Stephen Kieran and James Timberlake Named 35th Louis I. Kahn Award Recipients

The founding principals of KieranTimberlake, Stephen Kieran and James Timberlake, designers behind the widely acclaimed U.S. Embassy in London, the transformation of Dilworth Park, the master plan for Central Delaware, and hundreds of other projects worldwide, will be honored by the Center for Architecture and Design with the 35th Louis I. Kahn Award. The ceremony, which will include a presentation by the architects, will be held at the University of Pennsylvania’s Museum of Anthropology and Archeology at TKTK pm on Tuesday, November 2, 2021.

The annual Louis I. Kahn Award, founded in 1983, is Philadelphia's signature event honoring individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of architecture. The event celebrates these achievements in memory of the storied career of Philadelphia architect Louis Kahn—widely considered the most important Modernist American architect, and designer of such famous structures as the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California; the National Assembly Building in Dhaka, Bangladesh; and the Richards Medical Research Laboratories at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. 

The event raises funds to provide free design education to children in Philadelphia, through the Architecture and Design Education (ADE) program of the Center for Architecture and Design, which brings practicing architects and designers into public school classrooms. ADE Introduces children to the fields of architecture and design while empowering them to use design to shape their homes, their neighborhoods, and their city. 

Founded in 1984, KieranTimberlake’s world-renowned practice brings together the experience and talents of over 100 professionals with diverse backgrounds and abilities. The firm’s projects include the programming, planning, and design of new structures, as well as the conservation, renovation, and transformation of existing buildings, with special expertise in education, government, arts and culture, civic, and residential projects. Since its inception, the firm has conducted proprietary research and developed technologies to improve the process of design and construction, as well as solve present-day challenges such as climate change. KieranTimberlake has received a multitude of prestigious and sought-after design citations, including the Firm Award from the American Institute of Architects in 2008 and the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award for Architecture from the Smithsonian Institution in 2010.

Past awardees include: Diller Scofido + Renfro, architects of the High Line and The Shed at Hudson Yards; Bjarke Ingels, architect of Google headquarters; Sir David Adjaye, architect of the National Museum of African American Museum in Washington D.C.; Lord Norman Foster, architect of Comcast Innovation + Technology Center; Peter Bohlin, FAIA, architect of Apple’s iconic glass cube; Daniel Liebskind, BDA, architect of the original Freedom Tower concept; Robert A.M. Stern, FAIA, architect of the Comcast Center; Rafael Viñoly, FAIA, architect of the Kimmel Center; and César Pelli, FAIA, architect of Cira Center.