President's message: Bestowing well deserved honors

On June 2, the AIA New York Chapter held its annual meeting. Attendees expecting the usual routine meeting were pleased to discover an upbeat and exciting evening. This year's Heritage honorees exemplified the importance of the built environment in our city's planning for the future. We recognized the following firms and individuals for a variety of contributions made to the AIA and New York City. Medal of Honor - Diller Scofidio + Renfro Award of Merit - Robert Yaro, RPA Honorary Member - Susan Szenasy, Metropolis Magazine Andrew J. Thomas Award - Jerilyn Perine, Citizens Housing & Planning Council Harry B. Rutkins Award - Pentagram Public Architect Award - David Resnick, NYC - DDC George S. Lewis Award - Chris Ward, Port Authority Oculus Award - Ada Louise Huxtable, FAIA Special Citations to: Dickson Despommier Vertical Farms Lecture; Wendy Feuer - NYC DOT; Architectural League - Archives Project; Leslie Koch - GIPEC; Aliye Celik - United Nations The evening focused on people and projects that have made a difference in our lives here in New York, whether by constructing an inspiring new public space or building, creating a program that enhances housing and transportation, creating publications that inspire and educate, or bringing an international group together to learn how others are doing these activities. In addition, we announced the honorees to be feted in October at our Heritage Ball. Those to be honored will be: Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Commissioner Adrian Benepe, Robert Silman and the Make It Right Foundation. If you see a common thread here, it is due to the amazing work on the High Line. This newest public park space is garnering rave reviews for its numerous triumphs. Noteworthy are the efforts of both the Parks Department and City Hall to ensure that the project meets New York's high standards for quality and public access that have been the hallmark of our recreation spaces since the creation of Central Park. The park's designers, James Corner of Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro earned a big round of applause for a design that is new and different in keeping with the High Line's distinct character. Kudos to Joshua David and Robert Hammond, and their organization, Friends of the High Line, for keeping the public in the mix along this elevated railway! In addition to the focus on parks and open space, the Institute wished to recognize our close colleagues in the engineering field. This led us to the leading structural engineer for preservation projects, Robert Silman. His keen eye and tireless devotion have prolonged the life of many of New York's prized buildings in the best, most responsible manner. And last, but hardly least, our friends from New Orleans have been cheering us all on by continuing to ask for the best designs in the rebuilding of neighborhoods. As we keep our eye on the rebuilding of our economy, these aforementioned organizations and individuals have kept us looking ahead toward the brighter city in our future. Better transportation, more affordable housing, and higher quality public architecture give all of us more reasons to live and work in this greatest of all global cities! Keep the Heritage Ball on your calendars - it will be held on Thursday, October 8th at Chelsea Piers, and we expect to keep the mood as upbeat as it was for the Annual Meeting. Moving forward we are determined to keep our focus on the accomplishments of so many across all of the disciplines that fuse, foster and create our urban surroundings. Sherida Paulsen, FAIA is the 2009 president of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, New York, N.Y.