CNU XVI Athena Award Winners

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Three pivotal figures in the advancement of urbanism join the prestigious list of Athena Medal recipients during CNU XVI: New Urbanism and the Booming Metropolis, April 3-6 in Austin, Texas.

The latest trio to win the Athena Medal, which is given to an individual who has helped pioneer and lay the groundwork for the concepts of New Urbanism, are Austin's own Sinclair Black, Allan Jacobs, and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales.

Sinclair Black, will be presented his award by Stefanos Polyzoides during the Wednesday Evening Plenary on April 2 (5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Ballroom ABC at the Austin Convention Center). Sinclair Black has been instrumental in the development of urbanist ideals in central Texas while retaining the region's architectural spirit and character. As the Austin Chronicle notes, "Over four decades, he's remained tirelessly devoted to inspiring, cajoling, haranguing and goading Austin to embrace better urban design." He remains active in his hometown as a member of the Austin Downtown Alliance and teaching at the University of Texas School of Architecture.

Allan Jacobs will be presented with his medal by Richard Hall during the Friday Evening Plenary on April 4 (in Ballroom ABC at the Austin Convention Center). Allan Jacobs played a key role in the revitalization of San Francisco's waterfront, and led the rediscovery in the United States of traditional urban street design, authoring two of the most comprehensive books on urban street design: Great Streets and The Boulevard Book (co-authored with Elizabeth MacDonald and Yodan Rofe). But he didn't stop there. He showed how to build great streets again -- after they had been abandoned by highway and traffic engineers -- in model projects like Octavia Boulevard in San Francisco, which replaced the Central Artery Freeway in the city's heart. He has been a professor at the University of California at Berkeley since 1975.

The final Athena Medal recipient at CNU XVI will be His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, who will accept his award via a videotaped message to be played during the Saturday Morning Plenary on April 5 (also in Ballroom ABC). "At a time when almost non one was speaking up, he raised the alarm about the extremes of brutalist, iconic interventions into the fine-grained fabric of cities and villages," said John Norquist, CNU's president and CEO. And he did so at considerable risk to his own standing, given a long-held taboo about members of the Royal Family speaking about controversial topics. Amongst his many other civic and charitable foundations, Prince Charles serves as head of The Prince’s Foundation, an organization devoted to the sustainable development and time-tested principles of traditional building and architecture.

Detailed information regarding the times and locations of the awards ceremonies can be found on the CNU XVI program events page.

A full list of Athena Medal recipients can be found here.