AIA Honoring Its Young, Part 2

Last week, we profiled ten of the twenty designers that the American Institute of Architects has honored with its 2021 Young Architects Awards for those who have been licensed to practice for less than ten years. Here we spell out the winning qualities and accomplishments of the remaining ten. The diverse set of honorees was chosen by a five-member jury of AIA members who are themselves diverse in terms of gender, ethnicity, and location – and in their years of professional experience as well.

As with the first ten, we’ll see a keen appreciation for accomplishments in areas such as environmental sensitivity, design education, and community involvement.

Myer Harrell, Seattle, WA

Joining the firm of Weber Thompson in 2005 as an intern, Harrell has become a principal and its first director of sustainability. His guidance has placed the mid-sized firm in Architect magazine’s top 50 for environmental responsibility. For the Watershed Office Building in Seattle he led his firm’s team, overcoming a number of challenges to meet the developer’s desire to outshine another of its recent buildings that had achieved LEED Gold certification.

Harrell is currently president-elect of AIA Seattle and a key member of the AIA’s national Continuing Education Committee. He is also a part-time faculty member at the University of Washington’s architecture department, where he has led a design studio investigating urban agriculture in, on, and around mixed-use residential buildings.

Myer Harrell, AIA. Photo: Krista Welch Photography
Myer Harrell: Courtyard of DATA 1 LEED Gold office building, providing a central outdoor gathering place for employees. Photo: Meghan Montgomery

Katelyn Chapin, New Haven, CT

As a former varsity athlete, Chapin has brought her team-player ethos to the firm of Svigals + Partners. She has helped shape the firm’s design process by welcoming diverse shareholder voices through focus groups. With play-based activities she encourages participants to make uninhibited contributions to the subject at hand – and to the firm’s evolving culture as well.

For the design of the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, replacing the setting of the 2012 shooting tragedy, Chapin facilitated workshops for groups from the school community. She is also active in the firm’s KidsBuild!, a pro bono program for elementary school students, engaging them in the design, engineering, and construction processes for the new school.

Kately Chapin, AIA. Photo: Harold Shapiro
Katlyn Chapin: Sandy Hook School. Photo: Robert Benson

Jack Becker, Washington, DC

A fourth-generation architect with design degrees from Cornell and Harvard, Becker pursues two parallel careers. Focused during weekdays on large-scale preservation and re-use projects, he concentrates nights and weekends on an exceptional residential program. Founded by him with Andrew Linn, bld.us is dedicated to providing good affordable housing for the city’s disadvantaged residents. It operates from the Grass House, an addition to a historic house innovatively clad in compostable charred bamboo.

At his previous day job with Quinn Evans Architects, Becker oversaw significant projects, including the $1-billion revitalization of the National Air & Space Museum and the $60-million conversion of an aging Brutalist elementary school into the Marie Reed Community Learning Center. He is now a senior project manager at R. McGhee & Associates.

Cody Henderson, AIA. Photo: Janet Shirrell
Jack Becker: LEED Platinum Grass House is the first code compliant bamboo-based building on the East Coast. Photo: Ty Cole

Danielle Tillman, Chicago, IL

A mathematician by nature, Tillman addresses architectural problems through logic. And as one of fewer than 500 Black women licensed to practice architecture in the US, she strives for a profession and a built environment that reflect their communities.

Earlier, at the firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, she worked on the design of an Olympic Village master plan in Chicago’s bid for the 2016 games. While the bid was unsuccessful, the process honed her abilities to work with community stakeholders and government officials.

In 2011 she joined Chicago’s bKL Architecture, where she is now a managing principal. There she has led in the design of several high-rise apartment towers and community-oriented projects such as the Whitney M. Young, Jr. branch library.

Danielle Tillman, AIA. Photo: Organic Headshots
Danielle Tillman: Renovation of the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Branch Library on the South Side of Chicago. Photo: Tom Rossiter

Michael Alan Davis, Knoxville, TN

A native of Tennessee, Davis earned his architecture degree from the University of Tennessee, where he was class valedictorian and winner of the AIA student medal in 2008. He then went to work at Knoxville’s Sanders Pace Architecture, where he has led the design of residential and commercial projects at a variety of scales.

He spearheaded the conversion of the former Knoxville Utilities Board, an imposing but long-vacant structure, as the headquarters of the advertising agency Tombras, which houses 250 employees and has contributed significantly to the city’s downtown renaissance. Meanwhile he has led design studios at his alma mater and, given the relationship he maintains there, many of the school’s graduates have joined the Sanders Pace staff.

Michael Alan Davis, AIA. Photo: Michael Davis
Michael Davis: Tombras HQ is an adaptive re-use of the long vacant Knoxville Utility Board building. Photo: Keith Isaacs

Amanda Loper, San Francisco and Birmingham, AL

Having gained exceptional experience in the area of affordable housing at David Baker Architects in San Francisco, Loper has transferred those skills to Alabama, where she had studied at the Auburn University Urban Studio. Named a principal of the Baker firm in 2014, she established its Birmingham office in 2016.

As a leader in San Francisco’s Affordable Housing Bonus Program she made important policy recommendations and identified sites where code constraints could be waived to allow greater density. In Birmingham she has lobbied officials to make community-friendly changes in street regulations, and she has completed some promising projects in the conversion of a former industrial area into the Pepper Place Entertainment District.

Amanda Loper, AIA. Photo: Anne Hamersky
Amanda Loper: Open air oculus offers socially positive daylight to community center users. Photo: Marion Brenner

Daniel Yudchitz, Minneapolis, MN

Son of an architect, Yudchitz earned a degree in industrial design at the University of Wisconsin Stout and then studied architecture in Switzerland, where he learned that even the smallest projects contribute to the global dialogue on the environment. That view complemented his earlier experiences with his father, which included designing and building a minimalist prefabricated dwelling.

After receiving his master’s in architecture at the University of Minnesota, Yudchitz joined HGA Architects and Engineers in Minneapolis in 2008, taking the lead on a number of community-focused commissions. In 2017 he moved across town to assume a senior role a Leo A. Daly, where he focuses on pro bono projects for underserved communities. In his spare time he volunteers in the construction of a camp for inner-city kids.

Daniel Yudchitz, AIA. Photo: Jessica Yudchitz
Daniel Yudchitz: Theodore Wirth Park trailhead building is a hub for outdoor sports and recreation at the largest park in Minneapolis. Photo: Peter VonDeLinde

Danielle McDonough, Cambridge, MA

An associate with CambridgeSeven, Danielle McDonough has worked closely with organizations such as Boston’s Museum of Science. She has been project architect for WBUR CitySpace, also in Boston, overseeing the renovation of its 1920s building, which includes a new $10-million studio and performance space that has extended the scope and reach of this public radio station. Her work included coordination with the client’s programming and fundraising teams.

As a design student, McDonough was national vice president of AIA Students. Once licensed to practice architecture, she has taught at Boston Architectural College, which largely serves nontraditional working students. She has been involved recently in the national AIA’s 2020-2025 strategic plan to take a more proactive role in society.

Danielle McDonough, AIA. Photo: Kwesi Bidi-Arthur
Danielle McDonough was the project architect for WBUR CitySpace in Boston, overseeing the 10,000-square-foot renovation of a 1920s building. Photo: Anton Grassl

Adam Harding, Denver, CO

Having earned his bachelor’s degree in environmental design at the University of Colorado Boulder, Harding joined the Denver firm Roth Sheppard Architects in 2004. He has since risen to principal in that 18-person office, fostering positive change there and in the wider community. Harding was 2020 president of AIA Colorado, working toward revisions in state law in line with AIA’s efforts to increase diversity.

Among Roth Sheppard’s residential, municipal, the commercial projects, the Blue Moon Brewing Company stands out. Taking a cue from the bow-string trusses in the old warehouse building, the architects gave the combined brewery, bar, and restaurant complementary curved forms, including a circular bar and dining booths in repurposed concrete utility conduits.

Adam Harding, AIA. Photo: Adam Harding
Adam Harding: Industrial concrete pipes are transformed into intimate dining seating at the Blue Moon Brewing Company. Photo: James Florio Photography

Cody Henderson, Kirkwood, MO

Entering the field during the Great Recession of the early 2000s, Henderson learned to confront economic uncertainty head-on. His resiliency earned admiration among fellow emerging professionals and contributed to his becoming the 2020 president of AIA St. Louis. Beginning his design career in the St. Louis office of ACI Boland Architects, he honed his knowledge of energy efficiency and became one of the firm’s project managers in just two years.

Laid off in 2009, he continued developing useful skills and after ten months joined FSA (Feeler S. Architects) in Kirkland, which specializes in health care facilities, higher education, and laboratory design. He works diligently with research scientists, defining their needs and, in some cases, educating them on improvements in laboratory layout.

Cody Henderson, AIA. Photo: Janet Shirrell
Cody Henderson leading a student group from Ranken Technical College on a construction tour. Photo: Missy Borchardt