AIA Pittsburgh Hosts 125th Anniversary Beaux-Arts Ball

Held Nov. 8 at the Carnegie Museum, the AIA Pittsburgh 125th Anniversary Beaux-Arts Ball celebrated a milestone in the region’s architectural legacy, honoring the best in design and the future of sustainability.

As Pittsburgh continues to evolve as a hub for innovation, the event underscored the importance of sustainable practices in shaping the city’s built environment.

“This is an opportunity to learn from the past and use those learnings for the future,” said Michelle Fanzo, outgoing Executive Director of AIA Pittsburgh. “How do we collectively talk about what could be— which is what the murals upstairs were all about—and then work backward to ask: Is this achievable? Do we want this? The goal is to approach the process with intentionality, rather than letting things just happen.”

The evening was a recognition of excellence in architecture, with the 2024 winning projects announced across multiple categories, including the Honor Award, Certificates of Merit, Social Impact Award, Best Use of Masonry Award, and the People’s Choice Award.

Several of the honored projects exemplified the future of sustainable architecture, signaling a shift toward more responsible, forward-thinking design.

One such project was Just Imagine by Urban Design Associates, which received a Certificate of Merit (photographed above). This initiative presents a series of catalytic interventions aimed at both the building and environmental scales, offering an actionable master plan for community revitalization. Addressing sustainability, resilience, community engagement, and economic growth, the project sets a precedent for architecture that looks beyond immediate needs to consider the long-term impact on future generations.

As the industry embraces sustainability, discussions at the event emphasized the importance of planning for a building’s lifecycle from the very beginning. Michael Volpatt, Vice President of Marketing and Innovation at Volpatt Construction, stressed the significance of waste diversion, sustainable building practices, and material reuse.

"Waste diversion, sustainable building practices, and material reuse should be considered before the shovels hit the ground,” Volpatt said. “It is important that contractors, architects, and engineers come together during the concept phase to define what sustainability is going to look like over the life of a project and beyond. We need to completely understand what materials are used in a building so they can be repurposed during decommissioning or renovation, ensuring sustainability in future iterations of the building.”

The call for collaboration among all stakeholders was echoed by Robert J. Ference, Architect at Michael Baker International, who highlighted the need for a unified approach to combat climate change. “Communication is key. We need to have these conversations and be engaged with everyone involved.”

“The engineers, the city planners, the code officials and the general public must understand the importance of resilience, mitigation and adaptation strategies in the face of severe weather and climate change-related threats,” Ference continued. “To future generations, the fight is still going to be on your table. Our generation cannot completely resolve this, though we can start by raising awareness that this is a matter of shared concern. There won’t be instant gratification when it comes to solving climate change and there must be collective multi-generational action starting today.”

Looking to the future, the significance of Pittsburgh’s role as a model for sustainable urban development was a central theme of the evening. As the city continues to transition from its industrial roots to a healthcare and technology hub, the importance of infrastructure that supports these growing sectors cannot be overstated.

“Pittsburgh has really been such a linchpin of industry,” said Endicott Reindl, incoming Executive Director of AIA Pittsburgh. “We’re now a healthcare hub and a technology hub. To support that we have to continue building infrastructure, the roads, bridges, cultural amenities, and the spaces that hold these institutions. The fields of architecture, design, engineering and their related disciplines thrive here because we honor the historical traditions but we also modernize, keeping an eye on what was and what can be.”

AIA Pittsburgh’s Beaux-Arts Ball not only honored the best of Pittsburgh’s architecture and design but also set a powerful tone for the future—one where sustainability, collaboration, and intentional design are key to creating a more resilient and equitable built environment.

Honor Award

• FLOAT, DLA+ Architecture & Interior Design - Conceptual / Unbuilt (BUSAN, KOREA)
• Balvanera, mossArchitects – Small (Strip District)
• Southside Works Public Spaces, AE7 – Small (So Side)
• Nuclear Innovation Commons, R3A – Small (Penn State U, State College)
• Church of the Ascension, Rothschild Doyno Collaborative – Medium (Shadyside)
• Lawrence Hall, mossArchitects – M (Lawrenceville)
• The Conservatory Courtyard, Strada – M (East Liberty)
• Seneca Valley Elementary School, CannonDesign – Large (Seneca valley)
• 21c Museum Hotel, PWWG – L (St Louis)
• Univ. of Pittsburg Scaife Hall Addition, MCF Architecture - L    (Oakland)    
• Flats on Forward, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson – L  (Squirrel Hill)

Certificates of Merit

• A Residence in Eastern Woodlands, studio d'ARC architects – Medium
• Dancing Gnome Brewery, Margittai Architects – M  (Sharpsburg)
• Wood Street Revitalization, AE7 – M  (Downtown)
• Carnegie Music Hall renovation, Gensler – M (Oakland)
• Just Imagine, Urban Design Associates – Large (Conceptual, SW Louisiana)       

Social Impact

• Second Avenue Commons, by DLA+ Architecture & Interior Design (Downtown)
• Heritage Highlands, by LGA Partners (Rankin, PA)
• Just Imagine, by Urban Design Associates (Conceptual, SW Louisiana)

Best Use of Masonry

Flats on Forward by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson (Sq Hill)

People’s Choice

Carnegie Music Hall Renovation by Gensler (Oakland)

BENNO: Lifetime Achievement Award

William Bates, FAIA

Learn more about AIA Pittsburgh at aiapgh.org