Foundation award winners

Tristan d'Estree Sterk, AIA

2011 Dubin Family Young Architect Award

Tristan d'Estree Sterk, AIA

Tristan d'Estree Sterk, AIA, of the Office for Robotic Architectural Media & Bureau for Responsive Architecture (ORAMBRA), has been recognized as AIA Chicago's 2011 Dubin Family Young Architect of the Year. The award recognizes excellence in ability and exceptional contributions by a Chicago-area architect between the ages of 25 and 39.

An assistant professor at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago, Sterk received his bachelor of architecture in 1999 from The University of Adelaide, Australia, and his MFA specializing in emerging technologies from the SAIC in 2004. That same year, Sterk started working as a design architect at SOM in Chicago, and from 2006 to 2008 he worked at Busby Perkins+Will inVancouver. "Interior of the Rolex Tower, Dubai. Tristan's work stood out because it was about the type of structures we could live in tomorrow," said a juror. That type of forward thinking design can be seen in Sterk's "Prairie House: House for a Fashion Pattern Maker and Fiber Artist," which received a 2011 AIA Chicago Design Excellence Award, Special Recognition in the Unbuilt category. The home was designed to use actuated tensegrity systems, in conjunction with soft cladding systems, to produce a house estimated to emit less than half of the carbon of a typical house in Illinois. Sterk was awarded the Schiff Fellowship in Architecture in 2003 and the Chicago Architectural Club Emerging Vision Award in 2005.

When asked about the Dubin Family Young Architect designation, Sterk said, "It's an honor to be a part of such a successful crowd—I hope to live up to the standards they have set both within their practices and their contributions to the Chicago scene."

Sara Beardsley, AIA LEED AP

2010 Dubin Family Young Architect Award

Sara Beardsley, AIA LEED AP

Photo by Jill Paider

Sara Beardsley, AIA LEED AP, is the winner of the 2010 Dubin Family Young Architect Award. Beardsley, 31, is a senior architect at Adrian Smith & Gordon Gill Architecture. She was selected from a field of six candidates.

Beardsley has played important roles in many significant Chicago projects including the Willis Tower Greening Project and Hotel, the Trump International Hotel and Tower, and the Dirksen Federal Building renovation. Her international portfolio includes the Verde Residences, a 49-story luxury residential tower in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; the 50-story Federation of Korean Industries headquarters in downtown Seoul, Korea; and the 80-story Za'abeel Hotel Project in Dubai. Prior to working for Adrian Smith & Gordon Gill, Beardsley was an associate at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in Chicago. She received her Bachelor of Architecture degree at the Illinois Institute of Technology.

The jury commented that Beardsley's work "is right in line with sustainability" and that "she is at the forefront of that change." "Her excellence and ability and contributions are stellar," remarked one juror. Beardsley received her award on Dec. 7, 2010, at AIA Chicago's annual holiday party and meeting.

The Dubin Family Young Architect Award was established in 1983 to recognize excellence in ability and exceptional contributions by Chicago-area architects between the ages of 25 and 39. The AIA Chicago Foundation hosts the annual competition and administers the funds donated by the Dubin family in honor of M. David Dubin, FAIA. The award includes a cash prize of $2,000.

Brian Vitale, AIA

Brian Vitale, AIA LEED AP

2009 Dubin Family Young Architect Award

While you may not have met Brian Vitale, you have likely seen his work. Notably, he is responsible for the Barney's New York store, completed this year, that graces the corner of Rush and Oak in Chicago's Gold Coast. The six-story building consists of punched pre-cast concrete and limestone with a curved glass corner outfitted with perforated metal panels. Vitale's other projects include Johnson Controls Headquarters in Milwaukee, Wis. (2009); FFSB in Mishawaka, Ind. (2008), and an award winning conceptual design for a pedestrian bridge, "Glow," in Pittsburgh.

Jurors selected Vitale as the winner of the Dubin Family Young Architect Award from a field of nine applicants. The AIA Chicago Foundation hosts the annual competition and administers the funds donated by the Dubin family in honor of M. David Dubin, FAIA. This distinction is awarded to an architect between the ages of 25 and 39 who demonstrates exceptional ability and has made significant contributions to the profession. The award includes a cash prize of $2,000. Jurors described Vitale's experience and achievements as "perfectly well-rounded. From his current work to work on the boards—to research, teaching and giving back to the community—he has the fullest range of [the nine] applicants and is clearly the most outstanding in all the categories."

"It is humbling to receive an award in recognition of your work, but especially one that puts further expectations, as this one most certainly does, on your future," Vitale said. The 38-year-old Vitale is the design director at Gensler's Chicago office. Prior to joining Gensler in 2006, Vitale worked at Booth | Hansen, von Weise Associates, and 4240 Architecture, all in Chicago. His pro bono work includes founding the program, "VOLUME: Creating New Libraries for Chicago Public Schools," that matches designers with builders and corporate partners to redesign school libraries at no cost to the school.

Craig Brandt

2008 Dubin Family Young Architect Award

Craig Brandt, AIA

From a field of eight applicants, Craig Brandt, AIA, was selected as the 2008 Dubin Family Young Architect. This distinction is awarded annually to an architect between the ages of 25 and 39 who demonstrates exceptional ability and has made significant contributions to the profession. The award includes a cash prize of $2,000.

The AIA Chicago Foundation hosts the competition and administers the funds donated by the Dubin Family in honor of M. David Dubin, FAIA. The jurors were Sharlene Young, AIA, of Wheeler Kearns (a 2001 Dubin Family Young Architect Award winner); Ben Weese, FAIA, of Weese Langley Weese; and Walker Johnson, FAIA, of Johnson-Laskey.

Brandt, age 39, is a principal at Hammond Beeby Rupert Ainge, where he has worked since 1997. He earned his Masters of Architecture degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he now teaches architecture as an adjunct professor. Since 2004, he has served as chairman of the AIA Chicago Design Committee.

"He's able to embrace versatility," Young said about Brandt's capabilities. The jurors were impressed with both the diversity of Brandt's projects and their outstanding quality—as well as the critical role he played in delivering these projects. As project architect for the Chicago History Museum renovation (completed in 2006), he worked closely with firm partners Thomas Beeby, FAIA, and Gary Ainge, AIA. Brandt was also project architect for the firm's Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Chicago (2003). He served as project principal/project architect for Port of Entry (2005), a US Customs border station, in Raymond, Mont.

Brandt's submission portfolio included a letter written in 2004 from a satisfied client praising the project team's work on the Port of Entry project. "If you can please a client, you're a genius," Weese remarked. Johnson noted that the candidates represented "future leaders of the profession" and commented that it was "a very hard decision."

What does this recognition mean to the newest Young Architect Award winner? "It's a stimulating process to reflect on your past, present it to others, and have it make an impact," Brandt said. "My work [has been] individual as well as part of a team, so it's a tribute to others as well."

Brandt received the Dubin Family Young Architect Award Dec. 4 at the AIA Chicago Annual Meeting and Holiday Party at the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies.