April 28, 2021
by Center for Architecture
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Image: Center for Architecture.
Image: Center for Architecture.
Image: Center for Architecture.
Image: Center for Architecture.
Image: Center for Architecture.
Image: Center for Architecture.

The Center for Architecture hosted its ninth-annual Guess-A-Sketch fundraiser on April 15, 2021. Despite being held virtually, the architecture-themed, Pictionary-style tournament raised $70,000 to support the Center for Architecture’s mission to provide design education programs for children, families, and adults. Watch the replay below!

Hosted by David Leven, FAIA, Partner at LEVENBETTS, who served as the evening’s Master of Ceremonies, four architects were invited to live sketch iconic buildings from around the world as competing teams guessed to win. Audience members were also invited to guess in the online chat feature; winning audience guesses were awarded original sketches by the honorees.

2021 Honoree Sketchers were:

  • Winka Dubbeldam, Assoc. AIA, Founder & Partner Archi-Tectonics; Ella Warren Shafer Miller Professor and Chair, Department of Architecture, Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania
  • Jerome Haferd, Co-founder, BRANDT : HAFERD; Adjunct Professor, Spitzer School of Architecture at the City College of New York and the Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation
  • Frances Halsband, FAIA, Founding Partner, Kilment Halsband Architects
  • Eric Höweler, AIA, LEED AP, Co-founding Principal and Partner, Höweler + Yoon Architecture; Associate Professor in Architecture, Harvard Graduate School of Design

Six teams, sponsored by AEC firms, competed to receive the Guess-A-Sketch trophy: Ennead Architects, Gensler, Lutron, Robert A.M. Stern Architects, Silman, and a Center for Architecture team funded by an anonymous donor. After three competitive rounds, Robert A.M. Stern Architects emerged as the winning team for the fourth time in the tournament’s nine years.

The funds raised through Guess-A-Sketch are critical to keeping the Center for Architecture’s programs affordable and accessible to all New Yorkers. Through its Learning:NY by Design program, the organization works with over 90 public school classrooms annually in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens. In addition, the Center for Architecture offers a broad range of school, youth, and family programs, serving more than 6,000 students, teachers, and adults throughout the year, helping them understand how the built environment and design affect their daily lives.

In 2020, the Center for Architecture quickly adapted to the new realities of remote programming, transitioning its popular Vacation, Summer, and After-School programs to an online format and launching new initiatives like Architecture at Home resources and workshops, which allow children from anywhere in the world to participate in design activities from the comort of their home. 

Sketches created by the honorees during Guess-A-Sketch will be up for sale in the upcoming weeks. Please check the Guess-A-Sketch page on our website for updates.