For Immediate Release: April 20, 2011
Media Contacts: Emma Filar, Marketing & Communications Associate
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What Do IBM, The Rockefeller Family, Major League Baseball, and the U.S. Department of Energy Have in Common?
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Since 1986, the National Building Museum has presented its Honor Award to leaders who shaped America’s heritage, defined its culture, developed its communities, and crafted its built environment. Individually, they advanced the building arts and sciences. Collectively, their legacy is profound. On May 17, 2011, a special 25th anniversary celebration of the National Building Museum’s Honor Award is planned to reexamine the vast contributions made by its esteemed honorees and consider the potential future of the built environment.
One past honoree, for example, is The Associated General Contractors of America: the oldest construction trade association in the United States. Founded at the direction of President Wilson in 1918 to advance the country’s infrastructure and development, AGC’s near-century-long legacy includes projects such as the Hoover Dam and the interstate highway system. Today, the influential association of 33,000 is a central part of the nation’s economy and competitiveness.
Other honored organizations have had a similarly striking, and positive, impact across the nation. Among them, the National Building Museum has recognized United Technologies, DuPont, and Forest City Enterprises for their contributions to the improvement of the systems, materials, and investments necessary for the world we design and build.
And while such organizations represent the powerful accomplishments of the many, the National Building Museum has also bestowed its top honor in celebration of what one person can achieve. For instance, Majora Carter, founder of Sustainable South Bronx, not only offered a promising vision for a threatened community, but then set out to realize it by transforming open spaces, creating green jobs, and attracting investments in her hometown. Today, Carter works with communities around the country to help bring about the healthy and viable green planning she led in the Bronx.
Other individual recipients of the National Building Museum Honor Award include Lady Bird Johnson, Michael Eisner, James Rouse, Cindy and Jay Pritzker, and Mayor Richard Daley. And then, of course, there was Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
Moynihan is considered by many to be the country’s patriarch of historic preservation and advocate of federal architecture and urban revitalization. His passion for great design and building led to his spearheading an initiative to save the 19th-century US Pension Office Building. In an innovative move of adaptive reuse, Moynihan crafted legislation to restore the building and create the first national cultural institution for the building arts—establishing the National Building Museum in 1980.
The 25th anniversary celebration of the National Building Museum’s Honor Award will highlight collaboration across the many professions—architects, engineers, planners, public officials, landscape designers, builders, financiers—to develop and sustain the country’s built environment. In addition, the National Building Museum plans to celebrate the inspiring possibilities of the next 25 years during the May 17th gala in its magnificent Great Hall. David Rockwell of the Rockwell Group has been tapped to discuss his visionary ideas with guests. Rockwell and the Museum first collaborated on future visions in building in an acclaimed exhibition in 2007. A special performances for the evening is planned by residents from the New Orleans Habitat Musicians’ Village (the Museum honored the founders of Musicians’ Village—Harry Connick, Jr., Branford Marsalis, Ann Marie Wilkins, and Jim Pate—in 2010).
The list of honorees of this highly prestigious award demonstrates the scope of achievements recognized and the stature of the awardees.
2010 A Salute to Civic Innovators
2009 A Salute to Visionaries in Sustainability
2008 The Associated General Contractors of America
2007 Related
2006 Clark Construction Group, LLC
2005 Forest City Enterprises
2004 General Services Administration
2003 Major League Baseball and The National Football League
2002 DuPont
2001 Michael D. Eisner and The Walt Disney Company
2000 Gerald D. Hines
1999 Harold W. McGraw, Jr., Harold McGraw III and The McGraw-Hill Companies
1998 Stephen and Riley Bechtel and The Bechtel Group
1997 Community Builders of Washington, D.C.
1996 Cindy and Jay Pritzker
1995 Lady Bird Johnson
1994 James A. Johnson and Fannie Mae
1993 J. Carter Brown
1992 The Civic Leadership of Greater Pittsburgh
1991 The Rockefeller Family
1990 IBM Corporation
1989 Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan
1988 James W. Rouse
1986 J. Irwin Miller
Event Contact: Jessie Cochran, 202.272.2448, ext. 3150
The National Building Museum is America’s leading cultural institution dedicated to advancing the quality of the built environment by educating people about its impact on their lives. Through its exhibitions, educational programs, online content, and publications, the Museum has become a vital forum for the exchange of ideas and information about the world we build for ourselves. Public inquiries: 202.272.2448 or visit www.nbm.org. Connect with us on Twitter: @BuildingMuseum and Facebook.
