Ross Barney Architects is an

architectural firm In the United States, an architectural firm or architecture firm is a business that employs one or more licensed architects and practices the profession of architecture; while in South Africa, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark and other countri ...

founded in 1981 by Carol Ross Barney in Chicago, Illinois.

History

Organized in February 1981 as Carol Ross Barney Architects, the firm served clients with cultural and social agendas but not necessarily high profile, big budgets. These clients were similar to those founder Carol Ross Barney had worked with at

Holabird and Root The architectural firm now known as Holabird & Root was founded in Chicago in 1880. Over the years, the firm has changed its name several times and adapted to the architectural style then current — from Chicago School to Art Deco to Modern ...

. In 1982, Jim Jankowski,

FAIA Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) is a postnominal title or membership, designating an individual who has been named a fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Fellowship is bestowed by the institute on AIA-member ...

, a college classmate of Carol's, joined the fledgling practice and the name changed to Ross Barney + Jankowski from 1984-2006. The Cesar Chavez Multicultural Academic Center, completed in 1989, and Little Village Academy, completed in 1996, are early works of community conscious design. Today both schools have remained neighborhood sanctuaries virtually devoid of gang sponsored graffiti. In 1997, the firm was chosen to design the Oklahoma City Federal Building. Following the attack on the

Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was a United States federal government complex located at 200 N.W. 5th Street in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. On April 19, 1995, at 9:02 a.m. the building was the target of the Oklahoma City bombing ...

in 1995, the

General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gover ...

was tasked with developing standards for the protection of government buildings. The new building was both the philosophical and practical response to the tragedy. In 2005, Carol Ross Barney was awarded the Thomas Jefferson Award from 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 ...

for her distinguished portfolio of public work. In 2008, the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation Synagogue in Evanston, Illinois, was the first house of worship to receive the highest

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

certification achievable by a building. Throughout the studio's history, a focus on transportation infrastructure has evolved, allowing them to look for sustainable solutions at an urban scale. The Morgan Street Station for the

Chicago Transit Authority The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its surrounding suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago 'L' and CTA bus service. In , the system had a ridership of , o ...

(CTA) is the first new inter system station constructed in more than thirty years. This acute understanding has led to designs for the Cermak McCormick Place CTA station and the multi-phase expansion of the

Chicago Riverwalk The Chicago Riverwalk is a multi-use public space located on the south bank of the main branch of the Chicago River in Chicago, extending from Lake Michigan and Lake Shore Drive westward to Lake Street. The Chicago Riverwalk contains restaurant ...

Selected projects

, In Progress,

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

South Campus Chiller Plant, Completed 2013,

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

CTA Morgan Street, Completed 2012,

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

University of Minnesota Duluth The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) is a public university in Duluth, Minnesota. It is part of the University of Minnesota system and offers 16 bachelor's degrees in 88 majors, graduate programs in 25 different fields, and a two-year progr ...

, James I Swenson Civil Engineering Building, Completed 2010,

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

* Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, Completed 2008,

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

* Oklahoma City Federal Building, Completed 2005,

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

Selected awards

World Architecture Festival The World Architecture Festival (WAF) is an annual festival and awards ceremony, one of the most prestigious events dedicated to the architecture and development industry. The first four events were held in Barcelona, from 2008 to 2011, at which p ...

, Category Commendation, Transport, CTA Morgan Street Station, 2013 * AIA/COTE Top Ten Green Projects, UMD James I Swenson Civil Engineering Building, 2013 *

, Category Commendation, Community, Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, 2009 *

, Design Award, Oklahoma City Federal Building, 2006 *

, Honor Award for Architecture, Little Village Academy, 2002 *

, Honor Award for Interior Architecture, Little Village Academy, 1999 *

, Honor Award for Architecture, Cesar Chavez Multicultural Center, 1994 *

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

, Federal Design Achievement Award, 1992 *

, Honor Award for Architecture, Glendale Heights Post Office, 1991

Exhibitions

* Jewish Museum

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, ''Reinventing Ritual: Contemporary Art and Design for Jewish Life'', 2009 * ''Thresholds Along the Frontier: Contemporary U.S. Border Stations'', 2006 *

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 ...

, ''5 Architects'', 2005 *

National Building Museum The National Building Museum is located at 401 F Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is a museum of "architecture, design, engineering, construction, and urban planning". It was created by an act of Congress in 1980, and is a private Non-profit org ...

, ''Future Design Now! The 2000 General Services Administration Design Awards'', 2001 *

Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Chicago is a contemporary art art gallery, museum near Water Tower Place in downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States. The museum, which was established in 1967, is one ...

, ''Material Evidence'', 2000 * Ispace, Gallery of the School of Fine and Applied Arts,

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

, ''People + Places: The Work of Carol Ross Barney'', 1999 * Art Institute of Chicago, ''Permanent Collection''

Footnotes

{{Reflist Architecture firms based in Chicago Design companies established in 1981 1981 establishments in Illinois