It has taken me a bit too long to get around to this but it is still worth mentioning. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) honored Robert Shibley, FAIA, Dean of the SUNY Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning, with one of its top awards at its annual convention a few weeks ago in Chicago. The 2014 Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture was presented to him for his work in promoting the betterment of the public realm in Buffalo. This prestigious national award is also a recognition that Buffalo is starting to make the right decisions in planning and constructing its built environment. The Award is a recognition of Shibley’s work in developing the Queen City Hub plan as well as his work in shaping the University of Buffalo, three campus plan and his less well-known involvement in other university initiatives including the campus Climate Action Plan.
The AIA describes the honor thus:
In recognition of 41 years of public service spanning federal, state, university, and municipal venues, Robert Shibley, FAIA, is receiving a Thomas Jefferson Awards under Category Three, which recognizes public officials who, by their role and advocacy, have furthered the public’s awareness of design excellence in public architecture.
This year’s Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture honors Robert Shibley, FAIA, a prolific scholar and active practitioner whose urban planning work has helped shape the future of western New York and Buffalo. Shibley, the Category Three recipient, and the other 2014 Thomas Jefferson Award recipients are celebrated for their commitment to public architecture as an integral part of the nation’s cultural heritage.
Former Mayor Anthony Masiello wrote of Mr. Shibley’s work:
“It is now 10 years since we published the Queen City Hub, and we see the fruits of its logic with cranes in the air, new residential life downtown, and the emergent fulfillment of the plan’s aspirations for both the waterfront and our medical campus. “There is still a lot to do, but we are clearly on the way that Bob charted in the early 2000s. Lift the hood on the game plan for the city, and you will find Bob and his teams. He teaches us all about the making and remaking of great places and cities.”
This award is also a great honor that can be shared with the University of Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning. In recent years the school has made big national waves with students and faculty being regularly honored in national competitions and gaining increasingly high praise in national press. Join Buffalo Rising in congratulating Robert Shibley, his faculty, and his students for this great honor of recognition from outside the region.