SACRAMENTO -- The American Institute of Architects, California Council, (AIACC) announces Rob Wellington Quigley, FAIA, as recipient of the 2005 Maybeck Award. The Maybeck Award honors individual California architects for outstanding achievement in producing consistent, distinguished building design.

Quigley, a native Californian, served as a Peace Corps architect in Chile after his graduation from the University of Utah in 1969. He founded his own firm in San Diego in 1978 and opened a branch office in the Bay Area in 1994.

Starting with small, single family residences in the 1970s, Quigley's pioneering work in passive solar design attracted worldwide media attention. As a design architect concerned about energy conservation, he has lectured locally, nationally, and internationally. In 1981, his Shukugawa Energy Demonstration House was built in Japan as summation of American efforts in this field. Current sustainable efforts include the Leslie Shao-Ming Sun Field Station at Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve for Stanford University, which recently won the AIA Committee on the Environments Top Ten Green Projects for 2005, the Sustainable San Mateo County Green Building Award, and the West Valley Branch Library, San Jose's first LEED-certified civic building.

Quigley's work has focused on a pressing social issue -- housing the working poor.

He has worked with private developers and city officials to modify codes and rewrite ordinances to make privately financed, low-income housing possible. He is particularly concerned about the erosion of public confidence in the design process. Quigley also focuses on the unique possibilities of his particular region. He was named a fellow to the American Institute of Architects in 1991 and received the AIACC Firm Award in 1995. He was appointed adjunct professor at the University of California, Berkeley and at the University of California, San Diego. In addition, he is a visiting design professor at Harvard University, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Pennsylvania and several others.

The awards jury stated, "Quigley has done an amazing amount of work in general and is very intense about his work. His house is wonderful! His projects are serious and his level of commitment is admirable. His work adds to urban awareness and he has a great social consciousness. He celebrates urban living and design and creates buildings in a cooperative way."

The AIACC congratulates Rob Quigley for a body of work that demonstrates integrity of ideas and a consistent high level of design quality.

The AIACC represents the interests of 10,000 architects and allied professionals in California. Founded in 1944, AIACC's mission supports architects in their endeavor to improve the quality of life for all Californians by creating more livable communities, sustainable designs and quality work environments. Today the AIACC is the largest component of the national AIA organization. For more information, visit www.aiacc.org.