Stephen Ayers has won the prestigious 2018 Thomas Jefferson Award presented by The American Institute of Architects (AIA) for service to public architecture. The award honors “architects in the public and private sectors, public officials, or other individuals who design distinguished public facilities and/or who advocate for design excellence.” Ayers was appointed as the 11th Architect of the Capitol in 2010 by President Barack Obama. The architect has worked on major restoration projects including the bronze Ulysses S. Grant Memorial and U.S. Capitol Dome, restoring the cast iron structure back to its original glory, noted ArchDaily.AIA also announced the winners of 2018 Collaborative Achievement Award —the Affordable Housing Design leadership Institute (AHDLI) and Klyde Warren Park. “Modeled on the Mayors’ Institute on City Design, AHDLI assembles development and design leaders to focus on the ways in which architecture can produce more livable and sustainable housing for low- and middle-income people across the United States,” and “Klyde Warren Park healed a rift in Dallas where a freeway once divided two vital sections of the city, overcoming an obstacle that many residents feared was permanent,” stated AIA.  Read more