The AIA Honorary Fellowship program recognizes international architects for their exceptional work and contributions to architecture and society on an international level. New fellows were honored at the AIA Awards Gala, June 7, 2024, at the National Building Museum in Washington DC. Director of Sustainability + Equity Michelle Amt was elevated to the AIA’s College of Fellows, an honor awarded to architects who have made significant contributions to the profession. Fewer than three percent of the architecture profession achieve AIA Fellowship.
The fellowship program was developed to elevate architects who have achieved a standard of excellence in the profession and made a significant contribution to architecture and society. Prospective candidates must have at least 10 years of AIA architect membership and demonstrated influence in at least one of the following areas:
- Promoted the aesthetic, scientific, and practical efficiency of the profession.
- Advanced the science and art of planning and building by advancing the standards of practice.
- Coordinated the building industry, and the profession of architecture.
- Ensured the advancement of the living standards of people through their improved environment.
- Made the profession of ever-increasing service to society.
- Advanced the science and art of planning and building by advancing the standards of architectural
- Education and training.
In her projects, practice, and advocacy, Michelle Amt unites design, sustainability and system-wide transformation to create a thriving future for all.
TRANSFORMATIVE PROJECTS
At the forefront of holistic sustainability, Michelle's projects demonstrate design for circularity at all scales, from products to buildings to districts to portfolios. She has advocated for safer chemistry and supply chain transparency in built environments since long before the advent of the Healthy Building Network, the Health Product Collaborative and the AIA Architecture + Design (A+D) Materials Pledge.
Her projects have changed the way we build. They continue to affect not just the thousands of people who live and work in them but the owners and communities who will build again, now with a new perspective around the power of design. From projects like NASA's Sustainability Base, which led the way in redefining high-performance for federal buildings, to Fashion for Good, which transforms the fashion industry toward circularity, Michelle reminds us that each decision is a choice and every time we can choose to take climate action, improve community resilience, support human and ecological health, address injustice, and support robust communities.
Michelle’s projects illuminate pathways to a regenerative future—one with clean water and energy, healthy soils, circular material flows, and engaged and supported communities.
TRANSFORMATIVE PRACTICE
Scaling sustainable solutions only comes by redesigning the systems and processes we use to create our projects. Michelle has championed transforming practice, guiding VMDO to sign on to the AIA 2030 Commitment and publicly report sustainable data each year, and to become Virginia’s first architecture firm with a JUST label. From these external engagements to internal innovations like revamping VMDO’s specifications protocol and materials library to align with the AIA A+D Materials Pledge, Michelle leverages how we create to improve the qualities of what we create—raising the bar on not just those projects with high sustainability aspirations but across the firm’s portfolio. Her commitment to data-driven decision-making means that she invests in measurement, research, and interdisciplinary collaborations. This quantification, combined with a friendly honesty about what we have accomplished and where we are falling short, has made her a trusted voice both at VMDO and in the larger design and built environment community.
TRANSFORMATIVE ADVOCACY
Just as project-based work will not deliver change on the scale we need, one firm cannot transform the profession. Michelle is committed to collaboration with other firms, sharing best practices and tools, and learning from some while mentoring others, all in pursuit of maximizing the social and environmental benefits of the built environment. Her leadership of and work with the AIA Committee on the Environment, and in particular the COTE Top Ten Awards program, has focused on educating members and elevating exemplars that we can all learn from. She is an active member in the Sustainable Design Leaders Group, sharing what she’s doing through her practice work, charting a path for others and learning from their respective journeys. She has volunteered on the WELL Materials Concept Advisory to share her knowledge and decades of experience in advocating for supply chain transparency and healthy materials. She has also served as a resource to legislators, local officials, and school districts who are curious about sustainability but do not know where to start. Michelle’s optimism, enthusiasm, and authenticity make her a powerful advocate for our industry, and for future generations of design thinkers.
“Throughout her career, Michelle’s work has always been a call to action. Through her efforts, Michelle has shown the power of design is not limited to a building footprint but can expand and contribute to the betterment of client business models, government policies and adjacent industries. Michelle’s translation of the design process into actionable frameworks and metrics for clients has resulted in roadmaps of great value for other projects, other design sectors, and our profession at large. She led her firm’s commitment to AIA’s 2030 Commitment and ILFI’s JUST program, pledges for practice transformation through design data transparency and equity through firm policies respectively. Through articles and presentations, her transparent public communication of VMDO’s success and challenges illustrate pathways and motivates individuals and firms. Michelle has shown how architecture is a holistic endeavor. Through her broad engagement and her detailed and diverse work, she is advancing beauty, sustainability, resilience, equity, and health. Our profession is made profoundly better by Michelle’s collaboration, beautiful sustainable projects, educational commitment, communication dexterity, and her tenacity and grace.” - Pauline Souza, FAIA, LEED Fellow Partner | Director of Sustainability WRNS Studio
Learn more about Michelle Amt here.