BROOKLYN, November 3, 2025 – AIA Brooklyn enthusiastically welcomes a jury of architects, educators, planners and developers from Brooklyn and beyond who will select compelling entries to the 2025 Brooklyn Design Awards (BKDA) program. They will be reviewing the work independently, followed by a huddle for earnest deliberation. Entries will be commended for design excellence, technical skill, innovation, environmental responsiveness, and social impact.
The BKDA program has evolved in order to better respond to the complex issues that communities are facing all over the world. The call to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public has a new and broader meaning in the context of challenges such as increasing climate extremes and social inequity. As such, the AIA’s Framework for Design Excellence has been phased into the selection process, and submitted work will be judged not just on aesthetics, but also on measurable performance metrics.
The 2025 winners will be announced and honored in December by the chapter in a Brooklyn-based celebration, on December 8th at 501 Union. Tickets and sponsorships now available!
David Kramer
David Kramer is the President of the Hudson Companies, a new York City developer that has built over 77 projects holding over 15,000 residential apartments. At Hudson, David has presided over an uncommonly broad scope of developments ranging from market-rate condominiums and rental units to affordable housing and homeless shelters. Brooklyn Projects include One Clinton, J Condo, Third + Bond and renovations of the Cobble Hill Tower, The Knick, and many others.
David’s career can be characterized as an endeavor to build community. Hudson has been named Private Developer of the Year by the New York State Housing Conference and was selected by the New York City Pension Funds to manage investment funds for multi-family development. Prior to Hudson, David developed affordable housing in Southern California where he also co-founded and ran “People for Parks,” a non-profit coalition of L.A. park advocates. Closer to home, David founded the quarterly Brooklyn Real Estate Roundtable to benefit the Brooklyn Historical Society.
David has a Bachelor Degree from Yale University and graduated from the Coro Foundation’s Public Affairs Program. David has served on the boards of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, the Coro Foundation and the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy, where he also served as Chair. A Brooklyn resident, David has completed 6 New York City Marathons and 5 Century Bike Races.
David Bruce Lee
David is a Founding Partner of FAME with 14 years of professional architecture and design experience. He is a Registered Architect in California, Nevada, Florida and New York. In addition to running a busy architectural practice, David co-hosts the popular design and architecture podcast “The Second Studio.”
David holds a Master of Urban Design from the City College of New York, a Bachelor of Architecture and a Minor in Sustainable Environments with Honors from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and a diploma in music and architecture from Les Ecoles d’Art Américaines de Fontainebleau, France.
Kerry Nolan, AIA
Kerry Nolan is a Principal at Beyer Blinder Belle Architects and Planners, bringing more than twenty years of experience in directing project teams through the design and construction documentation phases of prominent cultural and institutional developments. She directs the Technical Leadership Group, developing Construction Administration Protocol Standards and ensuring consistency across all of the firm’s studios. Throughout her career, she has managed teams on projects spanning New York, Philadelphia, Tulsa, and Palm Beach, establishing a collaborative framework that unites team members around shared objectives.
Kerry has also served as co-Chair of the Women in Architecture Committee at AIANY where she launched several initiatives including the Girls Build! program, the Honoring Women Fellows networking event, and an Around Manhattan Boat Tour highlighting projects designed and constructed by women.
Kerry holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and a Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University.
Bretaigne Walliser, AIA
Bretaigne Walliser is co-founder and principal of TBo, a multidisciplinary design firm that focuses on creating built work and landscapes with a nuanced material presence and sense of place. She is a registered Architect in New York and Massachusetts, and has taught graduate Architectural Design Studio and undergraduate History and Theory courses at City College. Bret earned her Bachelor of Arts in rhetoric at the University of California, Berkeley and a Master of Architecture from City College.
Kim Yao, FAIA
Kim Yao is a Principal of Architecture Research Office (ARO), and she has taught at MIT, Columbia University, Parsons and Barnard College. Kim has lectured throughout the United States and abroad, and she has been honored with many professional accolades including Election to the National Academy of Design, the AIA New York Medal of Honor and the Beverly Willis Foundation Mentorship Award. Kim also served as President of AIANY in 2020, and she holds an undergraduate degree in architecture from Columbia College and a Master of Architecture from Princeton University.
Kim’s dedication has been central to ARO’s diverse project portfolio which spans strategic planning, architecture and urban design, from a low-cost, passive house housing prototype to a proposal to reinvent public space, multiple institutional buildings and infrastructure in New York City. ARO has also earned numerous awards including the AIA Architecture Firm Award, the AIA New York State Firm of the Year Award, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award for Architecture, and the Academy Award for Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
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The Brooklyn Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA Brooklyn) is an organization founded in 1894. With over 1000 members, the Chapter is the second largest chapter in New York State and has represented the professional interests of architects for over a century. AIA Brooklyn is dedicated to the advancement of the architectural profession through education, outreach, and mutual support.