AIA Seattle Announces 2016 Fellows

The 2016 Jury of Fellows from the American Institute of Architects elevated four AIA Seattle members to its prestigious College of Fellows, an honor awarded to members who have made significant national contributions to the profession.

They are:

Duane Jonlin FAIA serves as the Energy Code and Energy Conservation Advisor for Seattle’s Department of Planning and Development, and is responsible for advancing the Seattle Energy Code.  He has been appointed by two Governors to the Washington State Building Code Council and chairs its Energy Code Technical Advisory Group. Recently he was appointed by ICC to the 2018 IECC Commercial Buildings Committee. Prior to joining the City of Seattle, Duane was a principal at NBBJ, where he led regulatory compliance and quality management initiatives.  He is a professional member of AIA and ASHRAE, with 30 years’ experience designing civic and institutional work, and has architectural degrees from the University of Washington and University of Michigan. Duane is an active member of the AIA Seattle Code Committee, and he writes and lectures on energy efficiency and construction technology in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

Bradley D. Leathley FAIA has focused his career serving the needs of the research and education community over the past 35 years. His passion for helping people achieve their fullest potential in part through the discovery and learning process has led him to be a powerful advocate for and innovator in the planning and design of knowledge based communities. His work spans the US at universities including UC Berkeley, University of Pittsburgh, University of San Francisco, the Salk Institute and Washington State University in addition to work in the UK at the University of Cambridge. Most recently, Brad has opened an office for Flad Architects with two long time colleagues and their work continues to grow for private ventures including Juno Therapeutics and public institutions across the country including the Medical College of Wisconsin and the University of Idaho. Brad received his Masters of Architecture degree from the University of Washington with a Certificate in Urban Design in 1980.

Kirsten R. Murray FAIA, a principal and owner of Seattle-based Olson Kundig, works across a broad range of project types including arts and cultural design, mixed-use and private residential design, adaptive reuse, workplace, and urban design. She has dedicated her career to elevating the rigor and impact of design through hands-on education and mentorship programs, staff development, community outreach and thought leadership. From the beginning of her tenure at Olson Kundig, 26 years ago, she has been a firm-wide leader, creating new programs and enhancing core practices that have helped the organization grow from a small architectural firm of a dozen to an internationally recognized design practice with 150 employees. Many of her specific contributions were cited as distinctions when the firm was honored with the AIA National Firm Award in 2009. Kirsten has collaborated on projects that have received National AIA Honor Awards and AIA Housing Awards, including Outpost, Tye River Cabin, and two-mixed use projects, Art Stable and 1111 E. Pike. An architect deeply engaged with issues of site and context, Murray’s project work has been published in a variety of magazines and books, including The New York Times, Architectural Digest, Interior Design, and Architectural Record. She serves on the Board of Trustees for the University of Washington’s Henry Art Gallery.

Ron J. van der Veen FAIA, LEED AP, has dedicated his career to designing sustainable live/learn communities in higher education.  His work is driven by the connection between students’ academic performance and their personal sense of wellbeing.  Ron’s leadership and reputation for creating responsive student living environments for institutions around the country demonstrates the power of architecture to profoundly influence the welfare and educational achievement of students. Often challenging the status quo in student residential design, Ron has created a series of innovative projects that have gained international attention.  At the same time he has been a tireless champion for environmentally-conscious design in higher education.  Introducing the concept of sustainability to a number of institutions, his projects have been among the first LEED-Certified residence halls in the nation. Throughout his career, Ron has been a passionate advocate for collaborative design and mentorship. In an effort to dissolve traditional boundaries, he continues to explore the confluence of planning, landscape architecture, architecture, interior design, and fine art.

The work of these Fellows demonstrates the power of architecture to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges, such as energy and water conservation, community transformation, and innovation in educational environments.

The 2016 Fellows will be honored at an investiture ceremony at the 2016 National AIA Convention and Design Exposition in Philadelphia, May 19-21, 2016; and celebrated at an evening reception hosted by AIA Seattle on Saturday, June 4.

The Fellowship program was developed to elevate those architects who have made a significant contribution to architecture and society and who have achieved a standard of excellence in the profession. Election to fellowship not only recognizes the achievements of architects as individuals, but also their significant contribution to architecture and society on a national level.

Out of a total AIA membership of over 88,000, there are just over 3,200 distinguished with the honor of fellowship and honorary fellowship.