professional recognition
Design Futures Council recognizes and celebrates the accomplishments of Built Environment professionals at all stages of their careers. A core value of our organization is to encourage and support leadership at all levels – from the exploration that begins in education to the summary of impactful achievements of later career members.
Our professional recognition includes the Lifetime Achievement Award, Senior Fellows, Emerging Leaders, and Exceptional Educators
lifetime achievement award recipients
Our Lifetime Achievement Award has been given to influential leaders from our industry. Recipients are presented with their award at one of our in-person Leadership Summits each year.
Paul Finch | 2024
Andrea Cochran | 2023
Gary Wheeler | 2022
Marianne McKenna | 2021
Edward Mazria | 2020
Adrian Smith | 2019
Moshe Safdie | 2018
Robert A. M. Stern | 2017
Arthur Gensler | 2016
Lord Norman Foster | 2016
Gene Kohn | 2015
Senior Fellows
We select our Senior Fellows using a nomination process informed by our members and the industry-at-large. Recipients of this award have impacted the Built Environment professions in a positive way, and they become appointed members of the Design Futures Council.
These are a few of our Senior Fellows.
Ted Landsmark
Vini Nathan
Ambassador Richard Sweat
The current formation of the DFC comprises a group of distinguished Senior Fellows. They are highly accomplished professionals, educators, and deep thinkers from a range of disciplines who meet twice yearly. They share their knowledge and provide mentorship to our members.
Adrian Parr
Luis Rico-Gutierrez
Randy Deutsch
Katherine Peele
Francisco Rodriquez
Dilip Choudhuri
Angela Watson
Steven McKay
Don Davies
Emerging Leaders
Acknowledging the early achievements of tomorrow’s leaders is a critical factor in ensuring our industry is progressive and relevant. We recognize the value our early career members bring to creating a better world, and we ensure they have access to mentorship as they further develop their professional practice.
These are a few of our Emerging Leaders.
Premnath Sundharam
Prem was nominated and selected as a DFC Emerging Leader in 2014. As an architect with an engineering background, he has a passion for leadership, sustainability and technology. Currently the Chief Climate Officer for DLR Group, he is a recognized thought leader on sustainability and research-informed design, driving innovation to advance technical design and practice while leveraging data to evaluate the impact of design on users and the environment.
Ellen Mitchell
Awarded the DFC Emerging Leader designation in 2013, Ellen has made her life’s work promoting the power of architecture in improving lives. Currently the Director of Sustainability and Applied Research at LPA, Ellen is a recognized leader in the industry’s move to create a more energy efficient, equitable, and resilient Built Environment.
Vincent Martinez
President and COO at Architecture 2030, Vincent was awarded the DFC Emerging Leader designation in 2015. Throughout his career, he has been working to solve the climate crisis by catalyzing global building decarbonization efforts through the development and activation of robust networks focused on private sector commitments, education, training, and public policies.
Exceptional Educators
Each year, we acknowledge a group of gifted educators for the impact they are having on students. They are selected based on nominations from graduates of design programs, and from professionals working across the Built Environment.
These are a few of our Exceptional Educators.
Abimbola Asojo
Peter MacKeith
Amale Andraos