ERG chair named top architecture educator

Har­ri­son Fraker, chair of the Energy and Resources Group, is the 2014 recip­i­ent of the Topaz Medal­lion for Excel­lence in Archi­tec­tural Edu­ca­tion, the lead­ing award in archi­tec­tural edu­ca­tion in the United States.

“The prize was announced today (Tues­day, Dec. 17) by the Board of the Amer­i­can Insti­tute of Archi­tects (AIA) and the Asso­ci­a­tion of Col­le­giate Schools of Archi­tec­ture (ACSA). The Topaz Medal­lion hon­ors an indi­vid­ual involved in archi­tec­ture edu­ca­tion for more than a decade whose teach­ing has influ­enced a broad range of students. In announc­ing the lat­est Topaz Medal­lion win­ner, the orga­ni­za­tions com­mended Fraker… for push­ing the aca­d­e­mic study of energy use in build­ings to the fore­front of the sus­tain­abil­ity movement.” Read more at the UC Berke­ley News Center.

According to the American Institute of Architects: “Fraker is the 39th recipient of the AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion. The Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education is awarded jointly by the AIA and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) to an individual—who must be living at the time of nomination—who has spent at least a decade primarily involved in architectural education and whose primary contribution to architectural education has taken place on the North American continent.”