Robert and Louise Bethune Award

 

Robert T. Coles, FAIA

 

 

The AIA Buffalo/WNY is pleased to recognize Robert T. Coles, FAIA, as recipient of the Robert and Louise Bethune Award.  Recognized as the highest award that AIA Buffalo/WNY can bestow on an architect, the Bethune Award is presented to an individual in recognition of a lifetime of notable contributions to the profession of architecture through practice, mentorship, and community leadership.

 

Bob Coles has led a distinguished career that has been dedicated to design excellence, addressing diversity issues in architecture through education, activism and mentorship and service to his profession through the AIA.

 

Mr. Coles began his career as an intern architect in 1956 upon obtaining his Master’s degree from MIT.  He returned to his hometown of Buffalo to start his practice in 1963.  In the forty-six year history of the practice, many notable projects have been built.  Two of his projects garnered particular attention: a private residence on Humbolt Parkway and the more recent Frank E. Merriweather, Jr. Branch Library.   Built in the early 1960’s, the Humbolt house is listed in the publication “Buffalo Architecture: A Guide”, where it is described as “one of the few avowedly modern residential structures in the city”.  The Frank E. Merriweather, Jr. Branch Library is a signature building on the Buffalo’s east side and a beacon for the community.  

 

Throughout his career, Mr. Coles has been relentless in his pursuit of addressing the lack of diversity in the profession of architecture.  He has served as a mentor and employer to many of the African American architects in Buffalo.  He has written widely on the topic in articles that were published in Progressive Architecture (1989) and Architecture (1982).  On a national level, Mr. Coles is a member of the AIA Task Force on African-American Entrance in to Profession, and he acted as the Vice President, Treasurer and Newsletter Editor in the National Organization for Minority Architects. 

 

In 1995 Bob Coles served as the Chancellor of the AIA College of Fellows and he served on the executive committee of this prestigious organization from 1990 – 1995, where he also acted as Treasurer and Vice Chancellor.  In 2004 he won the AIA NYS James William Kideney Award- which recognizes a lifetime of notable contributions by an architect to the profession.  It is also the highest award from AIA NYS. 

 

Mr. Coles has spent a lifetime dedicated to improving the City of Buffalo.  In appreciation of this service to the community, he has won many citizens awards, in particular the Quality Integration Education Citation by the Board of Education of Buffalo in 1989, the Ebony and Ivory Award from Erie Community College in 1993 and the Honorary Doctor of Letters from Medaille College, in 1977. 

 

Mr. Coles has dedicated his life and career to the built environment on both the local and national arenas.  He has been a mentor to many young architects and he has tirelessly promoted diversity in architecture.  He has been a symbol of an activist architect in Buffalo for almost five decades.