Lifetime Achievement Award to Ross Barney

Carol Ross Barney, who will receive the award in a reception on 4 November, is the principal of the eponymous Ross Barney Architects, a firm "dedicated to designing public places and spaces." In keeping with that dedication, recently they completed the second phase of the much-lauded Riverwalk along the Chicago River just north of the Loop. 

This year also saw completion of the CTA Cermak-McCormick Station, with its tube of glass and metal, and the opening of The 606 elevated park, which the firm has worked on with Arup, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, and the Chicago Public Art Group. 

In its selection of Ross Barney, Michael Elliott, 2015 AIA Illinois President, said, "Carol’s multifaceted contributions to the profession as designer, teacher and citizen certainly set a high bar for anyone who would wish to follow in her footsteps. Carol has raised the profile of Illinois architects as major players on the world stage, and at home in Chicago, there is likely no one whose daily urban life hasn’t been impacted in some way by her work."

More information on the 2015 Gold Medal is avialble on the AIA Illinois website.