Adjunct Faculty Member and Alumna Wins AIA Social Justice Award
, co-founded by Illinois Institute of Technology College of Architecture Adjunct Professor Annabell Ren (B.ARCH. 鈥14), is celebrating this year with flourish: two 2025 American Institute of Architects Chicago awards.
Ren鈥檚 project, an African cultural project in Chicago鈥檚 North Lawndale neighborhood, is a finalist for the Roberta Feldman Architecture for Social Justice Award. The Feldman Award was established in 2020 to honor excellence in built projects and design programs guided by the conviction that access to high quality architecture is not a privilege, but a human right. The award celebrates designers who work pro bono or at below-market rate, and it comes with a $2,500 prize.
Titled the 鈥淎frican Heritage Hut鈥 and designed by Ren, the project offers shaded relief for visitors to the North Lawndale Historical and Cultural Society Garden. Ren participated in the Chicago Sukkah Design Festival that was hosted on the garden grounds in 2022, so when the organization asked her team to add a culturally appropriate place for shade, she jumped at the opportunity.
鈥淎 lot of communities don鈥檛 have the budget to work with an architect, so I work on a pro bono project every year,鈥 Ren says. 鈥淭he Cultural Society wanted an iconic structure for the neighborhood. The design is inspired by a traditional African hut, featuring a skylight to connect visitors with nature and a hearth to serve as a gathering place and resting area. The hut鈥檚 plan is based on the Adinkrahene symbol, which consists of three concentric circles symbolizing charisma, leadership, and greatness.鈥
Ren opened her first architecture firm, New Office, with her husband, Steven Karvelius (B.ARCH. 鈥14), and fellow alumnus Elliott Riggen (B.ARCH. 鈥16) in 2020. Their first project, a renovation of a Lincoln Park neighborhood condo, won the 2023 AIA Chicago Citation of Merit award.
The studio merged with another firm, Bureau Gemmell, founded by Lynsey Sorrell (M.ARCH. 鈥02), to become Converge Architecture.
The African Heritage Hut was Ren鈥檚 project, while Sorrell and co-founder Riggen led a renovation of a century-old warehouse on the city鈥檚 near West Side that is a finalist for the AIA Chicago鈥檚 Design Excellence Award鈥擬edium.
The awards will be presented at AIA Chicago鈥檚 Designight 2025 on September 18.
Image: A scenic view of Annabell Ren鈥檚 project, the African Heritage Hut, located in Chicago鈥檚 North Lawndale Historical and Cultural Society garden. Photo courtesy of Converge Architecture.
