Tau Sigma Delta () is an American scholastic

honor society In the United States, an honor society is an organization that recognizes individuals who rank above a set standard in various domains such as academics, leadership, and other personal achievements, not all of which are based on ranking systems. ...

that recognizes academic achievement among students in the field of

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

and allied arts.

History

Tau Sigma Delta was organized at the University of Michigan as an honorary fraternity in architecture and landscape design in May 1913, at the proposal and under the direction of the Departments of Architecture and Landscape Design faculty members at the University of Michigan. It was first known as Tau Delta Sigma and continued under that name until the fall of 1914 when it was decided to change the name to the present one there being Greek letter societies already bearing the first name. It was the intention of the founders that the organization should be a national society as an opportunity for its extension to other schools and universities could be had. As of 1920, according to the constitution of Tau Sigma Delta, the purpose of the society is stated as follows: "It shall be the purpose of Tau Sigma Delta fraternity to unite in a firm bond of friendship, such students of architecture and the allied arts, whose marked scholastic ability, moral character and pleasing personality has shown them worthy of distinction, and to foster and promote high standards of study in the schools and colleges of architecture and the allied arts." The society is purely an honorary organization, and only a few new members are elected annually. As of 1920, the total membership of the society was 88. Each chapter has a definite plan of government and elects its members, who are chosen only upon the approval of the faculty of the school where the chapter is located. Medals are awarded for achievement, in bronze, silver, and gold. In 2011, it had chartered 52 chapters and initiated 18,984 members.

Symbols

The fraternity's motto is ''"Technitai, Sophoi kai Dexioi"''. The system of colors is gold and white. The flower of the society is the red rose. The fraternity's badge is a gold key consisting of the crossed letters, Tau Sigma Delta, a suspension ring at the top, and a pendant at the bottom. The crossed letters of the same arrangement as on the key is the crest of the fraternity. Honor stoles are available for graduation regalia. The pledge button consists of an outer scalloped band of gold within which is one concentric ring of gold and two concentric rings of white.

Chapters

Tau Sigma Delta has chartered more than 52 chaptes.

Gold Medal Recipients

The Gold Medal is awarded by the Grand Chapter of the Society to a professional or professionals with a record of high distinction in design in the field of architecture, landscape architecture, or the allied arts. The award is presented annually as a part of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) national meeting.Tau Sigma Delta - Gold Award Recipients
/ref> *2019 Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu *2018 Tod Williams and Billie Tsien *2017 Maurice Cox *2016

Toshiko Mori Toshiko Mori (born 1951) is a Japanese architect and the founder and principal of New York–based Toshiko Mori Architect, PLLC and Vision Arc. She is also the Robert P. Hubbard Professor in the Practice of Architecture at the Harvard University ...

*2015

Thom Mayne Thom Mayne (born January 19, 1944) is an American architect. He is based in Los Angeles. In 1972, Mayne helped found the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), where he is a trustee and the coordinator of the Design of Cities po ...

*2014

Bernard Tschumi Bernard Tschumi (born 25 January 1944 in Lausanne, Switzerland) is an architect, writer, and educator, commonly associated with deconstructivism. Son of the well-known Swiss architect Jean Tschumi and a French mother, Tschumi is a dual French ...

*2013 Gregg Pasquarelli *2012 Teddy Cruz *2011

David Adjaye Sir David Frank Adjaye (born 22 September 1966) is a Ghanaian-British architect who has designed many notable buildings around the world, including the National Museum of African American History, National Museum of African American History and ...

*2010 Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi *2009 Patricia Patkau *2008

Elizabeth Diller Elizabeth Diller, also known as Liz Diller, is an American architect and partner in Diller Scofidio + Renfro, which she co-founded in 1981. She is also an architecture professor at Princeton University. Life Elizabeth Diller was born in 1958 in ...

*2007

Richard Rogers Richard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside (23 July 1933 – 18 December 2021) was a British-Italian architect noted for his modernist and constructivist designs in high-tech architecture. He was the founder at Rogers Stirk Harbour + ...

*2006

Shigeru Ban Biography
, The Hyatt Foundation, retrieved 26 March 2014 is a Japanese architect, known for his i ...

*2005 Martha Schwartz *2004 Mary Miss *2003

Michael Graves Michael Graves (July 9, 1934 – March 12, 2015) was an American architect, designer, and educator, and principal of Michael Graves and Associates and Michael Graves Design Group. He was a member of The New York Five and the Memphis Group and ...

*2002 Cynthia Weese *2001 Malcolm Holzman *2000

Pierre Koenig Pierre Francis Koenig (October 17, 1925 – April 4, 2004) was an American architect and a Professor of Architecture at the University of Southern California. He taught at the USC School of Architecture from 1964 until his death in 2004. H ...

*1999 William J. R. Curtis *1998 William Pedersen *1997

César Pelli César Pelli (October 12, 1926 – July 19, 2019) was an Argentine architect who designed some of the world's tallest buildings and other major urban landmarks. Three of his most notable buildings are the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, the Wo ...

*1996

Vincent Scully Vincent Joseph Scully Jr. (August 21, 1920 – November 30, 2017) was an American art historian who was a Sterling Professor of the History of Art in Architecture at Yale University, and the author of several books on the subject. Architect Phil ...

*1995

Peter Eisenman Peter David Eisenman (born August 11, 1932) is an American architect, writer, and professor. Considered one of the New York Five, Eisenman is known for his high modernist and deconstructive designs, as well as for his authorship of several archi ...

*1994 Harvey B. Gantt *1993 Harold L. Adams *1991

Denise Scott Brown Denise Scott Brown (née Lakofski; born October 3, 1931) is an American architect, planner, writer, educator, and principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates in Philadelphia. Early life and education Born to Jewish parents Simon a ...

*1990 Joseph Esherick *1989

Richard Meier Richard Meier (born October 12, 1934) is an American abstract artist and architect, whose geometric designs make prominent use of the color white. A winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1984, Meier has designed several iconic buildings ...

*1988

Kenneth Frampton Kenneth Brian Frampton (born 20 November 1930) is a British architect, critic and historian. He is regarded as one of the world's leading historians of modernist architecture and contemporary architecture. He is an Emeritus Professor of Archit ...

*1987

Lawrence Halprin Lawrence Halprin (July 1, 1916 – October 25, 2009) was an American landscape architect, designer, and teacher. Beginning his career in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, in 1949, Halprin often collaborated with a local circle of modernist ...

*1986

Walter Netsch Walter A. Netsch (February 23, 1920 – June 15, 2008) was an American architect based in Chicago. He was most closely associated with the brutalist style of architecture as well as with the firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. His signature aesth ...

*1985

Pietro Belluschi Pietro Belluschi (August 18, 1899 – February 14, 1994) was an Italian-American architect. A leading figure in modern architecture, he was responsible for the design of over 1,000 buildings.Belluschi, Pietro. (2007). In ''Encyclopædia Britanni ...

*1984 Fay Jones *1983

Ricardo Legorreta Ricardo Legorreta Vilchis (May 7, 1931 – December 30, 2011) was a Mexican architect. He was a prolific designer of private houses, public buildings and master plans in Mexico, the United States and some other countries. He was awarded the pres ...

*1982

Moshe Safdie Moshe Safdie (; born July 14, 1938) is an architect, urban planner, educator, theorist, and author. He is well known for incorporating principles of socially responsible design throughout his six-decade career. His projects include cultural, ed ...

*1981 & 1992 Charles Moore *1980 Alexander Girard *1979 Edmund Bacon *1978 William Caudill *1977

Harry Weese Harry Mohr Weese (June 30, 1915 – October 29, 1998) was an Americans, American architect who had an important role in 20th-century modernism and historic preservation. His brother, Ben Weese, was also a renowned architect. Early life and educat ...

*1976 Vincent Kling *1975

Hugh Stubbins Hugh Asher Stubbins Jr. (January 11, 1912 – July 5, 2006) was an architect who designed several high-profile buildings around the world. Biography Hugh Stubbins was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and attended the Georgia Institute of Technology ...

*1974

Ian McHarg Ian L. McHarg (20 November 1920 – 5 March 2001) was a Scottish landscape architect and writer on regional planning using natural systems. McHarg was one of the most influential persons in the environmental movement who brought environmental co ...

*1973

Arthur Erickson Arthur Charles Erickson (June 14, 1924 – May 20, 2009) was a Canadian architect and urban planning, urban planner. He studied at the University of British Columbia and, in 1950, received his B.Arch. (Honours) from McGill University. He is kn ...

*1972 O'Neil Ford *1971

Gunnar Birkerts Gunnar Birkerts (, January 17, 1925 – August 15, 2017) was a Latvian American architect who, for the most of his career, was based in the metropolitan area of Detroit, Michigan. Some of his notable designs include the Corning Museum of Gla ...

*1970 Norman Fletcher

Notable members

Notable and honorary members of Tau Sigma Delta include: * Howard R. Barr, architect *

Donald Barthelme Donald Barthelme Jr. (pronounced ''BAR-thəl-mee''; April 7, 1931 – July 23, 1989) was an American short story writer and novelist known for his playful, postmodernist style of short fiction. Barthelme also worked as a newspaper reporter for t ...

(''Epsilon''), architect * Fred Brinkman, architect * Rolv Enge, Norwegian resistance member and architect * Mark P. Finlay, architect * Herbert F. Maddalene, archirect *

Ivan Meštrović Ivan Meštrović (; 15 August 1883 – 16 January 1962) was a Croatian and Yugoslav sculptor, architect, and writer. He was the most prominent modern Croatian sculptor and a leading artistic personality in contemporary Zagreb. He studied at Pa ...

(''Delta, honorary''), sculptor and architect * Aaron Neubert, architect * Lyman S. Perry, member of the 1960 Olympic rowing teamr and rowing coach at the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

and

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

Eliel Saarinen Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1873 – July 1, 1950) was a Finnish and American Architecture, architect known for his work with Art Nouveau buildings in the early years of the 20th century. He was also the father of famed architect Ee ...

(''Alpha, honorary''), architect

References

External links

* {{authority control Association of College Honor Societies Honor societies Student organizations established in 1913 1913 establishments in Michigan American architecture awards