Beginning with an innovative multi-unit housing project he built in Montreal nearly 50 years ago, Moshe Safdie, this year's AIA Gold Medal–winner, presides over a successful global practice, creating large-scale mixed-use complexes while keeping a firm hand on nearly every aspect of design.

Photo © Matt Wargo Denise Scott Brown in front of the Provincial Capitol Building in Toulouse, France. Designed by Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, it was completed in 1999. On June 18, the national board of directors of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) voted to allow the national AIA Gold Medal to be awarded to two individuals. The amendment was voted on at a meeting at the national AIA convention in Denver. The updated rule goes into effect on January 1, 2014. The New York chapter of the AIA spearheaded the initiative to overturn the rules governing the awarding

Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects will receive the Firm of the Year Award, and Adele Naudé Santos, FAIA, will be honored with the 2009 Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education.