In late April two alumnae of the Rice School of Architecture will be recognized with prestigious honors at the 2025 AIA New York Awards for their contributions to award-winning projects. Ana Miljački (M.Arch. ’99) will receive the Architecture in Media Award, and Interboro Partners, cofounded by Georgeen Theodore (B.A. ’92, B.Arch. ʼ94), will receive the New Perspectives Award.
Ana Miljački and I Would Prefer Not To
Honored with the Architecture in Media Award, I Would Prefer Not To is a podcast produced by Miljački’s MIT-based Critical Broadcasting Lab in collaboration with the Architectural League of New York. The podcast critically examines refusals in architectural practice, challenging conventions and expanding disciplinary discourse.
Miljački, a historian, critic, and curator, is a professor of architecture at MIT, where she directs the Master of Science in Architecture Studies program. She is widely known for her work on architecture’s political agency, including as a curator of the U.S. Pavilion at the 14th Venice Architecture Biennale in 2014. Her numerous publications include The Optimum Imperative: Czech Architecture for the Socialist Lifestyle, 1938–1968 (Routledge, 2017).
Interboro Partners
Interboro Partners, cofounded by Georgeen Theodore (B.A. ’92, B.Arch. ʼ94), Tobias Armborst, and Daniel D’Oca, has been awarded the New Perspectives Award for its transformative contributions to urban design and public space. The firm’s interdisciplinary approach bridges planning, architecture, and public art to create inclusive, community-driven projects. Theodore is also a professor and director of the Infrastructure Planning program at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, where her teaching and research focus on urban design, equity, and the public realm.
Since its founding, Interboro has received significant accolades, including the MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program and the Architectural League’s Emerging Voices Award. Their publication The Arsenal of Exclusion and Inclusion (Actar, 2017; 2nd ed., 2021) remains a critical reference on spatial justice and urban accessibility.
Reflecting on the role Rice played in her development as a designer, Theodore said, “My time at Rice made me an urbanist. The way I think about cities as built form, social organisms and catalysts of ideas was shaped by the architecture program at Rice, our campus, and the city of Houston. I am honored by this recognition and grateful to the professors and peers who have so deeply influenced who I am and how I think about architecture’s agency in making cities better places for all.”
Honors and Awards Luncheon
The 2025 AIA New York Honors and Awards Luncheon will take place on Friday, April 25, at Cipriani Wall Street, where Miljački and Theodore will be celebrated alongside other distinguished recipients.
Congratulations to both alumnae for their outstanding contributions to the field.