Philadelphia, PA, April 18, 2023  – Jacques Herzog — one-half of the duo that founded the Swiss-based architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron — will present a talk on behalf of his firm and in acceptance of the 36th Louis I. Kahn Award, an award given by the Center for Architecture and Design. The ceremony will take place at the University of Pennsylvania’s Museum of Anthropology and Archeology at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, May 31, 2023. Tickets are on sale now on the Center for Architecture and Design’s website.

The 2001 Pritzker Prize-winning Herzog & de Meuron is known for working on projects at every scale  – from furniture to territorial studies – and approaching each project without preconceptions. Notable examples of their work include the Tate Modern gallery in London, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, National Stadium in Beijing, the main stadium for the 2008 Olympics, and Prada Aoyama in Tokyo. In November 2022, the firm broke ground on the much-anticipated Calder Gardens dedicated to the works of Alexander Calder on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia.

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 critical 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, neighborhoods, and city.

Established in 1978, Herzog & de Meuron’s architectural practice is led by the two founders together with 15 Partners and the CEO. Today, an international team of over 600 collaborators is engaged in a wide range of projects in 40 countries across Europe, the Americas, and Asia. The main office in Basel works in tandem with international studios in Berlin and Munich, Paris, London, Hong Kong, New York, and San Francisco, and site offices in Copenhagen, Jerusalem, and Hangzhou.

Past Kahn awardees include James Kieran, FAIA + Stephen Timberlake, FAIA, founders of the firm KieranTimberlake and architects of the Embassy of the United States in London; 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.

The 2023 Louis I. Kahn Award is generously supported by presenting sponsor Gattuso Development Partners — a developer of exceptional, sustainable high-performance workplaces. Led by former Liberty Property Trust leaders John S. Gattuso, President and CEO, and Anne Cummins, COO, the Gattuso team has played a vital role in reshaping the Philadelphia skyline and revitalizing its urban landscape.

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About Louis I. Kahn

Louis Isadore Kahn was born in Pärnu, Estonia, in 1901, emigrating to Philadelphia in 1906. A student of Philadelphia’s Central High School and, subsequently, the University of Pennsylvania, Kahn is considered one of the most influential architects of the second half of the twentieth century, according to his biography on The Athenaeum of Philadelphia’s website. His style, based mainly on geometric shapes, is most noted as being heavy and monumental. Kahn’s notable projects include the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, CA; the Kimball Art Museum in Fort Worth, TX; and the Library of the Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, NH. Kahn was also a renowned teacher at Yale, the University of Pennsylvania, MIT, and Princeton.

About the Center / Architecture + Design

An independent non-profit, the Center was founded in 2002 by the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA Philadelphia). The Center provides the public with a place and with programs to explore architecture, urban planning, and design, allowing us all to understand how these creative professions affect us in our daily lives. Using Philadelphia's distinctive breadth of architecture, pioneering urban design, and diverse manufacturing heritage as the foundation for discussion, we educate the public through exhibitions, guest speakers, hands-on workshops, design competitions, city-wide festivals, and children’s programming. The Center brings together architects, designers, developers, thought leaders, and the public under one roof and also provides office space for AIA Philadelphia and the Community Design Collaborative. The Center is open to the public five days a week. For more information, visit philadelphiacfa.org.