LECTURE / Carol Ross BARNEY Ross Barney Architects
The Bob James Memorial Lecture
Carol Ross Barney, FAIA, HASLA, the 2023 American Institute of Architects Gold Medal recipient, is an architect, urbanist, mentor, and educator, and has relentlessly advocated that excellent design is a right, not a privilege. Dedicated to design of public spaces, her exploration into the power of how the built environment can improve our daily lives has produced distinctive structures that have become cultural icons. Notable projects include the design of the new Oklahoma City Federal Building replacing the bombed Murrah Federal Building; McDonald’s Chicago and Disney World Flagship Restaurants; Searle Visitor Center at the Lincoln Park Zoo; JRC Synagogue; CTA Cermak and Morgan Street Stations; UMD Civil Engineering Building; Multi-Modal Terminal at O’Hare; NASA Aerospace Communications Facility; and Chicago’s new DuSable Park. Her studio also designed the iconic Chicago Riverwalk.
Carol is a graduate of the University of Illinois and has taught an advanced Design Studio at the Illinois Institute of Technology for over thirty years, sharing her expertise and shaping the next generation of architects. Carol's exceptional work has garnered over 200 major design awards, including the prestigious Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum National Design Award. She has also received fourteen National American Institute of Architects Honor Awards for Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Urban Planning and Design, as well as over 45 AIA Chicago Awards. Her commitment to sustainable design has been recognized with two AIA Committee on the Environment Top Ten Project Awards. Her studio’s work has been widely published, including features in Architect, Architectural Record, Dezeen, Architects’ Newspaper and Metropolis.
Ross Barney Architects
