Meet the Jury 2021
2021 AIAPV Jury:
Kim Yao, AIA [Jury Chair] – Architecture Research Office (ARO)
Kimberly Dowdell, AIA – HOK
Takashi Yanai, FAIA – Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects (EYRC)
Kim Yao, AIA [Jury Chair]
Principal, Architecture Research Office (ARO) – New York, NY
2020 AIA Architecture Firm Award Recipient
Kim Yao, AIA, is Principal of Architecture Research Office (ARO), a New York City firm dedicated to architecture that unites strategy and intelligence with beauty and form. ARO’s diverse body of work has earned the firm over a hundred design awards including the 2020 National AIA Architecture Firm Award. She holds an undergraduate degree in architecture from Columbia College: Columbia University and a Master of Architecture from Princeton University. She has taught at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, the School of Constructed Environments, Parsons the New School for Design, and Barnard College (2001-2011). She has lectured throughout the United States and abroad. Kim is on the Board for AIA New York and the Center for Architecture as the Immediate Past President of AIA New York.
Kimberly Dowdell, AIA
Principal, HOK – Chicago, IL
2020 AIA Young Architects Award Recipient
Kimberly Dowdell is a licensed architect and frequent speaker on the topic of architecture, diversity, sustainability and the future of cities. In her recently completed term as the 2019-2020 national president of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA), she worked closely with her board of directors and staff to increase opportunities for women and people of color to gain more equitable access to the building profession. She also more than doubled the organization’s membership and significantly raised NOMA’s profile during her two-year presidency. Kimberly’s career aspirations are rooted in her upbringing in Detroit where she was initially driven to utilize architecture as a tool to revitalize cities. She earned her Bachelor of Architecture at Cornell University and her Master of Public Administration from Harvard University. Her professional experience has spanned from architecture to government and teaching to real estate development. Kimberly is currently a Principal in the Chicago studio of HOK, a global design firm. She is a LEED accredited professional, a co-founder of the SEED Network and an AIA 2020 Young Architect of the Year awardee. Kimberly was recognized by Crain’s Detroit Business and Crain’s Chicago Business as a 40 Under 40 honoree in 2018 and 2020, respectively. Kimberly’s overarching mission is to improve the quality of life for people living in cities.
Takashi Yanai, FAIA
Partner, Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects (EYRC) – Los Angeles, CA
2015 AIA Architecture Firm Award Recipient
Takashi Yanai is a Partner at Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects and has been Residential Studio Director since 2004. Takashi is also currently leading EYRC’s San Francisco Studio.
Prior to practice, Takashi was a design journalist and editor at GA Houses in Tokyo where his work and travels provided the seeds for his design philosophy. Today his work is rooted in its contemplative relationship to landscape and is a continuation of the California Modernist ethos infused with reinterpretations of traditional Japanese elements. In 2017 he was elevated to the AIA College of Fellows in recognition of his residential work, which articulates how architecture can “connect man and nature through masterful siting and exceptional craft.” Takashi serves on the SFMOMA Photography Accessions as well as the Architecture+Design Accessions Committees and has also been appointed the Chair of the National AIA Committee on Design for 2021.
His professional activities, travels and personal inspirations are well-documented and widely followed (57,000 followers) on his Instagram account @t_yanai. Takashi has a degree in Literature with distinction from the University of California at Berkeley and a Masters in Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
