2003 leadership awards - Brief Article

Residential Architect, June, 2003

We're all about talented residential architects all the time. But each year we step back and ponder the truly exceptional. Who's really worthy of being called a Top Firm in the United States, or a Rising Star? Who can hold her head up high among our other Hall of Fame winners? It's a great opportunity for us to dig out from the trenches of the day-to-day and survey the lay of the land. In other words, it's our time to play favorites.

And so, this year's winners are: Steven Ehrlich Architects, Top Firm; Sarah Susanka, Hall of Fame; and Randy Brown Architects, Rising Star. Culver City, Calif.-based Steven Ehrlich practices Modernism in the Modernists' town--and still manages to stand out for the style and spirit of his work. Raleigh, N.C.-based Sarah Susanka, who brought affordable custom homes to middle-class Minnesotans, stands the paradigm on its head and now teaches the masses the importance of good design. After school in Los Angeles, Omaha, Neb., native Randy Brown returned home to design the kinds of buildings he couldn't find in his own back yard.