US President Barack Obama has awarded San Antonio architect and landscape architect Everett Fly with the 2014 National Humanities Medal. Harvard GSD's first African-American graduate, Fly is being recognized for his work in "preserving the integrity of African-American places and landmarks."
"I am absolutely humbled to be one of the ten recipients," Fly responded on his website. "Over the years I have learned that the ways that people live and organize their society are deeply embedded in the architecture and landscapes they create, whether classical or vernacular. The humanities provide essential content for sustainable and relevant design theory. I look forward to continuing to integrate humanities disciplines into landscape architecture and architecture in as many creative ways as possible."
As Architect Magazine reports, Fly is one of 10 medal recipients awarded, in addition to 11 recipients of the 2014 National Medal of Arts. Previous recipients include Johnpaul Jones (National Humanities Medal), James Turrell (National Medal of Arts), Tod Williams and Billie Tsien.
