November 1, 2017
by Camila Schaulsohn
Heritage Ball 2017 Honorees: Claudia Gould, Annie Tirschwell, Jill Crawford, Sara Caples, Andrea Kletchmer, Everardo Jefferson, and Jeffrey Sachs. Credit: Sam Lahoz.
Heritage Ball 2017 Honorees: Claudia Gould, Annie Tirschwell, Jill Crawford, Sara Caples, Andrea Kletchmer, Everardo Jefferson, and Jeffrey Sachs. Credit: Sam Lahoz.
David Piscuskas, FAIA, Benjamin Prosky, Assoc. AIA, and Tom Krizmanic, AIA, with student honorees Estefano Torres, Tonia Chi, and Zhenni Zhu. Credit: Sam Lahoz.
David Piscuskas, FAIA, Benjamin Prosky, Assoc. AIA, and Tom Krizmanic, AIA, with student honorees Estefano Torres, Tonia Chi, and Zhenni Zhu. Credit: Sam Lahoz.
AIANY and Center for Architecture Executive Director Benjamin Prosky, Assoc. AIA, welcomed guests to the 2017 Heritage Ball.
AIANY and Center for Architecture Executive Director Benjamin Prosky, Assoc. AIA, welcomed guests to the 2017 Heritage Ball.
Everardo Jefferson and Sara Caples of Caples Jefferson Architects receive the 2017 President's Award. Credit: Center for Architecture.
Everardo Jefferson and Sara Caples of Caples Jefferson Architects receive the 2017 President's Award. Credit: Center for Architecture.
Andrea Kretchmer, Jill Crawford, and Annie Tirschwell of Type A Projects receive the 2017 AIA New York Chapter Award. Credit: Sam Lahoz.
Andrea Kretchmer, Jill Crawford, and Annie Tirschwell of Type A Projects receive the 2017 AIA New York Chapter Award. Credit: Sam Lahoz.
Claudia Gould and The Jewish Museum receive the 2017 NYC Visionary Award. Credit: Sam Lahoz.
Claudia Gould and The Jewish Museum receive the 2017 NYC Visionary Award. Credit: Sam Lahoz.
Jeffrey Sachs receives the 2017 Center for Architecture Award. Credit: Sam Lahoz.
Jeffrey Sachs receives the 2017 Center for Architecture Award. Credit: Sam Lahoz.

On 10.26.16, 1,000 architecture, engineering, construction, and real estate professionals joined us at Chelsea Piers Pier 60 to celebrate AIA New York and the Center for Architecture’s Heritage Ball. While all enjoyed the networking, the evening also honors NYC leaders who champion design excellence in the city and beyond: Caples Jefferson Architects, Type A Projects, Claudia Gould and The Jewish Museum, and Jeffrey Sachs. Each of honoree has contributed to making New York City a more dynamic and equitable place.

The Heritage Ball serves as the single largest funding source for AIA New York and the Center for Architecture, and allows the organizations to carry out their missions through initiatives and programs. In his remarks, AIANY and Center for Architecture Executive Director Benjamin Prosky, Assoc. AIA, outlined some of the achievements of 2017, including reaching 8,230 parents, teachers, and students through our K-12 educational programs, awarding $79,000 in scholarships and grants for design education and research, and drafting Zero Waste Design Guidelines with the support of The Rockefeller Foundation.

Sara Caples and Everardo Jefferson of Caples Jefferson Architects, the 2017 President’s Award recipients, were honored for engaging with social, cultural, and community concerns in their architecture and design work. As a firm, they believe that by listening and responding to the aspirations of the communities they serve, they can create formally coherent works of architecture that provide lasting value; and they have completed works that do just that.

Type A Projects, a real estate development company led by Jill Crawford, Annie Tirschwell, and Andrea Kretchmer, received this year’s AIA New York Chapter Award for their commitment to creating facilities that engender hopefulness and inspire learning in the diverse communities of New York. The three women who lead the firm come from a long history of community development, with experience of preserving, adapting, and creating buildings that support the social fabric of NYC’s neighborhoods.

The NYC Visionary Award was bestowed on Claudia Gould and The Jewish Museum, recognizing her leadership in creating outstanding original programming and developing an expansive, interdisciplinary approach to exhibitions, education, and public outreach. Gould was also honored for her long history of weaving design into her work, exposing her museum’s audiences to the works of architects including Pierre Chareau and Roberto Burle Marx, while simultaneously inviting architecture and design enthusiasts to learn more about The Jewish Museum.

Finally, Jeffrey Sachs was the recipient of the Center for Architecture Award for his work as an advocate for the environment and as an expert in the fight against poverty. As a world-renowned professor of economics, senior UN advisor, bestselling author, and columnist, Sachs has brilliantly made the argument connecting energy conservation and sustainability to economic development.

In appreciation of their significant contributions towards design excellence, AIA New York and Center for Architecture invited each honoree to select an academic program to receive a scholarship for one of its students. Francesca Rivas of the Yale School of Architecture received a scholarship in honor of Caples Jefferson. Estefano Torres of the the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture received a scholarship in honor of Type A Projects. Tonia Chi of the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation received a scholarship in honor of Jeffrey Sachs. Zhenni Zhu of the Iriwn S. Chanin School of Architecture of the Cooper Union received a scholarship in honor of Claudia Gould and The Jewish Museum.