WASHINGTON, Aug. 11, 2025 – The Architects Foundation (AF) is delighted to announce civil engineer Taryn N. Williams as the 2025 Fellow of the Richard Morris Hunt Prize (RMHP). As the philanthropic partner of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), AF annually joins with the French Heritage Society (FHS) and Les Amis du Richard Morris Hunt Prize to award one of the preservation field’s most distinguished fellowships.
An associate principal at Simpson Gumpertz & Heger (SGH), Williams will spend six months in France studying building envelopes and their preservation. Her research exploring French preservation approaches will potentially yield insights applicable to American practices that contribute to international heritage conservation standards.
Williams shared, “I’m deeply honored to be selected by the AIA and the Architects Foundation to receive the Richard Morris Hunt Prize. This fellowship is an exciting opportunity to broaden my technical knowledge of historic preservation alongside French professionals and to share what I learn as widely as I can.”
“Taryn Williams exemplifies the vision behind the Richard Morris Hunt Prize—bridging cultures and generations to preserve our architectural legacy,” said Jennifer Calvert, AF Executive Director. “Her expertise in building envelopes addresses preservation’s most pressing challenge of maintaining historic integrity while meeting climate demands, and her fellowship will undoubtedly advance both French and American approaches to heritage conservation”
About the Richard Morris Hunt Prize
Named for the first American architect to graduate from the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Richard Morris Hunt (1827-1895), the Prize was established in 1990 and permits a French-American exchange of architects specializing in historic preservation. A French-American jury convenes each year to award the RMHP alternatively to an American or French architect committed to the preservation of patrimony, historic or contemporary. The architect is chosen for the excellence of his/her credentials, his/her leadership ability, and his/her research project’s potential for development. A six-month trip takes place alternatively in America or France.
About the Architects Foundation The Architects Foundation leads philanthropic efforts to inspire and empower the next generation of designers and the communities they serve. From our home at The Octagon, we demonstrate the cultural and societal impact of architecture and architects’ potential to create a just society; we invest in the next generation of the profession through our seven scholarship programs; and utilize design thinking to help communities solve critical challenges through our Communities by Design (CxD) program.
