by Jonathan McGaha | January 25, 2017 12:00 am
Alan Greenberger, FAIA, former Philadelphia Deputy Mayor and Chairman of the City Planning Commission, has been selected to receive the 2017 Thomas Jefferson Award[1]. The Thomas Jefferson Award recognizes excellence in architectural advocacy and achievement. Greenberger will be honored at the AIA Conference on Architecture 2017 in Orlando.
Lured from his role as a principal at Philadelphia’s MGA Partners by former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, Greenberger quickly assumed a dual role as deputy mayor and chairman of the City Planning Commission. Responsible for the Department of Commerce as well as oversight of planning and 10 additional agencies, Greenberger spearheaded an audacious initiative to rewrite the city’s antiquated and convoluted zoning code and create Philadelphia2035[2], a comprehensive plan for the city’s renaissance. During his tenure, he also completed and approved plans for all 37 miles of the city’s waterfront and led Philadelphia to its greatest redevelopment and population influx since the mid-20th century.
When the Nutter administration reached its two-term limit, Greenberger left full-time public office. He now shares his knowledge and wealth of experience with the next generation of design professionals as the Distinguished Teaching Professor and Lindy Fellow in the Department of Architecture and Interiors at Drexel University, recently becoming the head of the Department of Architecture Design & Urbanism. Greenberger remains active with the city he helped become a World Heritage site in 2015, serving as chairman of the Philadelphia Art Commission. An independent body, it is tasked with design oversight of all public facilities, signage, and artwork.
The jury for the 2017 Thomas Jefferson Award includes: Illya Azaroff, AIA, (Chair), +LAB architects; Hans Butzer, AIA, Butzer Architects and Urbanism; Damian Farrell, FAIA, Damian Farrell Design Group; Jared Edgar Mcknight, Assoc. AIA, Wallace Roberts & Todd, LLC and Lynn M. Perkins, AIA, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
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