Peter Waldman, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Architecture, was awarded the 2011-12 ACSA Creative Achievement Award for his “Lessons of the Lawn” course. This national award for architectural education recognizes a specific creative achievement in teaching, design, scholarship, research, or service that advances architectural education.

“Lessons of the Lawn” is the foundation course for undergraduates in the School of Architecture at UVa. The course is intended to develop students’ understanding of architecture as a commitment to both fine art and culture, as well as to explore the power of architecture as public art with political and social consequences. The course is widely popular, not only with students in the School of Architecture, but also with undergraduates across the University who wish to become more familiar with the premise that architecture, and specifically Jefferson’s Lawn, can act as a catalyst that encourages an ethical culture.

The jury commented, “The ‘Lessons of the Lawn’ submission explores an experiential threshold through translation – from context to content – which in turn formulates a catalytic common ground that is both significant and sustained in terms of impact student learning outcomes. Rather than succumbing to the inescapable and immersive nature of the course’s historical context, this submission successfully demonstrates how knowledge can be directly transferred through an undeniable and operable integrated learning experience.” 

Since the 1970s, Waldman has been an architect and educator teaching first at Princeton, then at Rice University and currently at the University of Virginia. Among his other awards are the ACSA Distinguished Professor Award in 1996 and UVa’s All-University Outstanding Teaching Award in 2002.