2024 AIA Indiana Service Award Winners
AIA INDIANA ARCHITECTURE OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD
Steve Alspaugh, FAIA
Steve has received numerous awards for his service to our profession, as well as for the beautiful designs he has contributed to our city.
Serving as the AIA Indiana State Disaster Coordinator. Steve has been at the forefront of disaster and response through the state’s I-BEAM team, recruiting volunteers, educating architects, and providing on-the-ground assistance in communities hit by a disaster. It’s Steve and his team who evaluate buildings and determine if they are safe or inhabitable.
Disaster response is personal to Steve. When he was in high school, his hometown of Monticello was hit with multiple tornadoes. Steve watched as countless people came to Monticello to help put the town together, and the seeds were planted that one day, he too, would help put towns and lives back together.
AIA INDIANA ARCHITECTURE OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD
James J. Mladucky, AIA
James J. Mladucky, AIA is the vice president of design & construction at IU Health and is directing the IU Health Medical Center Campus Program, a $4.5 billion health science campus in the heart of Indianapolis and the largest healthcare project currently under construction in the US. Although Jim has extensive experience in health care design, including multiple projects for Northwestern Memorial Hospital in the Chicago area, he turned to Indiana-based architects to design IU Health’s flagship campus. He has been a true partner with AIA since he arrived in Indianapolis. Thank you, Jim, for investing in our architects and our community.
AIA INDIANA ARCHITECTURE OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD
Scott Pannicke, AIA
While Scott has a long record of service to the AIA and the profession, Scott’s award is in honor of his service as a member of the Indiana Fire Prevention & Building Safety Commission. Ensuring the integrity and safety of a structure is absolutely critical, and it was Scott’s tenacity that helped pushed Indiana to start the process of updating Indiana’s antiquated building codes. Thank you, Scott, for your diligence and dedication in pushing Indiana to update its building codes.
2024 AIA INDIANA PUBLIC DESIGN ADVOCATE OF THE YEAR
State Representative Blake Johnson
As a former Indianapolis City-County Councilor and now State Representative, Blake Johnson has spent more than 10 years fighting to make IndyGo’s Blue Line a reality. A strong advocate for rapid transit, Blake was unwavering in his support of the Blue Line last session despite opposition at the Statehouse. Thanks to a Representative Johnson’s efforts, a compromise was agreed upon and the Blue Line is now on track to connect Cumberland with the Airport. We are grateful to Blake for never giving up and focusing on good public policy that benefits our entire community.
2024 AIA INDIANA EDWARD D. PIERRE AWARD
Sarah Hempstead, AIA
Sarah Hempstead, AIA, is a respected leader who has contributed to countless projects of significance, while advancing our profession. As the CEO of Schmidt Associates, she has expanded inclusivity at the firm, and led the effort to secure a Women’s Business Enterprise certification. Year after year, Schmidt Associates wins the annual Best Places to Work in Indiana due to the strong culture she has built.
Prioritizing equitable access and leaning into key issues facing central Indiana in her project and volunteer work, Sarah’s initiatives like JobSpark for Junior Achievement have become national models. She uses her problem-solving skills to address complex issues, whether its advocating for mass transit, promoting inclusive growth and community development, or rethinking how a major interstate runs through our city.
Community service powers Sarah, whether it’s giving back to her alma mater, funding the arts, leading AIA initiatives, or reimagining what the White River can and will become. She does all of this while leading Schmidt Associates, building communities of the future.
2024 AIA INDIANA WALTER S. BLACKBURN AWARD
Akilah Darden
The Walter S. Blackburn Award, named for a true trailblazer. Mr. Blackburn worked tirelessly to make Indianapolis a more inclusive and vibrant city while pursuing a legendary career. AIA Indiana gives this annual award to someone who has given their time to support the profession and has exemplified professional and public service.
Akilah Darden is the recipient of the Walter S. Blackburn Award. Akilah is the founder and president of The Darden Group, LLC, an award-winning executive construction management and training firm. Akilah has extensive experience in construction management, with a focus on being intentional about equitable outcomes for diverse vendors by creating successful pathways and removing barriers.
A creative and strategic thinker, Akilah has leveraged technology to disrupt the construction industry and augment opportunities for under-represented groups. The Darden Group achieved 100% minority construction participation for a project with Cook Medical at 38th and Sherman in Indianapolis, and is currently surpassing national diversity benchmarks for a more than $4 billion hospital campus.
Akilah also is a dedicated community volunteer, actively serving on boards that promote mentorship, leadership, and education. She is the author of a children’s book, My Mom is a Construction Manager, inspired by and written with her four children.
2024 AIA INDIANA TONY COSTELLO YOUNG ARCHITECT AWARD
Marlee Brabin, AIA
The AIA Indiana Tony Costello Young Architect Award was created to recognize proficiency and exceptional accomplishments in, and contributions to, the profession by a licensed architect who has been a member in good standing of AIA Indiana for a minimum of three years and is 40 years or younger.
The recipient of this year’s award is Marlee Brabin, AIA. Currently the City Architect at the City of Indianapolis, Marlee elevates the quality of design in projects in Indianapolis. Importantly, she is leading the effort to update the City’s Regional Center Design Guidelines, which involves 125 key stakeholders in envisioning a more modern, vibrant and equitable city.
At Blackline, she collaborated with diverse stakeholders across Indiana in leading the design and construction of more than 315 affordable housing units. During her five years at ONE 10 Studio, she specialized in single-family homes and small-scale commercial projects. Several projects she has worked on — from London to Indiana to LA — have earned awards and public recognition.
Marlee has served on the AIA Indianapolis Executive Committee since 2022 and is currently its Vice President. She in in leadership on the Rebuilding Together Indianapolis Board, which repairs home for low-income residents in Indianapolis.
2024 AIA INDIANA JULIETTE PEDDLE AWARD
Rachel Lindemann, AIA
Rachel Lindeman, AIA, is this year’s AIA Indiana Juliet Peddle Award recipient. Rachel is an architect and interior designer with Studio 3 Design in Fishers and an instructor of Architecture in the Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning at Ball State University.
Rachel was the first student to enroll in and complete the NCARB Integrated Path to Architecture Licensure at Ball State and in the State of Indiana, allowing her to concurrently complete the three requirements for licensure.
She completed the program two months before graduation and worked closely with her professors to identify best practices to support students in the IPAL program. It was important to Rachel that she used her experience to set future students up for success.
Her professors agreed, and invited her back to the Department of Architecture to teach the same series of advanced professional practice classes. Since Fall 2022, she has helped guide four students on their path to our rewarding career.
2024 AIA INDIANA NEXT GEN AWARD – (CO – WINNER)
Shorf Afza, Assoc. AIA
There are two award winners for the Next Gen Award, which recognizes an Associate AIA member who epitomizes outstanding leadership and is steadfast in enhancing their AIA section.
First, it’s an honor to present Shorf Afza, Associate AIA with the Next Gen Award. An emerging thought leader in architecture and beyond, Shorf is continuing to distinguish herself at Schmidt Associates and in the community.
Shorf passionately believes in advancing young architects and dedicates her energy to these efforts. She is currently the Co-chair of the Indianapolis Young Architects Forum, is a member of the High School Architectural Design Competition Committee, and is a recent graduate of the AIA Indiana Christopher Kelly Leadership Development Program.
Also, Shorf makes her voice heard at the Statehouse, advocating on behalf of the architecture profession. It is against this backdrop that we are watching a young architect on the rise.
2024 AIA INDIANA NEXT GEN AWARD – (CO – WINNER)
Cassandra L. Quissell, Assoc. AIA
Cassandra Quissell, Associate AIA is an emerging leader within the AIA and currently serves in the following roles: Associate Director to the AIA Indiana Executive Committee; the Indiana Representative to the AIA National Associate Committee and the National Associate Committee; Representative on the AIA Strategic Council; and Treasurer for AIA Northern Indiana.
A member of the DLZ Indiana team, the pillars that guide Cassandra’s community involvement include education, advocacy and growth, while engaging, empowering and mentoring the next generation. She helped with the renovation of the historic Rees Theatre in her hometown of Plymouth, is a volunteer gymnastics coach at Plymouth High School, and volunteers at the Marshall County Blueberry Festival’s scholarship pageant.
2024 AIA INDIANA DISTINGUISHED FIRM AWARD
Guidon Design
Founded in 2011, the 70-person team at Guidon Design focuses on Improving Lives + Empowering People® through sustainable architecture and engineering.
Based in downtown Indianapolis, Guidon has built a reputation for design excellence by leading technically complex projects, being responsive to clients, and ensuring close collaboration across disciplines.
Guidon Design is the largest Veteran-Owned Architecture firm in Indianapolis. It is also a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, and certified by the City of Indianapolis as a Veteran Business Enterprise. Guidon’s leadership is proud of its history of employing veterans and supporting veteran causes.
The firm has won countless awards for its work across a wide spectrum of disciplines, including health care, science and technology, military facilities, and community spaces.
The firm’s culture of giving back permeates through its work with partners, clients and the community at large. Its employees engage in meaningful volunteer work through GUIDON GIVES. Guidonnaires volunteer both their time and dollars toward causes they are passionate about with the potential for the firm to match charitable donations.
2024 AIA INDIANA GOLD MEDAL AWARD
William A. Browne Jr., FAIA
The AIA Indiana Gold Medal is the highest honor AIA in Indiana bestows on an individual. It is given in recognition of significant accomplishments in promoting the aesthetic, scientific and practical excellence of the profession, advancing the science and art of planning and building as well as advancing the standards of architectural education, and training. It is also awarded to those who exemplify many years of service to the society through service in the AIA and other voluntary endeavors.
When Bill Browne returned to Indianapolis in 1979 after earning professional degrees in architecture and historic preservation, the city skyline as we know it today did not exist. As Bill settled in, his unique acumen for large, complex downtown reuse projects flourished, just as Indianapolis was reinventing our reputation and our relevance.
Bill founded his business in 1982, and created RATIO based on the idea of reason and thoughtfulness. There are no named partners or designers on the door, just an easily accessible studio and a name that would become recognizable as the place for a new generation of designers that wanted to make their city a better place to live, work and play.
It took partnerships, bipartisanship, creativity and grit, but the city transformed. And Bill Browne has been in the middle of it all, leaving an indelible imprint across the local, state and national architectural community. Bill was a key component of the following projects: The Indiana Convention Center expansion, the Farm Bureau Insurance Headquarters, the NCAA Headquarters expansion, the Anthem Headquarters, the Simon Property Group Headquarters, Market Tower, enhancements to the renowned Children’s Museum campus, the Indianapolis Zoo Bicentennial Pavilion and Promenade…all projects where Bill has reshaped the aesthetic of our city and state.
Under his leadership, RATIO has become a premier design practice in the Midwest and created hundreds of jobs, as well as helped Indiana retain talented designers. The firm maintains studios in Chicago, Champaign, Denver, Raleigh and Milwaukee, with more than 220 employees and projects across the globe. It has earned public recognition and national awards and helped position Indiana as a destination, rather than a flyover state.
Bill believes that preservation maintains the vitality of a place, and it is crucial to being a responsible steward of one’s city. That’s why he has dedicated his efforts to historic preservation, including the Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission, Riley Area Revitalization, Indiana Landmarks, Historic New Harmony, and the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site.
At the same time, Bill’s community service is exemplary. From leading arts organizations to advocating for downtown growth, to welcoming the Super Bowl, Bill has played a leading role in moving our city forward.
And move the city forward is what he is continuing to do, elevating the design of Indianapolis. Some of his projects include the Signia by Hilton and expansion of the convention center, the Elanco Corporate Global Headquarters, IU Health’s new downtown hospital, and the Indiana State archives.