At AIA Idaho’s state conference of architects, held every two years, architect Jack Smith, FAIA, was awarded the AIA Idaho Gold Medal of Honor.  This highest honor given by AIA Idaho recognizes an architect for “their body of work, lasting contributions, theory and practice in the field of architecture.” This was the only gold medal awarded since its inception in 2000. That medal was given to the late Charles Hummel, FAIA, a well-known and distinguished architect from Boise. At the conference held in Boise on September 29, 2023 the chairman of the Idaho Fellowship and Honors Committee, Glen Berry, FAIA, quoted Pulitzer Prize winning architectural critic Allan Temko referring to Smith, “ When one sees his work in California and elsewhere, perfectly at home in different terrains, it is clear that he is not primarily a regional architect, but a far reaching designer of national and even international outlook, including a long glance at Japan, who responds to the needs of specific sites and communities with rare sensitivity and grace.”

Smith was elevated to FAIA, the American Institute of Architects College of Fellows in 1996, a national honor that less than 3% of architects in the nation achieve. He was elevated to fellow in category one, design, “For notable contributions to the aesthetic, scientific, and practical efficiency of architecture.”

Jack Smith is both a practitioner and educator, he holds a doctorate degree in architecture with an underpinning in philosophy. He has received numerous honors and awards in both architecture and academia. Recently retired from a teaching professorship at Montana State University, he has returned to full time practice here in Ketchum and Sun Valley. 

Read about the honored recipients and projects here.

Jack Smith joined SAH in 2023; several of his buildings appear in SAH Archipedia in Utah and Idaho.