Ben Van Berkel, the Dutch architect and winner of the 2007 Charles Jencks Award, has been elected as an honorary fellow of the American Institute of Architects. The architect, who was awarded the fellowship on 8 February, will receive the Honorary Fellowship and medal at the Investiture of Fellows and Honorary Fellows in Denver, USA on June 21.

Van Berkel, who was recently awarded the Kenzo Tange Visiting Professor’s Chair at Harvard University Graduate School of Design, is currently carrying out a series of studios over three years as part of his post.

While working for firm UNStudio, which he founded with architect Caroline Bos, he has completed various high-profile projects in the USA including the New Amsterdam Plein & Pavilion in Battery Park in New York and the Collector’s Loft, also in New York. Ben Van Berkel and UNStudio were also the recipients of second prize in the competition for the New Business School for Colombia University and were nominated as finalists in the LA Union Station vision competition last year.

The AIA Honorary fellowship is awarded to non US architects who have 'made a significant contribution to architecture and society on an international level' and is one of the organisation’s highest honours.