The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced today the recipients of its 2011 Architecture Awards. The Academy’s Architecture Awards began in 1955 with the inauguration of the annual Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize in Architecture, which is awarded to a preeminent architect from any country who has made a significant contribution to architecture as an art and was later expanded to include Arts and Letters awards to honour American architects whose work characterised a strong personal direction.

This year’s Brunner Memorial Prize winner is Mack Scogin and Merril Elam. Two Arts and Letters Awards of $7500 each recognising American architects whose work is characterised by a strong person direction were awarded to Willian Massie of Bloomfield, Illinois and Julie VanderBerg Snow, of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Lastly, two Arts and Letters Awards of $7500 each acknowledging Americans who explore ideas in architecture through any medium of expression went to Sylvia Lavin of Los Angeles and Anthony Vidler of New York.

All recipients are recognised educators in the field. Massie heads the architecture program at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Snow is a long time faculty member at the University of Minnesota, School of Architecture. Lavin is a professor of architecture history and theory in UCLA’s Department of Architecture and Vidler, a noted historian and critic of modern architecture, is the dean of Cooper Union’s School of Architecture.