Leah Wulfman Wins 2024 Prize from The Architectural League of New York for Innovative Work

[Salt Lake City, 5/13/2024]  - Leah Wulfman, current MDD faculty, has been awarded the highly coveted Architectural League Prize for their groundbreaking and innovative contributions to the field. The prestigious award recognizes Wulfman's exceptional talent and vision, celebrating their unique approach to architecture that challenges norms and pushes boundaries.

The Architectural League Prize is one of the most prestigious awards in the field of architecture, recognizing exceptional talent and innovation among emerging architects. Established in 1981, the prize is awarded annually to 6 winners whose work demonstrates outstanding creativity with inclusive and equitable themes. Winners of the Architectural League Prize join a distinguished roster of architects who’s contributions shaped the course of architectural history.

Wulfman's work is distinguished by its exploration of nonnormative uses and playful misuses of technology, all while emphasizing embodied physicality. Their projects often revolve around the themes of play and performativity, weaving together game engine interactions and digital twins with physical elements such as dirt, weeds, trash, plastic, and foam. This fusion of digital and physical worlds creates immersive mixed reality ecologies that defy traditional architectural conventions. 

“In their first year as Visiting Assistant Professor in Multi-disciplinary Design here at the University of Utah, Leah has expanded the scope of what it means to design beyond normative binaries / boundaries of physical and digital space in so many exciting and playful ways.  We delight in the way that Leah, in their own words, encourages students in our design studios to 'actively mess with and mess up the way high-tech tools are utilized'. We congratulate Leah on receiving this prestigious accolade, and look forward to experiencing more of the innovative and provocative work they will create as a Architectural League Prize recipient.” (Nicole Porter, Ph.D. Chair of Multi-Disciplinary Design).

Wulfman's win of the Architectural League Prize underscores their rising prominence within the architectural community and positions them as a visionary force shaping the future of multi-disciplinary design. Their contributions exemplify the College of Architecture and Planning’s vision of innovative process and the League's commitment to promoting excellence in architecture.

More information can be found in The Architectural League of New York's article here.