Arquitectonica receives prestigious award

Christian Narkiewicz-Laine, Museum President, Chicago Athenaeum; Laurinda Spear and Bernardo Fort-Brescia, Founding Principals of Arquitectonica, and Coconut Grove resident, Peter Studl, Past Chairman, Chicago Athenaeum.  Ms. Spear and Mr. Fort-Brescia hold laurel wreaths hand-picked at the base of the Acropolis in Athens Greece two days before the reception.  

The American Architecture Awards are the nation’s highest public awards given by a non-commercial, non-trade affiliated, public arts, culture, and educational institution. This year, the Chicago Athenaeum  selected Arquitectonica, the Coconut Grove based architecture firm, as winner of their top honor. They were presented the award on Thursday night at a ceremony at the Mr. C Hotel in Coconut Grove.

Founded by Laurinda Spear and Bernardo Fort-Brescia in 1977, together with Andrés Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Hervin Romney, Arquitectonica built its first project in 1978; and within five years, the firm had completed a series of major Miami projects that helped delineate a mainstream contemporary architecture for a whole generation of architects around the world. 

Based in Miami and with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Manila, Lima and Sao Paulo, Arquitectonica is a major presence on the world architectural stage.

“For over four decades," said Christian Narkiewicz-Laine, Museum President, The Chicago Athenaeum, “Arquitectonica remains as the most influential office in Miami and one of the most prominent design firms in the United States."