Andrew Freear, an AA alumnus and director of the Rural Studio programme at Auburn University in Newbern, Alabama, has been awarded the Architecture Medal for 2023 by the University of Virginia and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. This annual award recognises exceptional achievements in the field of architecture; it was initiated in 1966, when it was first awarded to Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Among its previous winners are David Adjaye, Kenneth Frampton, Toyo Ito, Francis Kéré and Laurie Olin. Rural Studio is a design and build undergraduate programme that focuses on work for the benefit of local communities within the Hale, Perry and Marengo counties in Alabama.

Read more in this feature on the Architectural Record website.

Image credit: Rural Studio: Newbern Library, 2015 (Photo © Timothy Hursley)