Jury

2022 Design Awards

Brent Allen Buck, AIA

Brent Allen Buck founded Brent Buck Architects in 2015 after spending ten years apprenticing at the firm Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects. Raised in the American Midwest, Brent grew up in a family of makers--masons, carpenters, plasterers, and machinists. At a young age he developed a respect for people who work with their hands, which impacts his viewpoint on architecture and design today. Buck earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Carnegie Mellon University and a Master of Architecture degree from Yale University. He was awarded the John Stewardson Fellowship from the University of Pennsylvania, which he used to travel throughout India to study the centuries-old tradition of stepwells. He was awarded the Drawing Prize from Yale University in 2005.


Joseph James, RLA, ASLA

Joseph James is the founder of his eponymous practice based in Rhode Island operating at the intersection of landscape architecture, educational outreach, and storytelling. Prior to founding his practice, Joe was an Associate Principal at Reed Hilderbrand with over two decades of experience leading complex landscape projects throughout the nation. His commitment to education has led him to serve as Co-Chair of the BSLA’s K-12 Committee where he currently develops programs to introduce kids to landscape architecture. James is a recipient of the Landscape Architecture Foundation’s Fellowship for Leadership and Innovation where he is developing a graphic novel to further introduce his profession to a younger audience. James currently teaches in the Landscape Architecture Department at RISD. 


Miriam Peterson

Before co-founding PRO in 2012, Miriam Peterson spent five years working for Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects on major institutional projects including The Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, PA and The Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University. As an M. Arch student at Yale University School of Architecture, her design and seminar work focused on investigating how public investments in infrastructure can facilitate the creation of public spaces and environmentally responsible development. Upon graduation Peterson was awarded the William Edward Parsons Memorial Medal for the student showing the most promise in urban design. Peterson is currently a Visiting Professor at the Yale School of Architecture. 


Philip Ryan, RA, AIA

Philip Ryan is the founder and principal of Studio Modh, an eight-person architecture firm located in Brooklyn, New York. Prior to forming the studio, Ryan worked for Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects for fourteen years in design and management leadership capacities before leaving as a Senior Associate in 2012. His design and construction experience while at the office was extensive, including the design and construction of the American Folk Art Museum in New York, Skirkanich Hall at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, PA. Ryan is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania where he teaches the Professional Practice Sequence, Construction, Thesis Studio, and a seminar called “Heavy Architecture”.  


Thomas Ryan, AIA

Founded by Thomas Ryan in 2013, T.W. Ryan Architecture (TWRA) is a design-led studio based in San Francisco and New York. In 2020 and 2021, T.W. Ryan Architecture was named one of the Top 50 Firms in the US by AN Interior and added to the Wallpaper* Architects Directory. Prior to founding TWRA, Ryan was an Associate at Christoff Finio Architecture and a Designer at Richard Meier & Partners in New York. He is a recipient of the Deborah Norden Prize from The Architectural League of New York, and a Design Research Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. He is a Senior Lecturer at California College of the Arts.