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Baltimore Architecture Foundation Awards

The Baltimore Architecture Foundation invites nominations for its annual awards. Please see descriptions below and let us know if you know of an individual or organization that is doing wonderful work in Baltimore. The deadline to submit a nomination is September 1.

Roger D. Redden Award

Given annually since 2008, the Roger D. Redden Award honors an individual for exemplary contribution to the built environment/design.

Golden Griffin Award

Given annually since 1996, the Golden Griffin Award honors a group/institution for its exemplary contribution to or stewardship of built environment.

James Dilts Award

The Jim Dilts Award was created in memory of author, Baltimore Sun newspaperman, and BAF board member James D. Dilts. As a founding member of BAF’s ‘Dead Architects Society’ Jim authored and edited many books, including A Guide to Baltimore Architecture, The Great Road, the Building of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, The World the Trains Made and also co-authored Baltimore’s Cast-Iron Buildings.

The Jim Dilts award is a monetary prize that is awarded to an individual who creates publicly accessible works, of a written or visual nature, that celebrate or educate about Baltimore architecture, past, present, or future.

FAR Scholarship Awards

The Future Architects Resources (FAR) Committee created a scholarship program for students pursuing careers in architecture that awards design excellence. Winning projects demonstrate innovation, social responsibility, environmental stewardship, and critical thinking. The FAR Scholarship is a joint program between Baltimore Architecture Foundation, AIA Baltimore, and AIA National.

2026 Award Winners

Roger D. Redden Award
Bree Jones

The Baltimore Architecture Foundation is pleased to present the 2026 Roger Redden Award to Bree Jones. Bree is the CEO and Founder of Parity Homes, an innovative, equitable development company in West Baltimore. With a background on Wall Street and venture capital, Bree has found the elusive way to generate investment, without gentrification or displacement. Bree works tirelessly within the community, expanding and strengthening its ties through porch concerts, investment in neighborhood parks, and old-fashioned door-knocking. The Baltimore Architecture Foundation is inspired by the work of Bree and Parity Homes thus far and is excited to see the block-by-block transformation of vacant houses into active communities.

Golden Griffin Award
ReBUILD Metro

Baltimore Architecture Foundation is pleased to present the 2026 Golden Griffin Award to ReBUILD Metro. The passion ReBUILD puts behind each project is palpable and every project is a promise to the community. They’re seen, they’re heard, they’re loved, and have built trust that they will do what their name suggests: rebuild. Too many Baltimore neighborhoods were left neglected for too long; ReBUILD Metro is a reminder that people and community persist. Walking around Johnston Square residents know ReBUILD’s staff members by name and ask when the houses will be done—not because they’re sick of hearing a compressor run, but because they want to be first in line to buy these homes. But ReBUILD stood out to us because they’re not just working to transform vacant properties; they also have a Legacy Homeowner program that provides long-term residents with assistance to make repairs on their properties. With new buildings, gut renovations, combination units, community parks, and home repairs, Johnston Square and the greater East Baltimore are transforming one block at a time thanks to ReBUILD Metro.

Undergraduate Student Design Award + Scholarship

“The Key” by Jamiyu Saida, Morgan State University

This cultural and visitor center at Virginia Key Beach brings together a strong visual language, thoughtful detailing, and a clear commitment to sustainability while honoring the site’s Black history. The atrium structure serves as a central organizing element, using expressive movement to integrate water collection and purification while connecting the three wings dedicated to exhibition and gathering. The diagrams and renderings strengthened the project’s narrative, clearly communicating the systems and relationships that bring the design to life.

Undergraduate Student Design Award + Scholarship

“Urban Hybrid Housing Typologies” by Jesulayomi Coker, Morgan State University

Within a tight urban block, this mixed-use housing project offers a thoughtful approach to residential density, with units oriented toward a variety of views across the surrounding neighborhood. The balance of indoor and outdoor spaces creates opportunities for both residents and the broader community, while internal plazas and skywalks introduce moments of connection as people move through the site at different elevations. We appreciated the reinterpretation of the Baltimore rowhouse as a larger residential block, particularly the range of unit types that provides more diverse living options.

Graduate Student Design Award + Scholarship

“Tides of Change” by Adesola Adenekan, Morgan State University

Tides of Change explores the amphibious community typology through a series of domed forms that engage with the landscape in different ways, both on solid ground and over the water. The project extends beyond above-water recreation to incorporate submerged viewing and research stations, creating opportunities to observe and engage with the surrounding wildlife of the coast of New Orleans. We appreciated the sense of whimsy and discovery conveyed through the renderings, which captured the potential for architecture to foster a deeper connection with coastal ecosystems through biophilic design.

Graduate Student Design Award + Scholarship

“Rise Pavilion” by Rachel Mensah, Morgan State University

The strength of the Rise Pavilion lies in its bold gesture across the harbor, where a continuous walkway and rising concrete forms emerge from the water to shape the experience of the site. That connection to water carries throughout the recreation and wellness program, from diving decks and pools to reflection rooms and corridors that maintain a visual relationship with the ocean. The diagrams exploring the emotional qualities of each program space helped communicate the intent behind the design, while grounding the project in the legacy and history of Virginia Key Beach.

Past Winners

Roger D. Redden Award

2008 Walter Schamu, FAIA
2009 John McGrain
2010 James T. Wollon, AIA
2011 Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson
2012 M. Jay Brodie
2013 Fred Lazarus
2014 Larry Peterson
2015 Dan Rodricks
2016 Jillian Storms, AIA
2017 Kathleen Kotarba
2018 Dr. Lance Humphries
2019 Rebecca Hoffberger
2020 Mary Ellen Hayward
2021 Johns Hopkins
2022 Chelsea Thomas
2023 Mark Sissman
2024 Klaus Philipsen
2025 Pamela and Christian Wilson

Golden Griffin Award

1996 Nationsbank
1997 Maryland Institute College of Art
1998 Phoebe Stanton
1999 Baltimore Sun (Ed Gunts)
2000 Baltimore Heritage
2001 Preservation Maryland
2002 Struever Bros. Eccles, & Rouse
2003 Charles Brickbauer
2004 Jim Dilts
2005 Live Baltimore
2006 John Dorsey
2007 Walter Sondheim, Jr
2008 Whiting Turner
2009 The Engineering Society of Baltimore
2010 Gutierrez Studios
2011 Jubilee Baltimore
2012 University of Baltimore
2013 Seawall Development
2014 Chesapeake Shakespeare Theater
2015 Mt. Vernon Place Conservancy
2016 Parks & People Foundation
2017 Baltimore Arts Realty Corp
2018 Morgan State University
2019 Enoch Pratt Library
2020 Neighborhood Design Center
2021 The National Aquarium
2022 Poppleton Now!
2023 CivicWorks
2024 Black Women Build Baltimore
2025 G. Krug & Son Ironworks

Jim Dilts Award

2019 Lance Humphries
2021 Leon Bridges
2022 Charlie Brickbauer
2024 Nick Redding and PreserveCast
2025 Neighborhood Design Center