Richard Sammons Explained

Richard Sammons
Birth Date:18 May 1961
Birth Place:Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
Nationality:American
Education:Denison University
University of Virginia (MArch)
Occupation:Architect

Richard Sammons (born May 18, 1961, in Columbus, Ohio) is an American architect, architectural theorist, visiting professor, and chief designer of Fairfax & Sammons Architects with offices in New York City, New York and Palm Beach, Florida. The firm has an international practice specializing in classical and traditional architecture, interior design and urban planning. Sammons was instrumental in the reemergence of classical design as a major movement in America through his designs as well as his work as an instructor at the Prince of Wales Institute in Britain in 1992-3 and as a founding member of the Institute of Classical Architecture in 1991. From 1996 to 2004, the Fairfax & Sammons office also served as the headquarters for the noted American architecture critic Henry Hope Reed Jr. (1915) and Classical America, the organization he founded in 1968. In 2013, Fairfax & Sammons received the Arthur Ross Award for Lifetime Achievement in Architecture, an award created to recognize and celebrate excellence in the classical tradition.[1]

Early life and education

Sammons was born in Columbus, Ohio and received his bachelor's degree from Denison University in Granville, Ohio in 1983. His duel interests in Physics and Art, and his undergraduate degree in Studio Art, presaged the later intense focus upon proportion that became a significant hallmark of his design work. He received his Master of Architecture degree at the University of Virginia in 1986. His interest in classical design found support in this period of university education due to the leadership of Dean Jaquelin T. Robertson whose own work and background made him sympathetic to classicism. Sammons also developed a breadth of knowledge through his work as a teaching assistant to the internationally recognized architectural historian and Jefferson scholar, Dr. Frederick Doveton Nichols (1911-1995). Because the faculty of the University of Virginia School of Architecture focused primarily on modernism, Sammons looked to Thomas Jefferson as one of his principal instructors.

Career

Sammons served his internship in the Manhattan office of David Anthony Easton, a classicist specializing in residential design. At Easton's office, Sammons learned detailing from Joe Marino, an architect who acquired his practical training in the Manhattan firms of Cross and Cross,[2] and later Egerton Swartwout and Philip Goodwin. In 1992 Sammons established the firm of Richard Sammons Architect in New York City, New York. In 1997 Sammons and his wife Anne Fairfax renamed the firm Fairfax & Sammons Architects, PC. The firm has a second office in Palm Beach, Florida opened in 1998. Sammons is a registered architect in New York, Virginia, Connecticut, Ohio, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

In addition to architectural practice, Sammons has taught classes (on architectural design and proportion) at the University of Notre Dame in Rome (Fall 2008); the Georgia Institute of Technology as the Harrison Design Associates Visiting Scholar (Fall 2005); as an instructor, The Prince of Wales Institute of Architecture London, England and the American Summer School (1993 – 1996); and Adjunct Professor of Architecture, Pratt Institute School of Architecture (1987 – 1996). Sammons also served as Associate Director, The Institute of Classical Architecture and The New York Academy of Art from 1993 to 1996.

Sammons was a founder of The Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America. He has served as a board member of The Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America; The Royal Oak Foundation; The Historic House Trust of New York City; The Sir John Soane's Museum Foundation; The Merchants House Museum, New York and he is a Guild Member of The New Urban Guild, a member of the INTBAU College of Traditional Practitioners (ICTP) and a Brother of The Art Workers Guild in London.

Awards

Year Award Awarded by Category
2020Palladio AwardTraditional Building and Period Homes[3] Restoration and Renovation
2019Stanford White AwardThe Institute of Classical Architecture and Art[4] Residential Architecture - New Construction Over 5,000 SF
2019Addison Mizner MedalThe Institute of Classical Architecture and Art Florida[5] Renovation/Addition
2019Addison Mizner MedalThe Institute of Classical Architecture and Art Florida[6] Renovation/Addition
2018Polly Earl AwardPalm Beach Preservation Foundation[7] Excellence in the rehabilitation of smaller scale, landmarked properties
2018Stanford White AwardThe Institute of Classical Architecture and Art[8] Residential Architecture – Renovations & Additions
2018Addison Mizner MedalThe Institute of Classical Architecture and Art Florida[9] Renovation/Addition
2018The Richard H. Driehaus Building Arts AwardDriehaus International Competition [10] Honorable mention for Urban Design
2018Palladio AwardTraditional Building and Period Homes[11] Residential Multi-Unit
2017Stanford White AwardThe Institute of Classical Architecture and Art[12] Residential Architecture – New Construction Under 5,000 SF
2017The Richard H. Driehaus Building Arts AwardDriehaus International Competition [13] Honorable mention for Urban Design
2017Palladio AwardTraditional Building and Period Homes[14] New Design & Construction, more than 5,000 SF
2017Addison Mizner MedalThe Institute of Classical Architecture and Art Florida[15] Interior Architecture
2016Palladio AwardTraditional Building and Period Homes[16] New Design & Construction, less than 5,000 SF
2016Addison Mizner MedalThe Institute of Classical Architecture and Art Florida[17] Residential
2015Addison Mizner MedalThe Institute of Classical Architecture and Art Florida[18] Architecture Interiors
2015Stanford White AwardThe Institute of Classical Architecture and Art[19] Multi-family
2013The Arthur Ross Award, for Lifetime Achievement in ArchitectureThe Institute of Classical Architecture and Art[20] Excellence in preserving and advancing the Classical tradition
2010Philip Trammell Shutze AwardThe Institute of Classical Architecture and Art[21] Residential Over 10,000 SF
2010Philip Trammell Shutze AwardThe Institute of Classical Architecture and Art[22] Urban Design
2010CNU Charter AwardCongress for the New Urbanism[23] Block, Street, and Building

Projects

Richard Sammons' projects include the following:
(For images and a description of each project refer to the firm's website: https://fairfaxandsammons.com/portfolio/)

Town

Country

Seaside

Neighborhood

Books

Press

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Honors - Institute of Classical Architecture & Art.
  2. Dowling, Elizabeth Meredith. New Classicism: the rebirth of traditional architecture. New York: Rizzoli, 2004. p.94
  3. Web site: 2020 Palladio Award. 13 May 2020. Traditional Building Magazine.
  4. Web site: 2019 Stanford White Award. 4 October 2019. ICAA.
  5. Web site: 2019 Addison Mizner Winners. 12 February 2020. ICAA Florida.
  6. Web site: 2019 Addison Mizner Winners. 12 February 2020. ICAA Florida.
  7. Web site: Design honors: Five Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach winners. 4 May 2018. Palm Beach Daily News.
  8. Web site: The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art's 2018 Stanford White Awards. 13 November 2018. Traditional Building Magazine.
  9. Web site: 2018 Addison Mizner Winners. 2 December 2018. ICAA Florida.
  10. Web site: Driehaus International Competition 2017-2018 Edition. 2 July 2018. Richard H. Driehaus Building Arts Awards and Architecture Competition 2017-2018. 26 June 2018.
  11. Web site: 2018 Palladio Award Winners. 14 March 2018. Traditional Building Magazine.
  12. Web site: The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art's 2017 Stanford White Awards. 11 November 2017. ICAA.
  13. Web site: Driehaus International Competition 2016-2017 Edition. 15 May 2017. Richard H. Driehaus Building Arts Awards and Architecture Competition 2016-2017.
  14. Web site: Announcing the 2017 Palladio Winners. 24 March 2017. Traditional Building Magazine.
  15. Web site: 2017 Addison Mizner Winners. 3 October 2017. ICAA Florida.
  16. Web site: The 2016 Palladio Award Winners. 31 March 2016. Traditional Building Magazine.
  17. Web site: 2016 Addison Mizner Winners. 10 October 2016. ICAA Florida.
  18. Web site: 2015 Addison Mizner Winners. 5 October 2015. ICAA Florida.
  19. Web site: 2015 Stanford White Award Winners. 11 December 2015. ICAA.
  20. Web site: 2013 Arthur Ross Awards. 28 July 2013. Traditional Building Magazine.
  21. Web site: 2010 Philip Trammell Shutze Award Winners. 23 February 2010. ICAA Southeast.
  22. Web site: 2010 Philip Trammell Shutze Award Winners. 23 February 2010. ICAA Southeast.
  23. Web site: Charter Awards. 14 March 2011. Congress for the New Urbanism.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Richard Sammons".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2025, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.