2020 Weitzman School Awards online

On Wednesday, December 2, 6pm EST, the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design will honor Peter Eisenman with the 2020 Kanter Tritsch Medal in Architecture, and the City of Philadelphia with the 2020 Witte-Sakamoto Family Medal in City and Regional Planning for GreenPlan Philadelphia, an ambitious framework for green infrastructure that has helped inform a variety of active programs in Philadelphia today.

Internationally recognized architect and educator Peter Eisenman is best known for large-scale housing and urban design projects, innovative facilities for educational institutions, and inventive private houses. Eisenman Architects’ approach to design projects is to consider the layers of physical and cultural archaeologies at each site, not just the obvious contexts and programs of a building. Before establishing a full-time architectural practice, Eisenman founded the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies (IAUS), an international think tank for architecture in New York, which he directed until 1982. Currently the Charles Gwathmey Professor in Practice at the Yale School of Architecture, Eisenman is the author of numerous influential writings. In Lateness, a new collection of essays co-authored with Elisa Iturbe, he proposes to expand the critical capacity of architecture through the notion of untimeliness (Princeton University Press, 2020).

The virtual event will bring together Eisenman, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, and Weitzman students Paul Germaine McCoy and Avery Harmon, in a series of lively conversations about the role of architects and planners as agents for change, and the promise of green infrastructure in creating healthier, more equitable and climate-resilient cities. Eisenman will speak with Winka Dubbeldam, Miller Professor and chair of architecture at Weitzman, and founding partner at Archi-Tectonics, followed by a conversation between Mayor Kenney, former Philadelphia Managing Director Michael DiBerardinis, and WRT Senior Associate Garlen Capita, led by Lisa Servon, the Kevin and Erica Penn Presidential Professor and chair of city and regional planning.

The Kanter Tritsch Medal in Architecture was established in 2017 to recognize an architect who has changed the course of design history through a gift from Weitzman alumna Lori Kanter Tritsch (MArch’85), a member of the Board of Advisors at Weitzman, and her partner and Penn alumnus William P. Lauder, who holds a bachelor of science in economics from the Wharton School and is a Penn trustee.

The Witte-Sakamoto Family Medal in City and Regional Planning was established in 2018 by William Witte (C’73, MCP’75), an alumnus of the Weitzman School and member of the Board of Advisors, and his wife, Keiko Sakamoto, Esq. to recognize a firm, team, or professional for an exemplary plan that advances plan making.
 
In concert with the professional medalists, the Weitzman School has selected two outstanding students entering their final year of study to receive a USD 50,000 scholarship each for the 2020-2021 Academic Year. The recipient of the 2020 Kanter Tritsch Prize in Energy and Architectural Innovation is Paul Germaine McCoy, whose work is deeply invested in design questions of time, aesthetics, history, and the environment. The recipient of the 2020 Witte-Sakamoto Family Prize in City and Regional Planning is Avery Harmon, whose work explores potential solutions to improve the lives of African Americans through the built environment.

A celebration of emerging and established leaders in design, the virtual event is also the School’s most important annual fundraiser for student scholarships. Admission is free and open to the public; advance registration online is required.