Weitzman to Honor Charlotte Future 2040 Comprehensive Plan and SANAA

The City of Charlotte, North Carolina, has been selected to receive the 2024 Witte-Sakamoto Family Medal in City and Regional Planning for the Charlotte Future 2040 Comprehensive Plan, and SANAA, the Tokyo-based architecture firm founded by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, has been selected to receive the 2024 Kanter Tritsch Medal in Architecture. Two of three professional honors given annually by the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design, these awards will be presented at public lectures by the honorees on October 24, 2024 (Charlotte) and January 22, 2025 (SANAA).

“Charlotte has long been a center for growth and innovation, but didn’t rest on its laurels and instead created a framework to guide future investments in a way that expands opportunity for all,” said Fritz Steiner, dean and Paley Professor at Weitzman. “SANAA has produced a series of buildings that, through their formal simplicity and inventive use of materials, deftly bridge culture and nature, minimalism and maximalism, vernacular and monumental.”

The Kanter Tritsch Medal in Architecture was established in 2017 through a gift from Weitzman alumna Lori Kanter Tritsch (MArch’85), a member of the Board of Advisors at Weitzman, and her partner and fellow Penn alumnus William P. Lauder, who holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School and is a Penn trustee. The Medal honors an architect or firm that has changed the course of design history, with a particular focus on the areas of energy conservation, environmental quality, and/or diversity.

The Witte-Sakamoto Family Medal in City and Regional Planning was established by William Witte (C‘73, MCP‘75), an alumnus of the Weitzman School, and his wife, Keiko Sakamoto, to recognize a firm, team, or professional for an exemplary plan that advances the field of plan making in at least four of the following areas: social equity, environmental quality, design, public health, mobility, housing affordability, and economic development.

The City of Charlotte and SANAA join previous medalists Tod Williams and Billie Tsien (2018); A. Eugene Kohn (2019); Regional Plan Association for the Fourth Regional Plan (2019); Peter Eisenman (2020); the City of Philadelphia for GreenPlan Philadelphia (2020); MASS Design Group (2021); the City of Minneapolis for Minneapolis 2040 (2021); Diller Scofidio + Renfro (2022); Suisman Urban Design and iQuilt Partnership for Hartford400 (2022); KoningEizenberg (2023) and James Corner Field Operations for Reimagine Middle Branch (2023).

In conjunction with the professional medals, the Weitzman School selected two outstanding students entering their final year of study to receive a $50,000 scholarship each for the 2024 - 2025 Academic Year. The recipient of the 2024 Kanter Tritsch Prize in Energy and Architectural Innovation is Ariel Koltun-Fromm (MArch’25) and the recipient of the 2024 Witte-Sakamoto Family Prize in City and Regional Planning is Elam Boockvar-Klein (MCP’25). In addition, based on the outstanding submissions received, Dillon Thomas Day (MArch’25) has received the Kanter Tritsch Second Place Prize in Architecture and a $10,000 scholarship for the 2024 - 2025 Academic Year. Spencer Forrester (MCP’25) has received the Witte-Sakamoto Second Place Prize in City and Regional Planning and a $10,000 scholarship for the 2024 - 2025 Academic Year.

Charlotte Future 2040 is a comprehensive plan to channel the City of Charlotte’s rapid growth, with a focus on equity. It provides a clear vision for the City and high-level, forward-thinking policy guidance for improving quality of life, affordability, equity, and sustainability for all Charlotteans. It addresses the inequities of the past and unites the City with a shared set of goals for the future to create a City that is more inclusive and diverse, with greater opportunities for all. It was based on thorough analysis and research, along with extensive outreach. The project team worked to elevate community voices typically not heard in the planning process, including low-income communities, communities of color, non-English speaking residents, and youth. Over 40 methods of engagement—including the Charlotte Planning Board Game, Card Game, a TikTok challenge, a virtual scavenger hunt, and more—succeeded in bringing over 6,500 community members into the effort. An innovative Policy Map is the first major implementation item and maps the plan’s place-based policies using Place Types, that categorize sets of places to help address overlapping needs. This information guides policy, investment, zoning, and development decisions that balance the unique needs of individual communities with the city's overall vision. The plan has been awarded the 2022 Marvin Collins Award from the North Carolina Chapter of the American Planning Association, the 2022 International Association for Public Participation Award for Public Engagement, the 2023 Daniel Burnham Award for a Comprehensive Plan from the American Planning Association and a 2024 Sustain Charlotte Award.

SANAA is an architecture and design firm based in Tokyo, Japan founded by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa in 1995. Comprised of international architects and staff working on projects ranging in scale from residential and interior design to large complex buildings and urban planning schemes, as well as product and furniture design, SANAA approaches each project with a fresh perspective, believing that each design arises from conditions particular to the site and program. Each project is special and is closely followed by the two founding principals, as well as partners Yoshitaka Tanase, Yumiko Yamada, Rikiya Yamamoto, Lucy Styles and Francesca Singer. SANAA works internationally and major works include 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa in Japan, New Museum and Grace Farms in the USA, Rolex Learning Center, EPFL in Switzerland, the Louvre-Lens and La Samaritaine in France, Bocconi University New Urban Campus in Milan, and Sydney Modern Project. 

The juries for the Kanter Tritsch Medal and Prize were chaired by Rossana Hu, Miller Professor and chair of architecture at Weitzman and co-founding partner at Neri&Hu Design and Research Office. The jury for the Witte-Sakamoto Family Medal was chaired by Lisa Servon, the Kevin and Erica Penn Presidential Professor of City and Regional Planning; and the jury for the Witte-Sakamoto Family Prize was chaired by Megan Ryerson, chair of city and regional planning, and professor of city and regional planning and electrical and systems engineering.

The Weitzman School Awards lectures will take place on Penn’s campus at the Kleinman Energy Forum, Fisher Fine Arts Library, 220 South 34th Street, Philadelphia. Learn more about the honorees, past and present, on the Weitzman Awards website.