Board Awards
AIA Kansas City is pleased to honor Board Award recipients each year at our annual Holiday Party. These individuals are true champions of the profession and the understanding of the impact design has on a community.
The Board Awards recognize leadership achievement at significant stages in an individual’s professional development. Awards include:
The Chapter Volunteer Award recognizes a member who provides support to our chapter’s mission.
The Emerging Professional Award salutes young professional leadership.
The Gold Medal Award honors a lifetime of design leadership.
The Firm Award honors outstanding practice contributions.
The President’s Award honors leaders who support the mission of our profession.
Call for Nominations comes out in the fall of each year.
2022 Gold Medal Award
Elizabeth Amirahmadi, AIA
The Gold Medal Award recognizes an AIA Kansas City member for longstanding, distinguished leadership and dedication to architecture, the profession, and the community. The award is our chapter’s highest honor. This award shines a spotlight on a member who, by his or her example and service, has made significant contributions to the advancement of the profession and to the community.
The 2022 Gold Medal Award was presented to Elizabeth Amirahmadi, AIA. Elizabeth is a leader with many talents, broad visions, and experience. Her international background, passion for equality and fairness, coupled with her energy and optimism, guide her leadership. She is a frequent panelist for our Women in Design leadership events and has served as a design awards juror for several AIA chapters around the country. She is generous with the advice and inspiration she shares with other women about starting and sustaining a successful firm.
In a letter of support from Anna Marie Tutera, Executive Director of Kansas City Museum, “She is a distinguished leader in architecture, and her professionalism is unmatched. Elizabeth is dedicated to community engagement and has led an unprecedented vision for the museum by creating a multidisciplinary team for our project—advocating for and centering the participation of Kansas City-based artists, historians, and educators during the architectural design process.”
2022 Firm Award
Generator Studio
The Firm Award was presented to an AIA Kansas City Member Firm that has shown exceptional leadership and made significant contributions to the profession and the built environment.
The 2022 Firm Award was presented to Generator Studio.
As the firm of record for Kansas City Current, Generator is responsible for multiple, impressive projects for the Kansas City women’s soccer team. They completed the Kansas City Current Training Facility in June of this year; it is the first Cross Laminated Timber training facility in North America and the first training facility built specifically for a women’s professional soccer team.
In early October, Generator broke ground on the Kansas City Current Stadium, which will be the first purpose-built stadium for a women’s professional sports team – ever – when it opens in early 2024.
Generator Studio is designing two of five big projects reshaping downtown Kansas City, according to a recent Kansas City Business Journal article. One project example is the recently announced Academy Bank Headquarters, a new downtown workplace with 59,000 square feet of innovative work-hybrid workspace design.
In addition to several large projects in our metro area and the United States, Generator Studio is also an active firm in AIA Kansas City helping to support our mission.
Chapter Volunteer Award:
Strategic Action Initiative
The Chapter Volunteer Award is awarded to an AIA Kansas City member who has given exceptional volunteer support for and made significant contributions to the chapter.
The 2022 Chapter Volunteer Award was presented to the Strategic Action Initiative committee. Their detailed white paper focused on mental health in our profession, and it is an important study of how the architecture profession needs to adapt and change as we have moved into a new normal. Read the full white paper here >
The committee included:
Nicolas Bock. AIA
Tabitha Darko, AIA
Janet Getz, AIA
Al Harris, AIA
Kirsten Hastings, AIA
David Herron, AIA
Doug Hurt, AIA
Phillip Korthankee, AIA
Randi Mixdorf, AIA
Ashley Renfrew, AIA
2022 Emerging Professional Award
Matthew Hollingsworth, Assoc. AIA
The Emerging Professional Award goes to an AIA Kansas City member who has shown exceptional leadership and made significant contributions to the profession in the early stages of their architecture career.
The 2022 Emergineg Professional Award went to Matthew Hollingsworth, Assoc. AIA.
Matthew co-chaired AIA Kansas City’s Education Outreach Committee this past year, helping to develop materials and attending career exposure events to foster interest in architecture for underserved students in the Kansas City area. He also participates in AIA Kansas City’s Young Architects Forum.
In his 2 and a half years at Hoefer Welker, Matthew has been a member of the firm’s ARE Success Team and serves on their Green Team as a knowledgeable advocate for sustainability in the industry. He has also served as their campus ambassador to K-State and has led multiple volunteer opportunities with Harvesters, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Habitat ReStore.
2022 President's Award:
Chris Fein, AIA
The President's Award recognizes a member of the Kansas City community who has consistently advocated on the value of quality design for the benefit of our community, particularly through the built environment.
This President's Award goes to Chris Fein, Assistant Professor of Architecture at Kansas State University and Principal at Forward Design Architecture.
Chris was nominated for his dedication to educating architecture students. He is passionate about teaching students, and opening their eyes to new ideas.
2022 President's Award:
Jeremy Knoll, AIA, Joyce Raybuck, AIA, Frank Zilm, FAIA
The President's Award recognizes a member of the Kansas City community who has consistently advocated on the value of quality design for the benefit of our community, particularly through the built environment.
This President’s Award goes to Jeremy Knoll, AIA, Joyce Raybuck, AIA, and Frank Zilm, FAIA, who went above and beyond in the past few years to advocate for adopting the IECC 2021 codes in KCMO.
Many of our members were actively involved in testifying, writing letters, meeting with Councilmembers, and displaying visible leadership, which is a goal enshrined in our AIA Kansas City strategic plan. But these three members devoted considerable time and effort for several years to see this through to a positive outcome.
They showed that architects are credible advocates, especially on topics related to designing projects to be more sustainable and carbon-neutral.
2022 President's Award:
Kirk Gastinger, FAIA
The President's Award recognizes a member of the Kansas City community who has consistently advocated on the value of quality design for the benefit of our community, particularly through the built environment.
This President’s Award goes to Kirk Gastinger, FAIA. He has contributed so much to our chapter for decades. He is a talented and award-winning designer; he has served as our chapter president; he actively engages on our committees and special projects; he has supported student scholarships and sponsored College of Fellows applicants; and he was our Architect of the Year winner in 2015. This award is presented in appreciation for all he has done to embody what it means to be an active, thoughtful, engaged member of AIA Kansas City.
