Chip von Weise, Director of the Virginia Tech Chicago Studio, was awarded the 2022 AIA Illinois Nathan Clifford Ricker Award for Architecture Education. Von Weise joined the Chicago Studio in 2004, just two years after it was founded, and has been Director since 2015. He teaches an integrated design studio, a building technology seminar, and a professional practice course, aimed at delivering a fourth-year curriculum that merges the intellectual rigor of an academic design studio with the urban and technical issues of building real architecture in Chicago. Students work alongside local developers, the City of Chicago Planning Department and local aldermen and neighborhood groups, wrestling with the complexities of diversity, equity, fairness in housing, relationships between the public and private domains, sustainability, wellness to develop professional level design projects. 

As AIA Illinois states, their Honor Awards “recognize people and projects epitomizing the contributions of the architecture profession, the transformative power of design, and the dedication of individuals to service and excellence.” This award in particular is in the service category, and recognizes educators that have contributed impactful work that both benefits the wider community and furthers the field of architecture. 

Von Weise was a founding principal at von Weise, Petrie, Ronan Architects and before that a project manager at Booth/Hansen and Associates, all in Chicago. In 1999, he founded von Weise Associates, where he practices today.