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Perkins+Will Earns National and Local Honors for Urban Planning

The global architecture, planning and design leader Perkins+Will has announced several recent honors for its planning practice, including a Citation for Design Excellence earned by AIA New York Chapter Health Facilities Committee, which is co-led by Jason Harper, AIA of Perkins+Will. This comes on the heels of a major national award from the American Planning Association (APA), the 2015 National Planning Excellence Award, given to Perkins+Will this year for “distinguished work that continues to influence the professional practice of planning.”

With these and other laurels, Perkins+Will’s New York office continues a strong growth path in urban design and large-scale projects as exemplified by its diverse work in the Northeast region. Working closely with city leaders, economic development groups, community groups, hospitals and businesses to solve myriad challenges of growth, Perkins+Will takes on often complex, design-driven projects that ultimately transform those places, the citation noted. The work is led by Janice Barnes, Ph.D, LEED AP Planning + Strategies Global Leader for Perkins+Will.

“Perkins+Will has long demonstrated how planners can solve the challenges facing our communities,” said the APA awards jury chair, W. Shedrick Coleman. “Their expertise and use of innovative practices and a commitment to stakeholder participation have proven to make a visible difference within the communities they have worked.”

The AIA New York award, the 2015 Vice President’s Citation for Design Excellence, was announced last week. It recognizes the AIA New York Health Facilities Committee and cites Perkins+Will’s Jason Harper, AIA, and Jonathan Miller, AIA, NCARB, of Atelier New York Architecture, for “consistently creating high-level programming that not only collaborates with other committees but spans professions.”

Among the committee highlights has been its pro bono work on the national Guidelines for the Design & Construction of Hospital & Outpatient Facilities as well as collaborative work with the AIA New York Design for Risk and Reconstruction Committee (DfRR) in the production of AIA New York’s Post Sandy Report, specifically the chapter on critical and commercial buildings.

In addition, they have worked with the DfRR on a series of events that work to increase knowledge of and efforts related to improving the resiliency of healthcare facilities in New York City and beyond. A recent event with the DfRR and the New York Society for Health Planning underscored the efforts of New York-area hospitals’ response to the recent Ebola outbreak including creation of specialized patient units for isolation and treatment of the highly contagious and infectious disease.

“Through its leadership and new programming, the Health Facilities Committee shows how architects can contribute solutions to important social challenges,” the AIA New York leaders announced this week, applauding Harper’s contributions.