Life and Work

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Deborah Berke is an architect, educator, and the founder of New York-based architecture firm TenBerke, a collaborative studio especially known for design excellence in repurposing architecture, building and growing communities across a wide variety of building types. Her work in the adaptive reuse of buildings, transforming historic structures into vibrant spaces, has had a significant impact on communities and the built environment. Through thoughtful preservation and intervention, Deborah creates a powerful new perspective that mends time and space creatively and sustainably. As an educator and Dean, Berke has advanced financial aid initiatives, increased accessibility, and championed interdisciplinary programs, making architecture education more inclusive. Berke was awarded the 2025 AIA Gold Medal, the Institute’s highest honor recognizing individuals whose work has had a lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture. She was also the recipient of the 2022 AIA/ ACSA Topaz Medallion, the highest honor for architectural education.

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Deborah Berke, FAIA, LEED AP is an architect, educator, and the founder of New York-based architecture firm TenBerke. Among the firm’s most significant works are the Residential Colleges at Princeton University, the Cummins Indy Distribution Headquarters, the Rockefeller Arts Center at SUNY Fredonia, the Yale School of Art in New Haven, Connecticut, and the 21c Museum Hotels across the South and Midwest. In 2017, TenBerke was honored with a National Design Award from the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Deborah is the J. M. Hoppin Professor of Architecture and the Edward P. Bass Dean of the Yale School of Architecture, the first woman to hold the position. She has been a Professor at Yale since 1987. She is the recipient of the 2025 AIA Gold Medal, the Institute’s highest honor recognizing individuals whose work has had a lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture. She was also the recipient of the 2022 AIA/ ACSA Topaz Medallion, the highest honor for architectural education. In 2012, she was the inaugural designate of the Berkeley-Rupp Architecture Professorship and Prize at the University of California at Berkeley, which is given to an architect who has advanced the position of women in the profession and whose work emphasizes a commitment to sustainability and the community. She is a board member of the James Howell Foundation, and an advisor to the Norman Foster Foundation. She serves on the jury for the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the highest honor in the field. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the National Academy of Design. Deborah is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and The City University of New York. In 2005, she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design

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Q&A

What is your favorite drink? A Perfect Manhattan

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What is your favorite album of all time? Blood on the Tracks & Stop Making Sense

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If we opened your fridge, what would we find? Yogurt, Broccolini, too many condiments

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What is the first thing do you do to procrastinate? Crossword Puzzles

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How many times have you been to Maine? Many

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Do you get a flu shot? Yes

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What talent would you most like to have? Play the piano effortlessly

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Do you have any pets? Always a dog

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