The recipients of the annual AIA/HUD Secretary Awards have been announced. The program is administered by the Housing and Custom Residential AIA Knowledge Community, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Awards are bestowed in four categories: excellence in affordable housing design; community connection; community-informed design; and housing accessibility. For more information, visit the AIA’s Web site. Photo © Jeffrey Peters/Vantage Point Photography Paseo Center at Coyote Creek is one of the four winners. Excellence in Affordable Housing Design Paseo Center at Coyote Creek San Jose, California David Baker + Partners, Architects Creating Community Connection

Haiti is beginning to fade from the headlines, five months after the 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck the impoverished island country. But many in the design and construction industry are determined to stay involved.   On Friday, June 4, more than 150 people filled a Cooper Union auditorium in New York City for a five-hour symposium dubbed “Rebuilding a Sustainable Haiti.” Organized by the Institute for Urban Design, the free event was open to the public and was intended to present an overview of redevelopment strategies for the struggling Caribbean nation. Panelists included representatives from key entities such as Partners in Health, the

After decades of practicing architecture in New York, François returned to his native Haiti to set up a design and construction firm in Port-au-Prince. Here, he speaks candidly about his experience working in the troubled island country. Yves François is a firm owner who defies convention. The 45-year-old designer was born in Haiti but spent most of his childhood in Brooklyn. In 1986, he earned an architecture degree from the New York Institute of Technology and went on to work for 10 years at Pepsi as a facility manager and architectural consultant. He later held similar positions at Philip Morris

The 19 finalists for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture are to be announced this afternoon during an event at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Photo courtesy MIT Eduardo Catalano Eduardo Catalano, an inventive Argentine architect and longtime professor, died on January 28 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Born in Buenos Aires, Catalano studied architecture at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard. He is best known for the Raleigh House (1954), a glass pavilion topped by a 4,000-square-foot hyperbolic paraboloid roof. The three-bedroom dwelling, which Catalano designed for himself while living and teaching in North Carolina, was named “House of the Decade” by House and Home Magazine. It was demolished in 2001 after years of neglect. Catalano’s other projects include the Juilliard School of Music in New

Unemployed Designers in New York Band Together to Form LMNOP After getting laid off from Mancini Duffy in December 2008, Jennifer Graham felt disappointed and a bit panicky. But those emotions swiftly gave way to optimism. “I was so excited for new opportunities,” she says. Given her thick rolodex and tenacious spirit, she was confident she’d find a new job. “I have a business approach to everything I do,” she says. Photo © Danielle Austen Charlton Hutton, Jennifer Graham, Kristen Mucci, and other designers teamed up to form LMNOP. Related Links: Recession Stories: Where Are They Now? The following month,

11 international architects also receive honor The American Institute of Architects has elevated 134 association members to its College of Fellows, an honor that recognizes architects who have made a notable contribution to the profession and to society. Fewer than 2,900 of the association’s 83,000 members are fellows. Architects who have been AIA members for at least 10 years are eligible. Candidates are nominated within one of five categories (see below). Serving on this year’s jury were: Chair, Allan W. Kehrt, FAIA, KSS Architects; Henry C. Alexander, Jr. FAIA, Rizo, Carreno & Partners; Jeffrey A. Huberman, FAIA, Gantt Huberman Architects;