Peter Exley (born August 2, 1964 in

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...

, England) is the co-founder of Architecture Is Fun, a Chicago-based architecture and design firm. Exley’s projects include the DuPage Children’s Museum, the House in the Woods, a 21,000-square-foot (1,950m2)

Ronald McDonald House Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) is an independent American nonprofit organization whose stated mission is to create, find, and support programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children. RMHC has a global network of c ...

Oak Lawn, Illinois Oak Lawn is a Village (Illinois), village in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 58,362 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Oak Lawn is a suburb of Chicago, located southwest of the city. It ...

, the Exploration Station

children's museum Children's museums are institutions that provide exhibits and programs to stimulate informal learning experiences for children. In contrast with traditional museums that typically have a hands-off policy regarding exhibits, children's museums feat ...

and the Young at Art Museum's exhibits and galleries in

Davie, Florida Davie is a town in Broward County, Florida, United States, approximately north of Miami. The town's population was 110,320 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Davie is a principal town of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to ...

Biography

Exley earned a Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies with

first-class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

from

Newcastle University School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Newcastle University School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape is based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Housed in a Grade 2 listed building in the university quadrangle (built in 1913 to a design by WH Knowles and adjacent to the School of ...

in 1985, and a

Master of Architecture The “Master of Architecture”(M.Arch or MArch) or a “Bachelor of Architecture” is a professional degree in architecture, qualifying the graduate to move through the various stages of professional accreditation (internship, exams) that res ...

from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in 1990. Prior to founding his own firm in 1994, he worked for

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is an American architectural, urban planning and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel A. Owings, Nathaniel Owings in Chicago, Illinois. In 1939, they were joined by engineer Jo ...

in Chicago and London and with

Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates Robert Charles Venturi Jr. (June 25, 1925 – September 18, 2018) was an American architect, founding principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, and one of the major architectural figures of the twentieth century. Together with ...

in Philadelphia. Architecture Is Fun's work has been exhibited at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

, the

Chicago Architecture Foundation The Chicago Architecture Center (CAC), formerly the Chicago Architecture Foundation, is a nonprofit cultural organization based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, whose mission is to inspire people to discover why design matters. Founded in 19 ...

and the ICA in Philadelphia. In 2012, Exley was named President of the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

Chicago for the year 2013. In 2016 Exley was elected an At-large Director for AIA National at the 2016 AIA Convention in Philadelphia. At the AIA Conference on Architecture 2019, Exley was elected 2021 AIA President.

Awards

In 1996 Exley was the recipient of the AIA Chicago Young Architect Award and in 2003 received the AIA Illinois Excellence in Education Award. In 2012, with his partner and wife, Sharon Exley, he was awarded the Benjamin Moore HUE Award for exceptional use of color in commercial architecture. In 2017 Exley was awarded the AIA Chicago and the AIA Chicago Foundation's Professional Excellence & Distinguished Service Award.

Published work

* Exley, Peter & Exley, Sharon (contrib.), Vieyra, Daniel (contrib.)(2007) ''Design For Kids.'' Mulgrave: Images Publishing. * Rojals, Marta & Broto, Carles (2006), ''Great Kids' Spaces.'' Barcelona: Links Books (pp. 42–47, 190-197, 226-227, 238-241, 250-255). * Fang, Abby, (2012), ''Eden For Boys & Girls.'' Hong Kong: Designer Books (pp. 42–51, 62-99). * Kyungil, Lee, (2012), ''International Magazine of Space Design. bob: 099.'' Seoul: A&C Publishing Co. Ltd. (pp. 142–147). ISBN/ISSN 1739-2845.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Exley, Peter 1964 births 21st-century English architects Alumni of Newcastle University Architects from Illinois Architects from Yorkshire Artists from Chicago Living people Fellows of the American Institute of Architects People from Knaresborough People from Harrogate University of Pennsylvania School of Design alumni