by Center for Architecture
On October 24, 2024, almost 1,000 professionals from the architecture, engineering, construction, and real-estate industries gathered at Chelsea Piers’ Pier 60 for the Center for Architecture’s annual Common Bond Gala, a celebration of the leaders who embody our community’s most cherished values: collaboration, sustainability, inclusion, civic engagement, and design excellence. The 2024 honorees were Bernard Tschumi, FAIA, FRIBA, SIA/FAS, Dean Emeritus, Professor, Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Gotham Organization, accepted by CEO David L. Picket, New York League of Conservation Voters, accepted by President Julie Tighe, and Michael Henry Adams, historian and preservation activist. Common Bond also serves as the single largest funding source for the AIA New York and Center for Architecture—this year’s gala raised nearly $1.2 million in support of the exhibitions, programs, scholarships, and activities of the Center for Architecture, including our education programs.
Dinner began with opening remarks from Dinner Chair Julie Geden, Senior Principal at Zubatkin, who welcomed all of the guests and thanked the program’s sponsors. Then, we heard from Jesse Lazar, Executive Director of AIA New York and the Center for Architecture, who addressed the evening’s honorees, scholarship recipients, and distinguished guests. “This amazing community gathered here tonight embodies a combination of civic engagement, social commitment, and practice that is integral to that shared vision and to the culture of New York architecture,” he said. “Our honorees and student scholarship recipients embody this just and sustainable future we are striving for, as they have championed the kind of transformations we want to see in our city, our profession, and our society.”
The evening’s first honoree, Gotham Organization, was represented by CEO David L. Picket, the fourth generation of Picket leadership in Gotham’s 110-year history, continuing the firm’s dedication to multifamily housing in New York City and beyond. He was introduced by 2024 AIANY President Gregory Switzer, AIA, NOMA, NCARB. “Under David’s direction, Gotham developments have utilized public/private partnerships to create affordable housing, schools, community facilities, job programs, and other public benefits. ”
“There is nothing more gratifying than explaining a vision you have for a new space, and watching a bunch of artists, technicians, and visionaries breathe life into an idea,” Picket said. “And that’s what you do. I’m so appreciative of the collaborations I’ve had over the years with many of you in the audience, who are really too numerous to mention.”
The night’s second honoree, the New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV), was represented by President Julie Tighe. The NYLCV works to fight climate change, conserve land and water, and protect public health in New York State through political action. As President, Tighe’s priorities for NYLCV include a focus on expanding the use and production of renewable energy and reducing waste. She has helped bring about the nation’s most progressive climate law, the Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act.
“Our work is not a sprint, it’s a marathon,” Tighe said. “And just like the marathon, it’s not a lonely undertaking. It’s something that involves all of us. For every runner, there is a crowd cheering them on, pushing them to go further, to dig deeper. That’s exactly how we need to approach building a climate-friendly future.”
Peter Robinson, Chair of the Center for Architecture Board of Trustees, presented the next honoree of the evening, Michael Henry Adams, Harlem-based historian and preservation activist. A fine arts graduate of the University of Akron, Michael trained in Columbia University’s graduate historic preservation program and last year was awarded the Columbia Preservation Alumni Historic Preservation Leadership award.
He has also written a series of books detailing Harlem history: Harlem, Lost and Found; Style and Grace: African Americans at Home; and the forthcoming Homo Harlem, A Chronicle of Lesbian and Gay Life in the African American Cultural Capital. “Harlem is a fulcrum of all our nation’s successes and tragedies,” Henry Adams said in his acceptance speech.
The evening’s final honoree was Bernard Tschumi, FAIA, FRIBA, SIA/FAS, an architect based in New York and Paris. First known as a theorist, he exhibited and published The Manhattan Transcripts and wrote a series of theoretical essays collected in Architecture and Disjunction. His major built works include concert halls, architecture schools, and other notable works such as the Parc de la Villette in Paris, the Acropolis Museum in Athens, and more.
“Interestingly enough about AIA, when those 13 architects decided to put together the group, they said it was ‘to promote scientific and practical perfection,'” Tschumi said. “I really like this. That’s what I call the fusion between theory and practice, which has been pretty obsessive for me for a long time, that is, architecture is a form of knowledge, just before it is about built form.”
Common Bond also recognized three promising students pursuing architecture at New York City-based schools, awarding each a scholarship of $3,500: Liberty Chapman, M.Arch candidate at Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Catherine Moreno, B.Arch candidate at Pratt Institute, and Chana Rhodes, B.Arch candidate at the New York Institute of Technology. Read more about the scholarship honorees here.
This year’s gala marked the closing of our 20th anniversary celebrations of the Center for Architecture. Over the past two decades, the Center for Architecture has played a pivotal role in making architecture and urbanism accessible to all in New York City, engaging with seasoned architects as well as young professionals, organizing programs and exhibitions in addition to establishing partnerships with like-minded institutions. We intend to continue on this path, building connections with more communities around the five boroughs and growing the impact of AIA New York and the Center for Architecture.
Thank you, once again, for making Common Bond 2024 an incredible success. We’ll see you next year!