James Polshek

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Personal information
James Polshek, FAIA

Name	James Polshek, FAIA
Nationality	United States
Birth date
Birth place	Akron, Ohio
Work
Practice name	Polshek Partnership Architects
Significant buildings	William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Center
Awards and prizes	AIA Medal of Honor (1986) AIA Architecture Firm Award (1992)

James Stewart Polshek (born 1930, Akron, Ohio) is an American architect based in New York City. He is founder and senior design counsel of Polshek Partnership architects.

1 Education & background
2 Professional career
3 Awards and honors
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Education & background

Polshek enrolled in premed at Case Western Reserve University's Adelbert College 1947, with thoughts of becoming a psychiatrist. He struggled with school and began taking a variety of courses, including a course in the history of modern architecture. After deciding to study architecture he enrolled at Yale University, and graduated in 1955 with a Master of Architecture degree.^[1] He was also a Fulbright/Hayes fellow in Denmark and received a number of grants from the Graham Foundation.^{[citation needed]}

After becoming dean of Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation in 1972, Western Reserve University granted his bachelor of science degree in 1973, forgiving the 8 credits he was short.^[1]

[edit] Professional career

Polshek worked for I.M. Pei prior to starting his own firm, James Stewart Polshek Architect, in 1963. He is presently retired and maintains the title of Senior Design Counsel at the Polshek Partnership.

He served as the dean of Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation from 1972 to 1987.^[2]

Polshek is unusual among top-tier architects for taking the position that architecture is more craft than fine art, and that architects have some measure of social responsibility.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Awards and honors

Polshek received the Gold Medal award from the New York City chapter of the American Institute of Architects in 1986. In 2002, he was honored with the Municipal Art Society’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal, and was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2005, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

He has received honorary degrees from Pratt Institute (1995), the New School University Parsons School of Design (1995) and the New Jersey Institute of Technology (2002).