Rice Design Alliance (RDA), the public programs and outreach arm of Rice Architecture, announces Chicago-based Kwong Von Glinow as the 2023 Spotlight Award recipient. The award recognizes the work of exceptional architects in the early stages of their professional careers who have demonstrated design excellence and curiosity through their body of work. As part of their award, Kwong Von Glinow will present the annual Spotlight Lecture in Houston at MATCH - Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston on Tuesday, January 17, at 6 p.m.
"For more than 10 years, the Spotlight Award has shed light on emerging architectural practices worldwide. This year, we are delighted to honor Lap Chi Kwong and Alison Von Glinow, whose practice promotes enduring humanism through elegant building designs made for the people they serve. I am thankful to the 2023 Spotlight committee, chaired by Associate Professor Troy Schaum, for their careful deliberations and astute selection of such accomplished and optimistic honorees,” said Igor Marjanović, the William Ward Watkin Dean of Rice Architecture.
Kwong Von Glinow was founded in 2017 with the belief that architecture is meant to be appreciated by the users, resulting in a range of projects—from single-family homes to multi-family residential buildings, public and cultural spaces, exhibitions, and designed objects. Their work translates forward-looking architectural concepts into designs with broad appeal—building the thoroughly enjoyable from the slightly familiar.
“Kwong Von Glinow projects play with scale, color, and vernacular material to achieve results that transform the quotidian into moments of invention. The committee thought their work offered an optimistic take on the future of design in our cities at this stage in their careers. Their work is able to maintain a lightness against a backdrop of studied restraint. It's a lesson in care and craft. We were excited by the work and more excited to learn about what was ahead for them,” said Troy Schaum, Associate Professor, Rice Architecture, and Partner, SCHAUM/SHIEH.
Taking an explorative approach, Kwong Von Glinow’s work focuses on creating innovative living environments, places for cultural engagement, urban public spaces, and contemporary workspaces. The firm’s current projects include the renovation of a historically landmarked home for art collectors and their families; a multi-family and commercial building; an addition to a penthouse unit and conversion into an artist residency; the renovation and adaptation of an early Chicago bow-truss building into a photo studio; and a library renovation. Kwong Von Glinow recently completed: Ardmore House, a single-family home in Chicago; the Swiss Consulate Chicago at the John Hancock Center; and Logan Boulevard Residence, a historic single-family residence renovation.
The Spotlight Award, which carries a monetary prize and is by invitation only, was founded in 2009 under the leadership of Lonnie Hoogeboom with John J. Casbarian, the Harry K. & Albert K. Smith Professor, Rice Architecture, Carlos Jiménez, Professor, Rice Architecture and Rafael Longoria, the ACSA Distinguished Professor of Architecture, University of Houston. The award is committed to recognizing and celebrating emerging, unconventional, and thought-provoking architectural practices from around the globe.
The Spotlight Award committee, formed by architects, academics, and design practitioners, convenes each year to consider local, national, and international architects within the first 15 years of their professional practice. This year the selection committee included Amna Ansari, Visiting Critic, Rice Architecture, and Founding Partner, Ultrabarrio; Lonnie Hoogeboom, Director of Planning and Design, Central Houston; Deepa Ramaswamy, Assistant Professor, History and Theory of Architecture and Urbanism, University of Houston; Troy Schaum, Associate Professor, Rice Architecture, and Partner, SCHAUM/SHIEH; and Maggie Tsang, Assistant Professor, Rice Architecture, and co-founder, Dept.
For the 2023 Spotlight Lecture event details, visit here.