Award honors those who exemplify the profession’s proactive social mandate

Washington, D.C. – December 17, 2013 – The Board of Directors of the American Institute of Architects selected Ivenue Love-Stanley, FAIA, to receive the 2014 Whitney M. Young Jr. Award. The award was granted in recognition of Love-Stanley’s career-long dedication to bringing design to underserved communities and to making design education, and education in general, inclusive and accessible to all. Love-Stanley will be honored in June at the 2014 AIA National Convention in Chicago.

Established in 1972, the Whitney M. Young Jr. Award has honored architects and organizations that embody the profession’s proactive social mandate through a range of commitments, including affordable housing, inclusiveness, and universal access. 

From humble beginnings in the public housing projects of Meridian, Miss., Love-Stanley went on to become the first African-American woman to graduate from the College of Architecture at Georgia Tech in 1977. She later became the first African-American woman to become a licensed architect in the Southeast. In 1978, she co-founded Atlanta-based  Stanley, Love-Stanley with her husband, William Stanley, FAIA, who received the Whitney Young Award in 1995. Love-Stanley and Stanley are the first husband and wife to ever have both received the Whitney Young Award.

As an advocate for minority inclusion in the architectural profession, she helped forge connections between the AIA and the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA). Her support for minority students pursuing architectural degrees continues through her annual sponsorship of NOMA/American Institute of Architecture Students student mentoring programs.

In aiding underserved communities, Love-Stanley has also put her professional skills to use more directly. As member of Atlanta’s City Zoning Review Board, she championed the causes of inner-city redevelopment and urban-neighborhood revitalization. Michael Lomax, president and CEO of the United Negro College Fund, describes Love-Stanley as a “rare individual. She believes deeply that all people—of whatever ethnicity, from whatever economic stratum—should have the opportunity to have their lives enriched by carefully considered, functional, and imaginative design,” he says.

Love-Stanley also has contributed her services pro bono to projects in need of a design champion. She was involved in the design and development of the Sweet Auburn Avenue project, which was part of the revitalization of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic District in Atlanta. She provided design services for Youth Art Connection, a gallery devoted to art created by children. She also designed and oversaw the installation of a “Celebrate Africa” exhibit and performance during the 1996 Summer Olympic Games.

“The interpretation and conceptualization of the design elements for ‘Celebrate Africa’ were incredible,” wrote Stephanie Hughley, former executive producer of the National Black Arts Festival. “Ms. Ivenue Love-Stanley and her team worked tirelessly within an extremely tight budget and created pure magic.”

The award is named after the civil rights–era head of the Urban League who confronted head-on the AIA’s absence of socially progressive advocacy at the 1968 AIA National Convention.

You can get more information and see images of Love-Stanley here: http://www.aia.org/practicing/awards/2014/whitney-young/ilove-stanley/

About The American Institute of Architects
Founded in 1857, members of the American Institute of Architects consistently work to create more valuable, healthy, secure, and sustainable buildings, neighborhoods, and communities. Through nearly 300 state and local chapters, the AIA advocates for public policies that promote economic vitality and public well being.  Members adhere to a code of ethics and conduct to ensure the highest professional standards. The AIA provides members with tools and resources to assist them in their careers and business as well as engaging civic and government leaders, and the public to find solutions to pressing issues facing our communities, institutions, nation and world. Visit  www.aia.org.



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