FAIA

1907 Sir Aston Webb, Hon. FAIA

* honored posthumously 

Contact us for information on prior years' winners.