“For me this award is so moving because the Gold Medal is something you get from your peers,” Safdie says. In his case, these peers—who wrote recommendation letters for Safdie—include Mohsen Mostafavi, Richard Rogers, and Frank Gehry, who wrote in his recommendation letter: “The world at large is a better place because of [Safdie’s] work.”

Safdie won out over two other finalists—Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown and Eric Owen Moss. Venturi and Scott Brown were considered leading contenders after this year’s rule change allowing two collaborating architects to win the medal, and the controversy surrounding a bid for a retrospective Pritzker Architecture Prize for Scott Brown.

Los Angeles-based Ehrlich Architects, founded by Steven Ehrlich in 1979, took home the 2015 Architecture Firm Award, which recognizes practices that have produced notable work for at least a decade. Over the last 25 years, the firm has developed its own genre of architecture, what it calls “multicultural modernism,” which delves deep into the social norms and context surrounding a project. Notable works include the John Roll U.S. Courthouse in Arizona, which features a porch-like entrance canopy, the Ahmadu Bello University Theater in Nigeria, and the Helal New Moon Residence in Dubai. The firm, which designs residential, commercial, educational, and civic projects, is currently working on its first hotel. “We are super humbled that our work, our collective passion, and our way of practicing has been honored in this way,” says partner Takashi Yanai. “It’s kind of a party here at the office today.”

The AIA also announced the recipients of its other top honors: Peter Eisenman was awarded the 2015 AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion; Rural Studio was honored with the 2015 Whitney M. Young Jr. Award; and Edward Mazria received the 2015 Kemper Award.