Apr 3rd 2017

Prof. Ronan Recipient of 2017 Arts and Letters Award

Prof. John Ronan was recently named a 2017 Architecture Award Winner from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

The Academy’s annual architecture awards program began in 1955 with the inauguration of the Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize and has since expanded to include four Arts and Letters Awards. This year’s winners were chosen from a group of 27 individuals and practices nominated by the members of the Academy. The jurors were Elizabeth Diller (chairman), Henry N. Cobb, Peter Eisenman, Kenneth Frampton, Hugh Hardy, Steven Holl, Thom Mayne, James Polshek, Robert A. M. Stern, Billie Tsien, and Tod Williams. Honorees, in addition to Ronan, this year include Walter Hood, Paul Goldberger, Theaster Gates and Diebedo Francis Kere.

Ronan was awarded a $10,000 Arts and Letters Award in Architecture for work "characterized by a strong personal direction." Said juror Tod Williams, "With elegance and rigor, John Ronan continues Chicago's history of serious architecture of national and international significance."

The Ronan-designed IIT Innovation Center - in addition to his 151 North Franklin Office Tower in Chicago's Loop - is expected to be completed in 2018.