Rudy Bruner Award Collection

The Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence (RBA) was founded by architect Simeon Bruner as part of the Bruner Foundation. The RBA is named in honor of his father, Rudy Bruner, who established the foundation with his wife Martha in 1963 and had a life-long interest in architecture and cities and published books by Frank Lloyd Wright under Horizon Press.

The premise for the RBA emerged at a gathering hosted by the Bruner Foundation in 1985 in New York City. Simeon Bruner invited a group of researchers attending the Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA) annual conference to dinner to solicit ideas for ways to increase understanding about the role of architecture in the urban environment. As an architect and developer, he was frustrated about the focus of architectural awards and publications on buildings as objects, rather than in-depth evaluation and discussion about what it takes to make great places. The meeting concluded with the idea for a new award that celebrated the process of placemaking and an invitation from the Bruner Foundation to submit proposals for the creation of a new program.

The award program was designed by architects Robert G. Shibley and Polly Welch. The distinctive, in-depth selection process was informed by their research of existing national and international design award programs. The comprehensive application and rigorous evaluation methodology are intended to consider not only the product or place but also the processes and values that shape it.

Since 1987 the RBA has recognized and documented 88 places over 17 biennial award cycles. Each award cycle is documented with a book that is published online and in print form.