CHICAGO – Landmarks Illinois is accepting nominations now through June 1 for the 2021 Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Awards. The annual awards program honors individuals, organizations, projects and programs in Illinois whose work demonstrates a commitment to excellence in preservation and protects the historic places that matter to people and their communities.
All nominations will be considered for awards Landmarks Illinois gives out each year through the Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Award program. Award recipients will be honored this fall at a public ceremony and also receive a cash prize and custom-designed trophy.
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To honor the memory and creative spirit of Richard H. Driehaus, Landmarks Illinois’ longtime partner in preservation, one of the 2021 selected winners will receive the Richard H. Driehaus Legacy Award, which will be presented to a forward-thinking individual or an exemplary project that represents innovation in preservation. The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation has generously underwritten Landmarks Illinois’ annual preservation awards program since 1994.
Awards will be selected from the following general categories:
- Advocacy: An effective local or statewide campaign to preserve and protect a historic resource.
- Leadership: Individual, municipality, private organization or joint partnership that has championed historic preservation, planning or public policy.
- Preservation: Projects that make possible the continued use of a historic commercial/industrial buildings, multi-family/affordable housing residences, public/institutional structures or preserves a cultural heritage site.
- Environmental Sustainability: Mitigation of climate change through preservation technologies
Additional details on each category can be found at the Landmarks Illinois website.
Nomination process & guidelines
Nominations for the 2021 preservation awards are due June 1, 2021. Nominations can be submitted online using Landmarks Illinois’ nomination form found here.
Nominated projects must be located in Illinois and have been completed within the last five years. Phased projects may be considered if the nominated phase is complete and can stand on its own merits. Nominations may be submitted in someone’s honor and/or without the knowledge of the nominee. Self-nominations are also accepted. Previous year submissions not selected for awards may be revised and resubmitted for consideration, as well. There is no fee to submit a nomination. Full nomination guidelines can be downloaded here.
Judging process & criteria
A jury of preservation professionals will review all nominations to determine the recipients of the 2021 Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Preservation Awards. The nominees and projects that most closely emulate Landmarks Illinois’ values and our priorities to support inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility (IDEA) in preservation will receive the greatest consideration. Nominations are also judged on the following:
- Impact a project or person has had on an Illinois community
- Quality and degree of difficulty of the project
- Degree to which the project serves as an example of excellence in historic preservation and influences others
- Degree to which the project aligns with Landmarks Illinois' mission: “People Saving Places for People”
- Innovative solutions to preservation including, but not exclusive to: Creative partnerships or community engagement efforts, original programming, job creation or economic development, innovative adaptive reuse, best practices in sustainability or technologies that mitigate climate change, cultural sustainability or heritage conservation, and /or creative financing or funding sources
Learn more about the awards program and former award winners at our website.
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