New Jersey native, Carl Elefante, FAIA, Inaugurated as 2018 AIA President

December 20, 2017

By Matt Tinder, Edited by Stacey Ruhle Kliesch, AIA

Carl Elefante, FAIA, was inaugurated as the 94th President of the AIA during ceremonies held on December 8, 2017, at the National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C. Elefante, a principal at Quinn Evans Architects in Washington, D.C. succeeds the 93rd President, Thomas Vonier, FAIA, in representing over 90,000 AIA members.  While Carl has spent most of his adult years in the Greater Washington, D. C. area, his roots are here in the Garden State.

Image of Carl and Adriana Elefante by William Stewart Photography

From 2013 to 2015, Elefante served as regional director of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council; he is also a sustainability expert who has worked closely with the AIA Committee on the Environment, the Historic Resources Committee, and the Sustainability Scan Advisory Group. He served as president of AIA Maryland in 2012 and AIA Potomac Valley in 2009. A principal at Quinn Evans Architects in Washington, D.C., Elefante received his B.Arch. from the University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation.

“I’m sure I lost a few brain cells from the ammonia! As I recall, there were about 10 architects and 20 career draftsmen – all men. Those draftsmen were true craftsmen. There were three women, all secretaries, including the office manager who was a childhood friend of my mother.

Mr. Drake was the son of the firm’s founder. He was well into his seventies or older. To a teenager, he was ancient. Mostly, he had me find old drawings of projects from the 1920’s and 30’s. Pencil on linen.

Convery and Cueman seemed to be the forces behind the firm. Hewlett-Packard was one of their clients. The firm had several four-function digital calculators, a rare and expensive item, as evidence of the high-tech work they were doing for HP. 

The two cool, young designers were Don Chapman and Peter Bieber, two of the registered architects. Don has one of the best “hands” of any architect I’ve ever know. Both were graduates of Pratt. I had to go to Pratt, period. I did.

While a freshman at Pratt, Don and Peter invited Elefante to help them with an award submission over the holidays. They had just opened their own firm, Chapman & Bieber. Mounting photo prints to foam core with rubber cement. More brain cells lost. I completely destroyed one of the large prints with a crease the size of the Rocky Mountains right down the middle.”

                                                                 ~ Carl Elefante, FAIA

About The American Institute of Architects and AIA New Jersey

Founded in 1857, The American Institute of Architects consistently works to create more valuable, healthy, secure, and sustainable buildings, neighborhoods, and communities. Through nearly 300 state and local chapters, AIA advocates for public policies that promote economic vitality and public wellbeing. Members adhere to a code of ethics and conduct to ensure the highest professional standards. AIA provides members with tools and resources to assist them in their careers and business as well as engaging civic and government leaders and the public to find solutions to pressing issues facing our communities, institutions, nation and world. The organization’s local chapter, AIA New Jersey, has served as the voice of the architectural profession in the Garden State since 1900. Based in Trenton, AIA New Jersey has 2,000 members in six local sections. For more information, please visit http://aianj.wpengine.com.

By Stacey Ruhle Kliesch, AIA, AIA NJ Advocacy Consultant | Posted in AIA-NJ News, NJ Architect Newsletter, Uncategorized | Tagged: #CarlElefanteFAIA, #Chapman&Bieber, #DonChapman, #DrakeTuthillConveryandCueman, #PeterBieber, #Pratt, #UniversityofMD | Comments (0)