Architecture’s future depends on its next generation of leaders—and the educators who impact their lives. The Topaz Medallion honors those who educate others to ensure architecture’s enduring excellence.
Launching her New York practice in 1981, Mori embarked on her teaching career at the Cooper Union School of Architecture in 1983 at the invitation of then-Dean John Hejduk. In 1995, at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, where she continues to teach as the Robert P. Hubbard Professor in the Practice of Architecture, Mori became the first female faculty member to receive tenure at Harvard GSD, and the first and only to serve as chair of the school’s architecture department. In her time as chair, a position she held from 2002 to 2008, Mori launched a number of initiatives aimed at expanding the craft and context of architecture. She leads advanced seminars and travels with students across the globe to teach students the importance of local contexts and community interests in their designs.
“Toshiko the educator exercises the same generosity towards the students as she does her colleagues and imbues each conversation or review with empathy that very few architectural critics have. What is unique about her teaching is the way she establishes open conversations with modern architecture through specific inquiries into specific projects, which then open up ideas to develop and evolve,” wrote Hashim Sarkis, dean of MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning, in a letter supporting Mori’s nomination
Her stellar record as a teacher is paralleled by her achievements as a practitioner. Alongside her commitment to education, Mori has since 1981 maintained her own New York–based practice, Toshiko Mori Architect PLLC. Her firm has completed master plans for institutions such as the Brooklyn Public Library’s Central Library and Buffalo’s Botanical Gardens, and has completed projects for Brown, Syracuse, and New York universities. Her artist residency and cultural center in Sinthian, Senegal, received a 2017 AIA Architecture Award and was named one of Time Magazine’s “World’s Greatest Places.” Additionally, Mori has played a key role in the restoration of buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright, Marcel Breuer, and Paul Rudolph.
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