AIA Alabama Council: 2017 Design Awards Dinner

David Harper, FAIA, LEED AP

Principal, HKS Miami 

Global Director of Higher Education Projects

David Harper is Principal of the HKS Architects Miami office, which now serves as the Global Design Center. He also serves as Director of Higher Education for HKS worldwide, which includes 24 office locations. Under Harper’s leadership, HKS Miami focuses on providing local and regional full-service planning and design for healthcare, educational facilities, hospitality, aviation, residential and mixed-use projects.

A nationally recognized thought leader in sustainable design and innovative construction methods, Harper is the recipient of over a dozen architectural design awards including the 2015 AIA COTE Award for his Domus Alba Residence. His work has also been featured in a variety of media outlets for over 25 years including the 2016 publication in Ocean Drive Magazineand Miami Home and Design Magazine.

Harper has been the architect for prominent projects over the past 30+ years including Miami International Airport’s American Airlines World Gateway terminal, U.S. Coast Guard Base Miami Beach, the Biltmore Hotel expansion/renovation, and hundreds of projects for K-12 schools, colleges and universities, including The Ohio State University, Florida International University, The University of California and more.

David Harper has personally designed or has been responsible for award-winning projects totaling more than $5 billion in the United States and around the world.

Jason R. Chandler, AIA is the Chair of the Department of Architecture and Interim Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture + Environmental and Urban Design at the College of Communication, Architecture + The Arts at Florida International University. He is an associate professor and has taught at FIU since 1998. Before teaching at FIU, he taught at the University of Miami and at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design for its Career Discovery Program.

Chandler’s academic activities focus on building construction systems and their integration into architecture and urban design. Professor Chandler’s research has been supported by grants and fellowships from the National Institute for Architectural Education, the International Hurricane Center, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Knight Foundation, the Cejas Family Foundation, the Metropolitan Center at FIU and the United States Department of Education. Chandler’s writing has been published in both national and regional ACSA proceedings and he has co-authored with Shahin Vassigh on Building Systems Integration for Enhanced Environmental Performance (2011).

Chandler is the founder and principal of Chandler and Associates in South Miami, Florida. He is the architect of Plaza 57, a mixed-used building in downtown South Miami, and a series of infill projects in Miami. Chandler has received distinctions in several design competitions: Second Prize in the 81st Paris Prize Architectural Design Competition, Honorable Mention in the 2001 Scattered Housing Competition, First Prize in the 2004 Miami Beach Design Life Competition and Honorable Mention in the 2008 Dawntown Waterworks Competition. His built and unbuilt design work has received awards from the Miami and Florida chapters of the American Institute of Architects. Jason Chandler’s design work has been published by the Princeton Architectural Press, Trama,Florida/Caribbean Architect, and The Miami Herald and has been noted in the New York Times and the MIT Press.

Howard S. Wertheimer, a Fellow in the American Institute of Architects and a LEED Accredited Professional, is the Assistant Vice President of Capital Planning & Space Management at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he has strategic oversight of the Campus Master Plan, Landscape Master Plan, Historic Preservation Plan, campus-wide sustainability initiatives and most things that are visually exposed.

As part of the Space Management portfolio, Howard has strategic oversight of more than 15 million square feet of space in 200 buildings on 400 acres, including more than 170 centrally scheduled classrooms and instructional spaces on campus.

Prior to joining Georgia Tech in November 2006, Howard was a partner and principal at Lord, Aeck & Sargent Architects where he focused on the planning, programming and design of technically sophisticated college and university facilities.

Howard has served as a juror on several national and international design awards competitions including the SCUP Excellence in Planning, SCUP Excellence in Landscape Architecture and SCUP/AIA-CAE Excellence in Architecture Awards programs; ENR Best Projects Awards program; and the R&D Magazine Lab of the Year program. He is a frequent lecturer and presenter, and has been an active participant in numerous community and professional organizations, including AIA, SCUP, AASHE, AUA, COAA, NACUBO and

Leadership Atlanta.

Annie McCarthy is serving as the Emerging Professional member of the Design Awards Jury.  A 2013 graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology, Master of Architecture program, Annie has worked with Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects since graduation.  She is currently the Project Manager for “One Museum Place,” a high-end condominium development located near the High Museum of Art (Atlanta). She has been closely involved with the project from design development through its current construction stage. Annie also contributed to MSME Architects’ most recent contribution to the United States Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale, entitled “Architectural Imagination”.  She has participated in several other projects including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s East Campus Master Plan.