AAF And French Heritage Society Announce 2013 Hunt Fellow
The American Architectural Foundation (AAF) and French Heritage Society (FHS) have named Maya M. Foty, AIA, LEED AP, the 2013 recipient of the Richard Morris Hunt Prize. Foty will travel for six months through France to compare American and French green building practices and sustainability rating systems as they relate to historic preservation. Foty is currently an associate at Architectural Resources Group, Inc. (ARG) in Portland, Ore., where she serves as project architect on the Portland Union Station Rehabilitation.
Maya M. Foty
“The Richard Morris Hunt Prize is unusual because it is geared toward mid-career professionals,” said Foty. “I go to France with very clear goals that I hope to achieve and with a strong body of work behind me that I am anxious to share with my colleagues in France. I have no doubt that my experience will be applicable in the U.S. and France; our profession is based on innovation and research, and I will return with an expanded body of knowledge and a forum to address the ‘greening’ of historic built heritage in our two countries.”
“Maya demonstrates a deep professional understanding of the fundamental tensions that exist in practicing both historic preservation and sustainable design,” said AAF President and CEO and RMHF Co-Chair Ronald E. Bogle, Hon. AIA. “As the 2013 Hunt Fellow, she will explore ways to resolve these tensions, providing tools for practitioners in both the U.S. and abroad as well as great content for advocacy around greater flexibility in sustainability standards.”
Michele le Menestrel Ullrich, RMHF co-founder and co-chair said, “Our challenge is to take Maya on a tailor-made journey to meet her goals—in the heritage environment of France, using all of its assets to enrich her study and project. As Victor Hugo said looking at Notre Dame de Paris, ‘Each side, each stone of the venerable monument is a page not only of the history of the country, but even more of the history of science and art.’ I am confident that Maya, with her expertise and sensibility, will continue the tradition of quality that has been the hallmark of the Prize for more than two decades—an excellence, which today will open the doors of those great experts in their fields who will meet her and share with her.”
About the Richard Morris Hunt Prize:
The Prize is named for Richard Morris Hunt, the first American architect to study at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and one of the most renowned architects of the 19th century. It offers American and French architects specializing in historic preservation an intensive six-month exchange experience (usually divided into two or three periods) focused on the latest scholarship and practices in the field. The Prize alternates between an American and a French architect annually and carries a $25,000 stipend. The program is supported in part through a generous gift from Lafarge. “Lafarge strives to find innovative solutions to preserving our built environment—and with it, our cultural heritage. We are pleased to join AAF and FHS in supporting this invaluable exchange of ideas and information,” said Leopold Lombard, architect relations director for Lafarge.
More information on the Prize is available here.
The 2013 Richard Morris Hunt Prize Jury
• Michele le Menestrel Ullrich, FHS Founding President, RMHF Co-Founder and Co-Chair, Paris
• Ronald E. Bogle, Hon. AIA, AAF President and CEO, RMHF Co-Chair, Washington, D.C.
• Ann Beha, FAIA, President, Ann Beha & Associates, Boston
• Elizabeth Blazevich, AAF Program Director for RMHF, Washington, D.C.
• Alex Klatskin, FAIA, Parnter, Forsgate Industrial Partners, AAF Regent, Teterboro, N.J.
• Leopold Lombard, Architect Relations Director, Lafarge, Paris
• Sharon Park, FAIA, Associate Director for Architectural History and Historic Preservation, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
• John Robins, Deputy Administrator, National Gallery of Art, 1990 Hunt Fellow, Washington, D.C.
• Ambassador Jose Maria Ullrich y Rojas, FHS Advisory Board, Paris
