2026 AIA Seattle Parti Honorees
Congratulations to our 2026 local and national award winners!
Honorees will be awarded formally at AIA Seattle’s 2026 Parti on Tuesday, May 26 @ The Forum at Town Hall Seattle.
Remembering Norman Strong FAIA — Norm earned his Bachelor of Architecture from Washington State University in 1978. He joined the Miller Hull Partnership in 1979 as one of its first employees, becoming a partner in 1985. Norm was named managing partner in 1994 and helped guide the firm to the national AIA Firm of the Year Award in 2003. He was elected an AIA Fellow in 2004.
Just days before Norm passed, he was notified he was awarded the AIA Seattle Gold Medal in recognition of distinguished lifetime achievement in architecture, including design and professional practice and service to the profession, the community, education and the arts.
Consistent with Miller Hull’s design focus, Norm was a passionate advocate for sustainable design – “high performance buildings” he called it – that balanced environmental responsibility with sound business sense and accountability. Norm was AIA Seattle President in 2000, served on the AIA National Board of Directors from 2003-2005, and was AIA National Vice President in 2006.
Norm is survived by his wife of 48 years, Susan; daughters Alexa (Joey) and Katie (Jarred); grandchildren Nora, Alex, Joseph and Keegan; brothers Dave (Linda) and Gordon (Marg); and sister Judy (Terry). His sister Janet preceded him in death by one year.
Norm’s award will be accepted by his friend and colleague Craig Curtis FAIA.
2026 AIA College of Fellows
With more than 25 years of experience, Keith is an architect who specializes in planning and designing airport terminals and support buildings around the world. Based in Seattle, he leads HOK’s A+T practice in the Pacific Northwest.
Keith has extensive experience working in the aviation and transportation industry, helping establish HOK’s A+T practice in the Seattle, Hong Kong and Houston studios.
A frequent author, Keith has published work in Airport World and Passenger Terminal World covering topics from increasing diversity and inclusion in aviation design to designing passenger-friendly terminals for the 21st century.
Kevin Kudo-King, FAIA, LEED AP, is a principal and owner at Olson Kundig. Since joining the firm in 1996, he has led award-winning projects worldwide. Shaped by his education in the Arizona-Sonoran Desert and extensive travel, Kevin designs sensory-rich spaces that honor site, culture, and craft.
Building on the Pacific Northwest’s craft-based tradition, his work reinterprets local materials, construction methods, and cultural practices to create architecture rooted in place. Across a diverse portfolio of botanical gardens, wellness resorts, and private residences, he brings a deep understanding of site, climate, and layered histories.
Kevin’s approach to architecture engages local traditions, collective memory, and environmental stewardship. Through close collaboration with builders, craftspeople, and interdisciplinary teams, his process becomes iterative and inclusive, reflecting shared expertise and enriching the user experience. Whether framing expansive landscapes or shaping intimate interiors, Kevin believes design can strengthen communities, deepen our connection to the natural world, and support well-being through an unfolding experience of space.
Thomas Lawrence FAIA has dedicated himself to fostering community, mentorship, and professional development for small firms while providing a road map for design quality through educational and design excellence programs all through the lenses of his own small practice, Lawrence Architecture.
Of note for AIA Seattle are Thomas’ over three decades of involvement with the AIA Seattle Awards for Washington State, his 25 years developing and organizing the AIA Seattle Housing Forum, and his two decades of leadership with the AIA Seattle Small Firm Roundtable and the AIA Seattle Small Practice and Residential Committee.
Thomas currently serves on the national Small Firm Exchange (SFx) Board advocating for the value of small firms, the national SFx, and local SFx groups, both within the AIA and to the public.
Thomas has degrees from North Carolina State University and the University of Washington and resides in the 100-year-old Phinney Ridge home with his architect wife and two cats.
AIA Seattle Community Service Award
For most of her life, Jacqui has held a deep belief that she should use her skills and privileges to help those less fortunate. Her passion for community service through architecture developed during her studies at UC Berkeley, where she was involved with the Global Architecture Brigades to help design and build a school, health care center, and various public health related projects in rural Honduran communities.
When she graduated from undergrad in 2015, it became apparent to her that housing injustices were worsening in her own neighborhood and she sought ways to work to resolve these systemic issues. She joined the AIA Seattle’s Committee on Homelessness in 2017 and has been a member ever since, being co-chair since 2021.
During her time within COHO, Jacqui has publicly advocated for the Mandatory Housing Affordability Act, hosted various panels and presentations on how architects can advocate to address housing justice issues, successfully persuaded the AIA Seattle Public Policy Board to endorse Initiative 135 and Prop 1, hosted education sessions at various architecture firms around the city regarding social housing, lead a design collaborative for social housing for House Our Neighbors and the Seattle Design Festival, and lead the design and build of the Nickelsville Northlake tiny house kitchen project. Within the last couple of years, she has moved down to Tacoma and pursued advocacy work through Tacoma for All, a housing justice organization focused on tenant empowerment, where she is a member of the Steering Committee and working on leading her first initiative.
Jacqui is very proud of the community building she has been lucky to be a part of for the last decade and of what they have been able to accomplish together. She looks forward to many more years to come and is honored to receive an award for something she does because she believes it’s the right thing to do.
Lydia Fulton is an architect and designer who has worked on civic projects and high-end residential renovations, but whose current professional focus has been on housing, in particular missing-middle housing. Lydia was born and raised in the Puget Sound region and has spent most of her professional career here, so was drawn to AIA’s Committee on Homelessness because of their focus on an issue that has accelerated so quickly in this region over the past several decades.
She first started volunteering with COHO in 2018, about a year after the Committee’s inception. The committee has been a great way to explore something that is very important to her: architecture’s role in enhancing the affordability and livability in our region as it becomes more expensive. Recently, with the Nickelsville Kitchen Project, Lydia was one of the key volunteers to design and build the kitchenette structures, a community space addition to a tiny house village for those transitioning out of homelessness. This project was a great way to engage with many groups, such as: Nickelsville, a nonprofit doing important work helping people transition out of homelessness; as well as to assist volunteer contractors and lead volunteers to build a project that the committee had designed.
Currently she works at WMC Design Build, based in Maui, a firm focused on designing new homes and generational housing for families who lost their homes in the 2023 Lahaina wildfire.
AIA Seattle Young Architect Award
Tanya Kataria, AIA, WELL AP is an architect and advocate, based in Seattle, Washington. Born and raised in India, Tanya was influenced by the layered architecture heritage of traditional India and the rapid commercialization of New Delhi’s urban landscape. These early experiences instilled a commitment to reconciling environmental responsibility and cultural continuity through architecture.
Tanya is a Project Architect at INTEGRUS, where she focuses on creating equitable, healthy environments for underserved communities. Her work spans K-12 learning environments and multi-family affordable housing, with contributions to projects such as Patsy Surh Place and the award-winning Orenda development.
An active leader within the AIA, Tanya currently serves as Advocacy Director of AIA’s Young Architects Forum, championing career development, professional resilience, and equitable advancement for young architects nationwide. She previously served as the Young Architect Representative from Washington and a Board Associate of AIA Washington Council where she pushed for a more inclusive future for the profession.
AIA Seattle Volunteer Award
Jim is an award-winning architect with over 30 years of practice and a Founder/Owner at Graham Baba Architects. He excels at leading large collaborative teams through complex projects and his boundless and contagious enthusiasm for each project results in a fun and exciting design process for the entire team. He is committed to the craft of building and is active in the design, construction, and craft communities.
Jim has been an active supporter of AIA Seattle, recently volunteering his time as co-chair of AIA Seattle’s Real Estate Task Force. Working with staff, brokers, and fellow committee members, he helped guide the search, negotiation, and transition that ultimately brought AIA Seattle to its new headquarters in Smith Tower.
Honorary AIA Seattle Membership
Nick is a senior planner at the Seattle Office of Planning and Community Development who focuses on equitable land use and housing policy. He recently oversaw the update of housing policy in the One Seattle Comprehensive Plan and is now leading efforts to implement Seattle’s new zoning through innovative design, funding, and partnership programs.
Previously Nick created the City’s ADUniverse platform, helped shape Seattle’s Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) rezone, and brought a focus on racial and social equity into the Seattle 2035 Comprehensive Plan by developing the Growth and Equity Analysis.
Nick is also an affiliate instructor at the University of Washington Runstad Department of Real Estate where he teaches a course on affordable housing policy. He has a master’s degree in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning from Tufts University, where he also graduated summa cum laude in International Relations and Spanish, before returning to Seattle in 2013.
Allied Organization Award
Construction for Change is a nonprofit construction management organization that strengthens communities by delivering high-quality, sustainable social infrastructure. They serve as an owner’s representative and capital steward for mission-driven organizations building schools, healthcare facilities, and other essential community assets in under-resourced regions.
Their work focuses on what often determines success or failure in capital projects: disciplined planning, experienced project leadership, risk mitigation, and accountability. By managing projects from feasibility through completion, they help partners deliver facilities on time, on budget, and built to last, ensuring that donor and public investments achieve their intended impact.
They advance equity by engaging local labor, sourcing regional materials, and building local capacity, while leveraging a global network of construction professionals who contribute expertise and pro bono leadership.
Construction for Change exists to ensure that every dollar invested in the built environment translates into lasting community impact.
