James Stewart Polshek earned a M. Arch from Yale in 1955. The office that Polshek began in 1963 as James Stewart Polshek Architect evolved through multiple iterations. Following his retirement in 2005, the firm transitioned in 2010 to Ennead Architects. Polshek earned his firm countless accolades, including more than 200 design awards, the 1992 AIA Architecture Firm Award, and 15 National Honor Awards for Architecture.
Over the course of four decades his firms tackled vital research, cultural, and governmental projects – as well as mundane ones – that have enriched the lives of those in and near them. Polshek’s 1987 restoration and renovation of New York’s Carnegie Hall began with a master plan that helped establish his enduring approach to revitalization. In Washington, D.C., the 645,000-square-foot Newseum/Freedom Forum Headquarters, completed in 2008, is a monument to journalism and free speech. Polshek worked for I.M. Pei prior to starting his own firm, James Stewart Polshek Architect in 1963. He served as the Dean of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation from 1972 to 1987. Polshek was the 2018 AIA Gold Medal Recipient.
