American Institute of Architects Gold Medal Recipient to Kick Off UB Architecture and Planning Lecture Series

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Peter Bohlin, the 2010 recipient of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Gold Medal, will open the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning Fall Lectures series with a Sept. 15 talk on campus.

The Gold Medal is the highest honor the AIA can bestow on an individual. The award recognizes a significant body of work of lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture. Past recipients have included visionaries in the field such as Frank Lloyd Wright, I. M. Pei and Frank Gehry.

Bohlin, a fellow of the AIA, is a founding principal of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, a firm that has received nearly 450 regional, national and international awards for design, including the 1994 AIA Architecture Firm Award. His lecture, organized by architecture students, will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 15 in Room 301 of Crosby Hall on UB's South Campus. For maps of UB and information on parking and transportation, visit http://www.buffalo.edu/buildings.

Bohlin is renowned for his versatile, contextual use of materials. His work demonstrates that great cities, towns and buildings are created by designers looking to further the story of their place in a collaborative and contextual way, not by singular architecture that calls for heedless and self-serving attention. He has designed rural houses and nature centers, along with urban buildings.

Examples of Bohlin's work include:

• The Ledge House, which builds a serene, natural light-bathed retreat in Maryland's Catoctin Mountain region by arranging a series of timber and stone pavilions in a horseshoe pattern.

• The William J. Nealon Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Scranton, Pa., which subtly integrates a new courthouse building into the original 1920s Neo-Classical facility with a multi-story, sky-lit atrium.

• The Fifth Avenue Apple Store in New York City, a pure, pristine glass cube absent any structural steel that takes visitors below ground, away from its busy urban milieu, and into one of Apple's flagship retail destinations.

• The Pocono Environmental Education Center in Dingmans Ferry, Pa., which distills Bohlin's approach to nature-center design to its essence with basic shed massing, a broad, overhanging roof, natural materials, and a luminous, lantern-like glow from within.

• Seattle City Hall, whose varied curtain wall facades of steel and glass uniquely reflect the solar orientation and urban fabric of each face.

Bohlin's projects have earned numerous national AIA Awards, including Institute Honor Awards and green project, education and housing awards.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB's more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.