Learn more about the mission and history of the ICAA

Learn more about the mission and history of the ICAA

To advance the appreciation and practice of the principles of traditional architecture and its allied arts by engaging educators, professionals, students, and enthusiasts.

The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art (ICAA) is a nonprofit membership organization committed to promoting and preserving the practice, understanding, and appreciation of classical design. To do so, the ICAA offers a broad range of educational programs. These include intensives for architecture and design students, introductory programs for middle school students, lectures and walking tours for the public, continuing education courses for professionals and enthusiasts, travel programs to visit classical masterpieces, the publishing of original and reprinted books, and an annual journal entitled the Classicist. Through the annual Arthur Ross Awards, as well as other national and regional award programs, the ICAA also honors contemporary leaders of classical design and the related fields.

The ICAA is a national organization, with 15 Chapters across the country and headquarters in New York City. Each chapter organizes its own local programming to reflect the unique members and architectural traditions in its region. The ICAA’s membership represents the diverse and dynamic cross-section of all those involved with the building arts, from architects and designers, to patrons and artisans. These members benefit from the robust network of local and national programs and networking opportunities. Likewise, the organization is continually enriched and inspired by responding to the needs, interests, and passions of its growing membership base.

The ICAA was officially founded in 2002, with the merging of two separate organizations – Classical America and the Institute of Classical Architecture. As modernism became the dominating philosophical and aesthetic movement in architecture and design in the 20th Century, Classical America (founded in 1968 by Henry Hope Reed) and the Institute of Classical Architecture (founded in 1992) each worked to preserve a plurality among architectural education and practice. Through publishing, awards, and educational courses, these two organizations carried the mantel of classicism, preserving the time-honored principles of classical architecture, such as geometry, proportion, and observational drawing. These principals and ideas, developed over thousands of years, were at risk of disappearing from the field’s collective memory. By merging into the ICAA, these two likeminded groups amplified their impact, eventually growing into a national membership organization, with Chapters across the country.

The ICAA has helped both to initiate and to harness the enthusiasm of today’s revival of classical and traditional architecture and art. By nature, classical architecture and art encompass an array of skills, traditions, and professions. This broad range of knowledge and expertise is demonstrated by the ICAA’s diverse membership base, which includes architects, city planners, landscape architects, interior designers, carpenters, ironmongers, masons, muralists, sculptors, students, educators, engineers, builders, historians, enthusiasts, and many more. These members represent the countless facets of the thriving field of classical design. Their support fuels the ICAA’s programs, which educate, celebrate, and inspire. The ICAA is proud of the incredible growth of its community over the past 50 years. From a small group of determined activists in New York to a thriving network of thousands of professionals, firms, students, and enthusiasts across the country, the ICAA and its members work tirelessly to create a more beautiful and livable built environment.

A Special Acknowledgement

Classicist.org would not be possible without the visionary leadership and generosity of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art’s late Trustee, Mr. Christopher H. Browne, a long-time supporter and champion of classicism. As a tribute to his legacy, the ICAA’s annual Christopher H. Browne Drawing Tours are named in his honor. The ICAA is also pleased to annually award four scholarships to drawing tour students, who receive the moniker “Christopher H. Browne Scholars.”

The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art (ICAA) is committed to greater equity and inclusion in all aspects of our organization and programming. We believe Classicism, traditional architecture, and the allied arts embody a set of vibrant, flexible design principles championing durability, usefulness, and naturalistic beauty, and history has shown that these principles have consistently been strengthened by new voices and diverse perspectives. No form or style of architecture or art has escaped the politics of power, and our goal at the ICAA remains to educate students, practitioners, and enthusiasts as to the diversity of practices and practitioners that constitute the history of Classicism, while supporting its thoughtful and democratic use today. This commitment to diversity and inclusion is an inherent part of who we are as an organization, which helps guide the type of community we have and will continue to cultivate, and informs the programming that we offer to all who seek to learn from the Classical tradition.

For suggestions regarding expanding the ICAA's programming, recommending new voices, or identifying un-celebrated aspects of the built environment, please contact [email protected].

Our chapters

Each of the ICAA’s fifteen chapters across the country has its own staff and board of directors, and provides programming, educational opportunities, and awards programs for its local members, while also serving as a conduit to the national ICAA community. To learn more about getting involved in your area, please email [email protected].

Our people

The ICAA’s greatest resource is its cadre of leaders, volunteers, and instructors. These committed individuals provide the organization with the highest level of governance, expertise, and creativity.

Peter Lyden
President
Russell Windham
Chair
Melissa DelVecchio
Vice Chair
Thomas L. Lloyd
Treasurer
Barbara Eberlein
Secretary
Ankie Barnes
Timothy Corrigan
Pierre Crosby
Robert Davis
Stanley Dixon
David Dowler
Richard Economakis
Whitley Esteban
Mark Ferguson
John Flower
Steven Gambrel
Jared Goss
Elizabeth Graziolo
Alexa Hampton
Kevin L. Harris (Chapters Representative)
Kathryn Herman
Anne Lazar
Phillip Liederbach
Anne Kriken Mann
Michael Mesko
John B. Murray
Lyn Muse
Eric Osth
Mark Pledger
David Rau
Foster Reeve
Suzanne R. Santry
Peter Talty
Adrian J. Taylor (Fellows Representative)
Suzanne Tucker
Bunny Williams
Christopher H. Browne
Legacy Director
1949-2009
Richard H. Driehaus
Legacy Director
1942-2021
William H. Harrison
Legacy Director
1948-2021
Arthur Ross
Legacy Director
1910-2007
Marc Appleton
Director Emeritus
David J. Cohen
Director Emeritus
Rodney Mims Cook, Jr.
Director Emeritus
Philip K. Howard, Esq.
Director Emeritus
Clem Labine
Director Emeritus
Thomas J. Salvatore
Director Emeritus
Robert Adam
John Blatteau
Alexander Creswell
Elizabeth Dowling
Andrés Duany 
Allan Greenberg
Robin Karson
Léon Krier
Calder Loth
Francis Morrone
Hugh D. Petter
Carlos Picón
Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk
Demetri Porphyrios
Witold Rybczynski
Edward W. Schmidt
Thomas Gordon Smith
Robert A.M. Stern
Peter B. Trippi
Eric Watson
Carroll William Westfall
Elizabeth Dillon
Fellows President
Matthew Enquist
Secretary
Steve Bass
William H. Bates
Martin Brandwein
Braulio Casas
Stephen T. Chrisman
Andrew Cogar
Brian Connolly
Erik Evens
Kathryn Herman
Laura Howard
Sheldon Richard Kostelecky
Kellen Krause
Robert Laney
John Margolis
Thomas P. Matthews, Jr.
Matthew McNicholas
Michael Mesko
Rodrigo Bollat Montenegro
Eric Osth
Joel Pidel
David Rinehart
Clay Rokicki
Mary Kate Spach
Adrian Taylor
Andrew Tullis
Seth Joseph Weine
Austin Wilson
Daron Builta
Emeritus
Vicky Cameron
Emeritus
Marvin Clawson
Emeritus
Courtney Coleman
Emeritus
Timothy Deal
Emeritus
Melissa Del Vecchio
Emeritus
Victor Deupi
Emeritus
Phillip James Dodd
Emeritus
Laurence S. Dumoff
Emeritus
Petra Garza
Emeritus
Grace Hinton
Emeritus
Jonathan Hogg
Emeritus
Thomas Kaufmann
Emeritus
John W. Kelley
Emeritus
Nora Martin
Emeritus
Tony McConnell
Emeritus
Thomas J. McManus
Emeritus
Manuel Mergal
Emeritus
Briana Miller
Emeritus
Francis Morrone
Emeritus
David T. Netto
Emeritus
Leonard Porter
Emeritus
Kate Rasmussen
Emeritus
Damian Samora
Emeritus
Gilbert P. Schafer
Emeritus
Gregory Shue
Emeritus
Peter J. Talty
Emeritus
Henrika Taylor
Emeritus
Kyle Taylor
Emeritus
Sean J. Tobin
Emeritus
Heather R. von Mering
Emeritus
Anne Walker
Emeritus
Sarah Arison
Jacob Bump
Rhett Butler
Denise L. Calicchio
Oliver Cope
Johnny S. Donadic
Kimberly Driessen & Matthew Greitzer
Anne Fairfax
Guillaume Féau
Lisa Fine
Lauren Fornes
Elizabeth & Patrick A. Gerschel
Valentin Goux
Elizabeth Graziolo
Edmund Hollander
Corey Damen Jenkins
Thammanoune Kannalikham
John LaPolla
Lucinda Lester
Sarah Magness
Eric McLaughlin
Dell Mitchell
Brooke Moorhead
Elizabeth & John B. Murray
Angelina Oliveri
Karen Pascoe
Peter Pennoyer
Dana & Dave Raines
Edward Reis
Janet C. Ross
Gilbert P. Schafer, III
Steven W. Spandle
Adrian Taylor
Michael Vella
Joshua Wiener
Douglas C. Wright
Stefanie Young
Lloyd P. Zuckerberg

Contact

If you have any questions, please reach out to the ICAA’s staff, who will be happy to help you.

National Office Mailing Address

20 West 44th Street, Suite 310, New York, NY 10036