Now in its 10th year, AIA Tennessee’s Lifetime Achievement Awards program was established to recognize architects and individuals whose significant body of work has had a lasting and meaningful influence on the profession and the built environment. These Lifetime Achievement awards are the highest honors that AIA Tennessee can bestow on an individual.
Congratulations, Ron and Mike! Click below to learn more about each recipient and their achievements over the years!
Williams Strickland Lifetime Achievement Award Winner, Ron V. Gobbell, FAIA 
Samuel Morgan Lifetime Service Award Winner, Mike Fitts, FAIA
William Strickland Lifetime Achievement Award for the Profession of Architecture recognizes achievements of those architects who, by their skill, professionalism, dedication, ability, and commitment, have consistently fostered quality in the built environment, creating a lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture.
The 2021 William Strickland Lifetime Achievement Award for the Profession of Architecture is awarded to Ron V. Gobbell, FAIA.
With a heart for the past and an eye for the future, Ron Gobbell paved an unconventional path throughout a career that has spanned nearly 50 years.
In 1977, Ron partnered with Steve Hays to found GHP and pioneered the role of architecture and environmental issues in the built environment. Ron recognized that an architects’ ability to see the big picture but also to be able to scale down to the granular equipped them to bring architectural and environmental expertise to forensic issues in buildings. Ron became a leading national expert— co-authoring the book Indoor Air Quality Solutions and Strategies, instructed in Europe, and testified before the U.S. Senate and state legislatures. He was also involved in the design and testing of experimental modules to meet the complex requirements of NASA’s space station.
Their work has affected more than 8,000 buildings from Alaska to Dubai … and beyond.
While his career has been geographically far-reaching, his greatest impact and focus has remained in Nashville, where he has been devoted to the preservation and rebirth of downtown. His commitment to his hometown led to the rehabilitation of 108 renovation/construction projects in Nashville alone, including award winning landmark and legacy projects such as The Hermitage Hotel, Union Station Hotel, and First Horizon Park, among others. In the 90’s, he was actively involved in the economic and community revitalization of three contiguous historic districts in downtown Nashville; Broadway, 2nd Avenue/Riverfront, and Printers Alley. In the 2000’s, he helped spearhead the renovation of Nashville’s 5th Avenue into the ‘Fifth Avenue of the Arts’, a center for art and culture.
Ron currently provides project management for The Fairgrounds Nashville and Major League Soccer Stadium. And one of the first calls Nashville Mayor John Cooper made, following the horrific 2020 Christmas Day Bombing of Second Avenue, was to Ron Gobbell asking him to spearhead the task force for the impacted area’s future and recovery. In 2021, Mayor Cooper appointed Ron as Project Manager of the rebuild of Second Avenue crediting Ron’s architectural expertise, in-depth knowledge of historic architecture and environmental issues within old buildings, and commitment to the community.
The Samuel Morgan Lifetime Service Award may be awarded to architects or non-architects for their contribution in the Public Realm. It recognizes either the achievements of those architects employed in the United States public sector, State of Tennessee, or governmental agencies who have consistently fostered quality in the public built environment.
OR
Public officials or individuals, who by their role and advocacy have been instrumental in the development of laws, regulations, and policies that affect the process and product of architecture, as well as the public’s perception of such architecture as an important part of our environment, lives, and heritage.
The 2021 Samuel Morgan Lifetime Service Award for contribution in the Public Realm is awarded to Mike Fitts, FAIA.
Mike Fitts served as the Tennessee’s State Architect from 1971 to 2010, being only the second person to serve in this position since its establishment in 1955. During his nearly 40 years as State Architect, he served under seven Tennessee Governors and oversaw the design and construction of more than 700 state facilities.
A native of Jackson, Tennessee, Mike Fitts graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. He was commissioned as an officer in the US Navy, serving four years with the Underwater Demolition Team (now known as the Navy SEALS).
Fitts began his career as an engineer. His passion for buildings drew him to get a M. Arch degree from UT in 1971. And while serving as Tennessee’s State Architect, recognizing the degree to which public buildings deal with contract language and legalities, he acquired an education and degree in law so he would excel in all aspects of the role.
Mike Fitts was the recipient of many architectural awards including being elevated to as a Fellow in the AIA in 1991 and honored with the Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture in 2007, which recognizes excellence in architectural advocacy and achievement. A prize that he helped launch in 1991.
Having once said, “The Capital represents the foresight and pride that our forefathers had, as well as a quality of workmanship unparalleled in Tennessee at the time,” Mike Fitts oversaw significant changes to the state capital and the surrounding areas including the restoration of the state capital, the ambitious Legislative Plaza project in the 1970s and the commissioning and adoption of a new master plan for the area surrounding the State Capital in the 1980s.
Under his leadership a master plan and comprehensive program for the State Capital area and the new Bicentennial Mall was commissioned and approved in 1993 with both projects being completed for dedication on “Statehood Day”, June 1st, 1996.
Following the completion of the Bicentennial Mall, Mike Fitts advocated for a masterplan for the 40 acres of state property surrounding the new 19-acre urban park. This masterplan stipulated the location of two then forthcoming state facilities: the new Tennessee State Museum and the New Tennessee State Library and Archives.
Being mindful of the need to ensure continuity and consistency on the grounds of the Capital Hill and Bicentennial Mall, Mike Fitts commissioned the development of guidelines that included strict directives for locations of future memorial locations, materials, access, and durability.
Like many architects, Mike Fitts was initially prejudiced against a government career. “It’s hard to get architects interested in government work,” Mike once admitted. But meeting then-state architect Clayton Dekle in 1963 changed his mind. He became enamored with the idea that the State Architect can work with a variety of architects and push them to produce excellence.