For nearly two decades, AIA Chicago Lifetime Achievement Award has recognized architects who have left their mark in the Chicago architectural landscape. It is dedicated to those who have made enduring contributions to the built environment, the profession, and its community, both in the field and beyond it. And this year, AIA Chicago recognized Linda Searl, FAIA, founding principal of Chicago-based Searl Lamaster Howe, for her dedication to the profession and involvement in architectural leadership, design advocacy, and community building with the 2024 AIA Chicago Lifetime Achievement Award for the Profession of Architecture.
“Linda’s dedication to the profession through her teaching and mentoring, and involvement in the AIA locally and nationally, has left a long-lasting impression and will continue to affect the next generation of architects, and her 25-year civic role in Chicago Plan Commission provides a legacy of leadership to the city,” stated Lynda Dossey, AIA, principal at JAHN and AIA Chicago President, in the press release.
Searl, who was recognized for her legacy in architecture during AIA Chicago’s Designnight 2024 at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park, Chicago, first studied architecture at the University of Florida, where she received both a Bachelor of Architecture and Masters of Arts in Architecture. She then taught as an associate professor at UNC Charlotte, or University of North Carolina at Charlotte, in North Carolina from 1973 to 1976, and at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Florida, from 1976 to 1980, helping to shape the design and architecture curricula at both institutions.
Searl was also tasked with establishing Florida A&M University’s architectural library, which today now includes monographs, periodicals, slides, and sample materials housed on the ground floor of the Walter L. Smith Architecture Building, in support of the School of Architecture and Engineering Technology. She launched Searl & Associates in 1990 and quickly led the development of a portfolio of diverse and award-winning work driven by core principles that embrace collaboration, unique voices and perspectives, and a commitment to creativity, innovation, sustainability, detail, and materiality.
Since then, Searl spent her career fostering a studio environment where employees can succeed—reflective in the transition of the firm from Searl & Associates to Searl Lamaster Howe, which continues to thrive under the direction of Principals Pam Lamaster-Millett, AIA, and Gregory Howe, AIA—as well as prioritized the mentoring of younger generations, a dedication to design advocacy and civic planning, and community building. She spent 25 years on the Chicago Plan Commission, in which she served as Chair from 2003 to 2012, advocating “for better designed buildings, more affordable housing, and minority participation in projects that were city-owned or funded by the city,” and fighting to change conditions, according to the press release.
“Linda Searl has been a vocal advocate for quality design and a collaborative process among stakeholders,” stated Jen Masengarb, Assoc. AIA, Executive Director of AIA Chicago, in the press release. “As an architect, civil servant, and mentor, her impact on the profession continues to ripple through our city.”
Over the years, Searl has served as AIA Chicago President and National AIA Vice President. She also has played a part in the AIA Chicago’s Bridge Mentorship Program since it was founded in 2009. The program connects AIA Fellows with rising professionals through an eight-monthlong program that is intended to “bridge the gap,” fostering mentorship, leadership, and a multi-generational network of architects. As the recipient of the 2024 AIA Lifetime Achievement Award, Searl was nominated by the AIA Chicago general membership, reviewed by a committee of fellows and previous Lifetime Achievement Award winners, and selected by the AIA Chicago Board of Directors, according to the press release. The AIA Chicago Board of Directors noted her “dedication to supporting the advancement of women in architecture is an example for how all architects should lift each other up,” and she joins the ranks of previous recipients, such as: Cynthia Weese, FAIA; Ralph Johnson, FAIA, LEED AP; Stuart Cohen, FAIA; Phillip C. Johnson, FAIA; John Syvertsen, FAIA; Peter Landon, FAIA; and Carol Ross Barney, FAIA, to name a few.
Designnight 2024 is the signature awards program for the second largest local chapter of the American Institute of Architects, representing a collective of more than 4,000 licensed architects, emerging professionals, architecture students, and allied professionals. The celebration honors Chicago architects for their global design achievements, and this year’s program featured Design Excellence Awards, Decarbonization Award, Divine Detail Awards, Roberta Feldman Architecture for Social Justice Award, and the Lerch Bates People’s Choice Awards presented in partnership with the Chicago Architecture Center, in addition to the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Text: R.J. Weick
Photography: Courtesy of Searl Lamaster Howe
