Deborah Berke

Deborah Berke (born 1954) is an American architect and academic. She is the founder of TenBerke, formerly Deborah Berke Partners, a New York City-based architectural design firm. Berke is currently Dean and J.M. Hoppin Professor at the Yale School of Architecture, where she began teaching as an associate professor in 1987. At the time of her appointment in 2016, Berke became the first woman Dean of the school.^[1][2] In 2022, Deborah received the AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education.^[3]

Deborah Berke
Berke in 2018 being interviewed by Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Born	1954 Douglaston, Queens
Alma mater	Rhode Island School of Design City College of New York
Occupation	Architect
Awards	Berkeley-Rupp Architecture Professorship and Prize
Practice	Deborah Berke Partners Yale School of Architecture

Life

Deborah Berke was born in 1954 in Douglaston, Queens, New York City.^[4] She traces her decision to become an architect to age 14, when she would explore Queens and study the borough's small-lot houses.^[5] Berke attended the Rhode Island School of Design, earning a BFA in 1975 and a BArch in 1977. She was awarded an honorary doctorate from the school in 2005.^[6]

For graduate studies, Berke attended the City College of New York, earning a Masters in Urban Planning in Urban Design in 1984.^[7][8]

In 2012, she became the first laureate of the Berkeley-Rupp Architecture Professorship and Prize.^[9]

Selected works

• 1982, Rob Krier: Urban Projects, 1968-1982 (with Rob Krier; Kenneth Frampton; Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies)
• 1984, Visual analysis (with University of Maryland, College Park. School of Architecture)
• 1985, 32 buildings (with Mark McInturff; University of Maryland, College Park. School of Architecture)
• 1990, 30 buildings (with Mark McInturff; University of Maryland, College Park. School of Architecture)
• 1997, Architecture of the Everyday (with Steven Harris)
• 2008, Deborah Berke (with Tracy Myers)
• 2016, House rules: an architect's guide to modern life

Awards and honors

• National Academy of Design, elected 2022^[10]
• AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education, 2022^[11][12]
• American Academy of Arts and Letters, elected 2022^[13]
• Berkeley-Rupp Architecture Professorship and Prize, 2012^[9]

In popular culture

Berke is referenced extensively in the 2017 film Columbus by director Kogonada. The female protagonist, Casey, is a fan of her work, citing the regional branch of Irwin Union Bank designed by Berke as her third favorite building.^[14][15]

References

1. McDonald, Amy Athey (25 September 2015). "Architect Deborah Berke to be next dean of Yale School of Architecture". Yale News. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
2. "Deborah Berke named J.M. Hoppin Professor of Architecture". YaleNews. 2022-09-26. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
3. "2022 AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education awarded to Deborah Berke, FAIA - AIA". www.aia.org. Retrieved 2023-02-24.
4. Sheftell, Jason. "Architect Deborah Berke shapes New York City through design". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
5. Xie, Jenny (2016-08-29). "Simple rules for crafting a modern home, from architect Deborah Berke". Curbed. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
6. McKeough, Tim (25 September 2015). "Deborah Berke Named Dean of the Yale School of Architecture". Architectural Digest. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
7. "Deborah Berke: Fact Sheet". Berkeley-Rupp Architecture Professorship & Prize. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
8. "Architectural Education for the Future: A Conversation with Deborah Berke and Marta Gutman". PLATFORM. 13 February 2023. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
9. Walter, Alexander (11 September 2012). "New York Architect Deborah Berke Selected for Berkeley-Rupp Prize". archinect.com. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
10. "NAD". nationalacademy.org. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
11. Cipolle, Alex V. (December 10, 2021). "Deborah Berke Awarded the 2022 AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion". Architect Magazine.
12. "Deborah Berke Wins 2022 Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education | 2021-12-14 | Architectural Record". www.architecturalrecord.com. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
13. Cummings, Mike (2022-03-09). "Berke and Theofanidis elected to American Academy of Arts and Letters". YaleNews. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
14. O'Sullivan, Michael. "'Columbus' explores a city's personal relationship with its architecture". Washington Post. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
15. Hagberg, Eva. "Best in the Midwest" (PDF). bendheim.com. Retrieved 16 March 2021.

External links and additional reading

• Official website
• "A Working House: Studio/Guest House, Hillsdale, New York, Deborah Berke and Carey McWhorter, Architects." Architectural Record 181, no. 4 (April 1, 1993).
• Gerfen, Katie, Deborah Berke, and Maitland Jones. 2017. “Rockefeller Arts Center at SUNY Fredonia, Fredonia, N.Y.: Deborah Berke Partners: A Classic I.M. Pei Arts Building Gets an Addition and Renovation by the Masters of Thoughtful Pragmatism.” Architect (Washington, D.C.), November, 164–75.
• Interior Design. “Deborah Berke Partners Creates Contemporary Art Experience at the 21c Museum Hotel Chicago.” Accessed October 25, 2021.