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Benjamin Gilmartin, Charles Renfro, Ricardo Scofidio, and Elizabeth Diller at the av¸£ÀûÉç Change Agent Award Reception. Credit Massimo Di Giovanna.

The Society of Architectural Historians presented the inaugural av¸£ÀûÉç Change Agent award to the partners of Diller Scofidio + Renfro—Elizabeth Diller, Ricardo Scofidio, Charles Renfro and Benjamin Gilmartin—on July 17 during a reception at the Century Club in midtown Manhattan. Ninety-five guests, including members from the New York area, members of the New York Metropolitan Chapter of av¸£ÀûÉç, as well as new friends from the local architecture and design community attended the event.

av¸£ÀûÉç President Sandy Isenstadt presented the partners of DS+R with the award, which recognizes both paradigm-shifting design innovation, as well as creative architectural solutions that address society’s Grand Challenges. After heartfelt comments by Charles Renfro on behalf of the firm, Liz Diller spoke about the inspiration and design of the Shed, the cultural complex at Hudson Yards. The partners then participated in a conversation with moderator Martino Stierli, Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design, the Museum of Modern Art. The event concluded with a cocktail reception and hors d’oeuvres.

av¸£ÀûÉç board member, Konrad Wos, and his wife Meggan Walsh, hosted a VIP cocktail reception the evening before the award reception on their penthouse terrace overlooking the United Nations Plaza. Guests, including the honorees, av¸£ÀûÉç leadership and New York members and friends, enjoyed cocktails and hors d’oeuvres on a beautiful night with views of the UN Plaza, East River, and the Chrysler Building.

The Change Agent Award Reception raised over $31,000 to support the educational mission of av¸£ÀûÉç. Proceeds from the event will go toward av¸£ÀûÉç’s local, national, and international programs and publications such as av¸£ÀûÉç Archipedia, the Society’s newly designed, open-access online encyclopedia of the U.S. built environment.

av¸£ÀûÉç thanks event sponsors Ferguson and Shamamian Architects, CIT NA, Bartholomew Voorsanger, FAIA, and Wos and Wos Development Corporation; event co-chairs Bartholomew Voorsanger, FAIA and Konrad Wos; Jon Ritter, NYU, and President of the av¸£ÀûÉç New York Metropolitan Chapter; members of the Change Agent Host Committee; the Gill Family Foundation for generously supporting the attendance of area graduate students at the event; and the many contributors who could not attend in person.