Housing

The annual Ratensky Lecture was initiated by AIANY’s Housing Committee in honor of Samuel Ratensky (1910-1972), an architect and housing official who was responsible for major housing initiatives in the city from 1946 to 1972, and who served as a mentor to the many architects who worked in his programs. The lecture series honors individuals who, like Sam Ratensky, have made significant lifetime contributions to the advancement of housing and community design.

Past Recipients:

2025: Maria Vassilakou
2024: n/a
2023: Tatiana Bilbao
2022: Angela Brooks & Lawrence Scarpa
2021: Lacaton & Vassal and Frédéric Druot
2020: Shaun Donovan
2019: James McCullar
2018: Maurice Cox
2017: Herbert Oppenheimer
2016: Roseanne Haggerty
2015: Carmi Bee
2014: Alan Mallach
2013: Carleton Brown
2011: Jerilyn Perine
2010: Richard Ravitch
2009: Joan Goody (David Dixon)
2008: Jonathan Rose
2007: Conrad Levenson
2005: Theodore Liebman
2004: William Conklin
2003: Michael Pyatok
2001: Clara Fox
2000: Edward Logue
1998: Lewis Davis

Stable, well-designed housing provides the foundation for a fulfilling life. Dignified, affordable homes near resources and infrastructure like jobs, schools, and transit allow families and communities to thrive. Housing not only can transform residents’ lives, but also forms the building blocks for vibrant, diverse neighborhoods. Housing makes up the majority of the built environment; each development contributes to the unique character of its neighborhood and block. Superbly designed residential developments can be lasting, place-based interventions that foster greater equity, sustainability, resiliency, and healthy living.

Designing New York: Quality Affordable Housing coincides with increasing recognition of the role design plays in meeting the City’s most pressing goals. This initiative is a collaboration of the New York City Public Design Commission (PDC), The Fine Arts Federation of New York (FAFNY), and the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter (AIANY). A larger publication working group includes the Department of City Planning (DCP), Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), the Department of Design and Construction (DDC), and the Economic Development Corporation (EDC). These public agencies and nonprofit organizations, representing a cross-section of the city’s architecture, design, housing, and planning professions, have come together to advance this important opportunity to create higher quality housing and a more equitable New York.