DesignPhiladelphia is thrilled to present the 37th Louis I. Kahn Award to Weiss/Manfredi. The award-winning firm, founded by Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi, has consistently pushed boundaries in architectural design, with projects ranging from cultural institutions to urban masterplans – and demonstrating a deep understanding of context, sustainability, and human experience, resulting in architecture that resonates both aesthetically and functionally. Notable examples of their work the Seattle Museum of Art's Olympic Sculpture Park, Krishna P. Singh Center for Nanotechnology at the University of Pennsylvania, Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park on the East River in New York. In 2021, the firm broke ground on two much-anticipated projects, U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India expected to open in 2027 and Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden Experience—a sweeping reimagination of 17 acres of Longwood Gardens Conservatory and grounds, opening in fall 2024.

Architects Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi, co-founders of a New York-based architectural design firm — will present a talk in acceptance of the award. The ceremony will take place at the University of Pennsylvania’s Museum of Anthropology and Archeology at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, April 3, 2024. A VIP reception with light hors' d oeuvres and beverages will take place in the Chinese Rotunda from 5:30 - 6:30 pm.

Weiss/Manfredi received the 2020 Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Architecture and the 2018 Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Institution's National Design Award, as well as the New York AIA Gold Medal and the Academy Award in Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Most recently Weiss/Manfredi was selected through an international competition to re-envision the world renowned La Brea Tar Pits and Museum in Los Angeles; and the Trinity Park Conservancy in Dallas selected the firm to serve as design architects to bring new life to the former Jesse R. Dawson State Jail.

The firm has won numerous awards and competitions and has been featured in exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the National Building Museum, the Essen Design Centre, the Louvre Museum, and the Venice Biennale. Princeton Architectural Press has published three monographs on their work including, most recently, PUBLIC NATURES: Evolutionary Infrastructures.

The 2024 Louis I. Kahn Award is generously supported by presenting sponsor Gattuso Development Partners — a developer of exceptional, sustainable high-performance workplaces. Led by former Liberty Property Trust leaders John S. Gattuso, President and CEO, and Anne Cummins, COO, the Gattuso team has played a vital role in reshaping the Philadelphia skyline and revitalizing its urban landscape.

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