2014 Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal

Each year the University of Virginia (UVA) and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello award three Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medals in the areas of architecture, law and citizen leadership. The 2014 medal for architecture is given to Toyo Ito, the Japanese architect who received the Pritzker Architecture Prize last year. Ito is known for formally diverse and innovative buildings, like the Sendai Mediatheque and the Tama Art University Library, both in Japan, and the Taichung Opera House, now under construction in Taiwan.

Kim Tanzer, dean of the UVA School of Architecture, said in a statement: "At its best, architecture is alchemical, transforming the pragmatics of site, structure, program and enclosure into something never before experienced. It takes us beyond ourselves and helps us aspire to inhabit and contribute to a more evolved world. Toyo Ito’s work has this quality; both ethereal and utterly grounded, fantastical and practical, his architecture helps us to imagine new forms of human experience. His meaningful use of emerging digital tools, combined with his sophisticated deployment of non-Cartesian rationality, will inspire architects for generations to come.”

Per the same statement, the medal is described as such: "The Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medals recognize the achievements of those who embrace endeavors in which Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and third U.S. president, excelled and held in high regard." Last year the architecture medal was awarded to landscape architect Laurie Olin.