Architects Foundation Executive Director Jennifer Calvert Hall and Octagon Sr. Manager Amanda Ferrario were interviewed by Willie James Inman for a CBS Saturday Morning segment about The Octagon’s history.
The interview explored The Octagon’s role in early Washington, D.C., and the colorful cast of characters who have called the building home – including the supernatural residents who are rumored to roam the halls. The story highlighted how the Architects Foundation utilizes The Octagon’s vibrant history to inspire conversations and programs that connect the past, present, and future of design in America.
Watch the full feature on CBS Saturday Morning to learn more about The Octagon’s legacy, and plan your visit to explore our historic campus.
Architects Foundation Receives $749,723 National Park Service Grant for Historic Octagon Museum Preservation
Semiquincentennial Grant Program funds critical structural stabilization of National Historic Landmark designed by first architect of the U.S. Capitol
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Architects Foundation has been awarded $749,723 from the National Park Service Semiquincentennial Grant Program to support structural stabilization and rehabilitation efforts at The Octagon, one of the nation’s most architecturally and historically significant Federal period buildings.
This comprehensive preservation project represents the most significant structural work undertaken at The Octagon in decades, ensuring the building’s long-term preservation as both a National Historic Landmark and active museum at the heart of Washington, D.C.’s AIA Global Campus for Architecture & Design.
Created by Congress in 2020 to honor the 250th anniversary of the United States, the Semiquincentennial Grant Program funds restoration and preservation for sites and structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places that commemorate the founding of this nation.
“The Octagon stands as a testament to America’s architectural heritage and our nation’s early history,” said Architects Foundation Director, Jennifer Calvert Hall. “This grant enables us to undertake critical preservation work that will ensure future generations can experience this remarkable building and learn about the vital role architecture plays in our national story.”
Hall emphasized that this National Park Service grant marks the beginning of a broader initiative. “This significant award kicks off our comprehensive campaign for The Octagon’s renewal—a transformative effort that will not only preserve this National Historic Landmark but also enhance its capacity to serve the public as a premier center for architectural education and design literacy.”
Historic Significance and Architectural Innovation
The Octagon holds an extraordinary place in both American architectural and political history. Designed by Dr. William Thornton, the architect of the U.S. Capitol, and built between 1799 and 1801, The Octagon served as the official residence for President James Madison and First Lady Dolley Madison following the burning of the White House during the War of 1812.
One of the first National Historic Landmarks listed on the National Register of Historic Places, The Octagon is significant for its distinctive, geometric Federal design and its direct connections to the founding era of Washington, D.C.
Leading Preservation Innovation
In 1902, The Octagon was purchased by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) to serve as the organization’s headquarters. The AIA’s comprehensive rehabilitation of the then-century-old building was among the first major preservation projects in the United States, establishing important precedents for historic building conservation.
Since 2006, The Octagon has served as headquarters for the Architects Foundation, the official philanthropic partner of the AIA. As a cornerstone of Washington, D.C.’s AIA Global Campus for Architecture & Design, The Octagon serves as both a historic landmark and active museum hosting exhibitions, educational programs, and events that connect the architecture profession with the public.
The structural stabilization project will address critical building systems while ensuring The Octagon’s continued role as an active museum, educational center, and showcase for historic preservation. This investment supports The Octagon’s expanding role in architectural education and its position as a premier destination for design professionals and the public.
This project is supported in part by a Semiquincentennial grant from the Historic Preservation Fund administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.
Architects Foundation Awards Prestigious Richard Morris Hunt Prize to Civil Engineer Taryn Williams
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.
Meet the 2023 Richard Morris Hunt Prize Laureates
The Architects Foundation is proud to present the 2023 Richard Morris Hunt Prize Fellow and scholar, selected at the December 2022 jury in Washington, DC at The Octagon. Congratulations to Lurita and Marika!
Lurita McIntosh Blank, NCARB, RBEC, APT RP, has received a 6-month travel fellowship to France to study Vertical Timber Framing Practices.
Lurita is a Principal with Raths, Raths & Johnson, Inc., a national engineering, architecture, and forensics consulting firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. She is a Registered Architect in multiple states, a Registered Building Envelope Consultant through the International Institute of Building Enclosure Consultants (IIBEC), a Recognized Professional through the Association for Preservation Technology (APT), and holds of Master of Science in Historic Preservation from Columbia University.
With a 15+ year career in architectural forensics, Lurita’s practice focuses on issues with material degradation, building performance, and water intrusion. Her expertise includes masonry, heavy timber, and roofing/waterproofing. At RRJ, Lurita leads the historic preservation and federal markets, providing investigation, diagnosis, and repair design for heritage structures across the country. Her current work includes multiple projects in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, on French colonial vertical log structures.
Marika Dalley Snider, PhD, AIA is the recipient of the 5-week scholarship whose research topic focuses on Curating Paris’s Layers through Historic Preservation.
Marika is an architect, educator, and storyteller who celebrates the small, the forgotten, and the under-appreciated architecture and its associated people through film and visualization, writing, and historic preservation.
Marika’s architectural practice spans a wide variety of small and medium-sized project types but her passion is history and historic preservation. Museum-quality restorations to state owned historic sites such as the home of former U.S. President Warren G Harding and investigative fieldwork on Harriet Beecher Stowe’s House are some of her proudest work. She is equally proud of her work on historic storefronts and supporting preservation in small towns in Ohio, Utah, and Tennessee.
Marika teaches undergraduate and graduate comprehensive studios and the history of architecture series at the University of Memphis. Her research focuses on virtual and augmented reality for interpretation of historic African-American neighborhoods.
Learn more about the Richard Morris Hunt Prize here.
Architects Foundation Names 2021 Richard Morris Hunt Prize Recipients
Laureates receive a 6-month or 5-week travel fellowship to France to conduct cutting-edge research in historic preservation.
WASHINGTON – The Architects Foundation, the Amis du Richard Morris Hunt Prize and the French Heritage Society today announced the 2021 recipients of the Richard Morris Hunt Prize, a travel fellowship to France for architects pursuing cutting-edge research on emerging trends in historic preservation.
Jonathan Bell, AIA, of Providence, R.I. will receive a $20,000 travel fellowship to carry out research over six months on resources for stabilizing abandoned buildings which are still outside of traditional heritage protections.
Gregoire Holeyman, AIA, of Washington, DC will receive a $5,000 award to research historic structures in France that have been successfully preserved and converted into museums.
The winners were selected from a group of four finalists, whose topics were vetted by a group of former American laureates.
“The jury had a very difficult decision to make, as all of the proposed topics were well-conceived, timely, and relevant,” said James Walbridge, AIA, Architects Foundation President and co-chair of the jury.
The Richard Morris Hunt Prize (RMHP) has been fostering and supporting cross-cultural professional exchange between France and the United States since 1990. U.S. design professionals study in France, and French design professionals study in the U.S. during alternating years.
Due to the continuing coronavirus pandemic, travel is deferred until restrictions have been lifted. The 2020 laureates, who will travel to the United States from France, are also waiting to travel.
Complete details on the Richard Morris Hunt Prize program are available on the Architects Foundation website. Learn more about how to support this important work in sustainability and preservation here.
About the Architects Foundation
As the philanthropic partner of The American Institute of Architects, the Architects Foundation attracts, inspires, and invests in a next-generation design community through scholarships and exhibitions. The Architects Foundation owns the historic Octagon building in the nation’s capital, activating the space to demonstrate the value architects and architecture bring to culture.
About the Amis du Richard Morris Hunt Prize
In 2016, Michèle le Menestrel Ullrich, founder of the Richard Morris Hunt Prize, founded the Amis du Richard Morris Hunt Prize, a French nonprofit organization. The association was created to provide support to the laureates, organize events and increase awareness of the RMHP.
About the French Heritage Society
French Heritage Society is an American nonprofit organization with ten chapters in the U.S. and one in France. Its central mission is to ensure that the treasures of our shared French architectural and cultural heritage survive in order to inspire future generations. Over the past 38 years, FHS has given more than 600 restoration grants to properties throughout France and in the U.S. and selected and supported over 500 students from prestigious universities who have crossed the Atlantic for internships at esteemed institutions.
About AIA
Founded in 1857, AIA consistently works to create more valuable, healthy, secure, and sustainable buildings, neighborhoods, and communities. Through more than 200 international, state and local chapters, AIA advocates for public policies that promote economic vitality and public wellbeing.
AIA provides members with tools and resources to assist them in their careers and business as well as engaging civic and government leaders and the public to find solutions to pressing issues facing our communities, institutions, nation, and world. Members adhere to a code of ethics and conduct to ensure the highest professional standards.
Timing is Everything: The Architects Foundation’s Octagon
The Architects Foundation’s Octagon comes to Mortarr in all its federal glory! Join Mortarr’s Communications Director, Jen Levisen, and the Architects Foundation’s Marci Reed as they dive into the history of The Octagon and highlight the role AIA’s first national headquarters plays in the institute’s social and civic contributions to the world.
The Octagon and Architects Foundation Featured on Mortarr
With a goal to support, inspire and empower the next generation of architects, the Architects Foundation, the philanthropic partner of The American Institute of Architects, has been working over the last three years to build a platform that allows for a broader conversation about the inspirational nature of the industry and the impact architecture has on the world.
“The foundation’s headquarters, The Octagon, is a place of inspiration, but we’ve struggled with how to bring this historic place to life and how to bring it into context with today’s world,” says Marci Reed, the foundation’s executive director.
Marika Dalley Snider, PhD, AIA is the recipient of the 5-week scholarship whose research topic focuses on Curating Paris’s Layers through Historic Preservation.