Kathryn T. Prigmore is an award-winning architect and Chief Operations Officer for STUDIOS Architecture with over 30 years in practice. Registered to practice architecture in 1982, Kathryn was the 14th African American Women registered to practice architecture in the United States. Based on statistics compiled in the directory of african american architects, Kathryn is one of 276 African American Women and one of 1545 African American architects in the United States. In 2002 she was elevated to the level of “Fellow” in the American Institute of Architects. As a Fellow, Kathryn’s AIA peers recognized her contributions to the profession as “an educator, administrator and state board member” where “her achievements have served to bring into closer alignment education and practice.” When she was elevated to Fellow, Kathryn was the 5th African American Women and the 75th African American out of 2,568 total Fellows.
Prigmore's faculty appointment to the Howard University School of Architecture and Planning in 1990, led to her appointment, in 1992, as Associate Dean; for eight years, until the School of Architecture merged with the School of Engineering, she maintained this leadership position. For her efforts as an educator, an administrator and as a leader in the transition from an independent school to a school within a larger college she was bestowed the first faculty service award given by the newly formed academic unit. Outside of practice and the university, Prigmore chaired the architecture component of the American Association of University Women's Selected Professions Fellowship Program, over a six year period she led the distribution of over $250,000 in financial support for students in graduate architecture programs.
Throughout her career, the mentoring of young people interested in the pursuit of architecture as a career has been a sustained, personal mission. Kathryn has organized and participated in national and regional conferences, juries and expositions that provided opportunities for students, educators, professionals, and the public to engage in discourse about the future of architecture and architectural education. She currently serves on three university program Advisory Boards (Howard University CEACS, Hampton University Architecture, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Architecture. She has also served on NCARB, NAAB and ACSA committees at the national level that serve to bridge the chasm between education and practice. Prigmore's commitment to fostering a seamless transition between education and practice is being realized now at HDR where she practices full time and was recently recognized with a “2004 Pathfinder Award of Excellence for Process Improvement” for her efforts to mentor our firm's interns and young graduate architects.
Among the many forms of recognition received by Prigmore for her accomplishments and for her sustained dedication, commitment, and service to the profession is the 2000 NCARB President's Medal. One of only three Virginia representatives to the National Council of Architecture Registration Boards, Prigmore was quickly appointed to leadership positions in which she was able to provide deep and meaningful involvement in the affairs of NCARB. She received several awards from HDR for Leadership and Process Improvement. Her combined practice and academic experiences gave her the unique abilities required to provide sustained leadership to the NCARB Committee on Examination and other board level committees. Prigmore's contributions to NCARB were crucial to resolving the cost, content, and delivery issues that plagued the Architecture Registration Examination in the late 1990's and to positioning the Architectural Registration Examination for the future. This could only be accomplished after two governors of the Commonwealth of Virginia deemed her worthy of appointment and reappointment to the Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects which she chaired for two years (2001-2002).
Over thirty years of involvement in the profession of Architecture as a practitioner, educator, and national and state registration board member has enabled Kathryn Tyler Prigmore, FAIA to connect practice and education in a synergistic way. She has managed the design of award winning buildings, she has taught and mentored our future architectural leaders, and she has fostered public awareness of the profession and linkages between all aspects of the profession through her service. Her achievements have made a national impact that extends from the architecture community into the larger American landscape.
December 2011