Institute of Classical Architecture and Art


The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art is an American nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the appreciation and practice of traditional architecture and its allied arts by engaging with educators, professionals, students, and enthusiasts. It does so through education, publication, awards, and advocacy. The institute was formed in 2002 with the merger of two nonprofit organizations: The Institute of Classical Architecture, and Classical America.
In addition to its New York City headquarters, the institute maintains fifteen regional chapters, intended to extend the reach of its public service. Each chapter organizes its own programming to reflect the interests of its members, and the architectural traditions of its region.
ICAA's membership represents a diverse cross-section of the building arts, including architects, interior designers, patrons, builders, and artisans. According to the institute's website, its members benefit from the institute's local and national programs and from the networking opportunities that membership offers, and the institute improves its programs by responding to the needs and interests of its membership.

Education

The institute offers educational resources for students of art, planning, and architecture; for design professionals; and for the general public. These include: intensive seminars for architecture and design students, continuing education courses, travel programs, and public lectures.

Publication

ICAA publishes , an academic journal, as well as the book series the .

Awards, prizes, and scholarships

The Arthur Ross Awards, founded by Arthur Ross and administered annually by ICAA, recognize the achievements of architects, painters, sculptors, artisans, landscape designers, educators, publishers, patrons, and others dedicated to preserving and advancing the classical tradition. The philanthropist Brooke Astor presented the initial awards in 1982. ICAA offers two affiliated fellowships at the American Academy in Rome which it says are intended “to advance the career of the architect or artist recipient and to foster a continuity of knowledge of the classical tradition as a vital aspect of contemporary culture around the globe.”
ICAA offers two bi-annual prizes: The Rieger Graham Prize for architecture and the Alma Schapiro Prize for fine arts. The institute awards each prize in alternate years and offers recipients a three-month Fellowship at the American Academy in Rome.
Awards and prizes of ICAA's regional chapters include:
  • Acanthus Awards
  • Addison Mizner Medal
  • A. Hays Town Award
  • Bulfinch Awards
  • John Staub Awards
  • Julia Morgan Awards
  • McKim, Mead & White awards
  • Newman Awards
  • Shutze Awards
  • Trumbauer Awards

    Advocacy and public programs

The ICAA serves its members and the general public through public lectures, walking tours, travel programs, and special events. Offered throughout the year, these activities include a Member Lecture Program and Discover Classical New York, which takes members on walking tours to visit classical or traditional sites in the five boroughs and beyond.
Other programs include the annual McKim Lecture, a collaboration with the One West 54th Street Foundation and the Summer Lecture Series.