KSK Architects Planners Historians, Inc.
announces
James N. Kise, AIA, AICP, PP elected to AIA Fellow!

Please join KSK in recognizing Jim's achievements and congratulating him for this honor. Click here for the full announcement.

KSK's Consulting Principal, James Nelson Kise, has been elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 2010, in the category of "Service to Society." The award recognizes Jim's career as a passionate advocate of architecture, design, and the visual and performing arts, and his leadership at the local, state, and national levels. Jim's career includes leadership roles at several important organizations and institutions in the Philadelphia region and nationally, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Urban America's Urban Design Center, and the University of Pennsylvania, to name just a few. His extensive knowledge, vision, and leadership in KSK's practice areas of planning, architecture, and historic preservation have resulted in enhanced arts education and programming, and improvements to the overall quality of planning and architectural design throughout the region.

His work in education and advocacy for good design in urban spaces has influenced the work of many student and professional planners and architects. At the University of Pennsylvania, Jim's alma mater, he has taught award-winning studios, launched the Penn Design Alumni Association, and served as an Overseer of Penn's School of Design. Jim was also the first director of Urban America's Urban Design Center, advocating for good design around the country, including participation in the Urban Design Committee of the AIA, and drafting the first statement on urban design for the American Planning Association.

In the visual arts, Jim's participation on various committees and boards of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial has coincided with major new initiatives. At the PMA, Jim is a trustee of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, chairs its Building Committee, is a member of the Executive Committee, was a past chair of the Nominating Committee, served on the special committee charged with creating the new Calder Museum, and has just stepped down as chair of the European Decorative Arts Committee. He has been instrumental in the strategic expansion of the museum's collections, and has been a leader in planning for the care, use, and expansion of facilities at the PMA's landmark building and grounds. Jim has been affiliated with the Fleisher since 1970, including 12 years as the board President. Under his guidance, the institution progressed from being dependent on the PMA to being linked but independent. Classes, programs, buildings, and exhibitions were added during his tenure, along with renovations and an expanded endowment. He is now an Honorary Trustee and active on the Finance Committee.

In the performing arts, Jim was a founder and first president of the Washington, D.C. Community School of Music, and served on Philadelphia's Settlement Music School board. Over decades, he directed KSK's work in generating and locating the Kimmel Center for the Performing arts - the new home of the Philadelphia Orchestra - and the mile-long streetscape design of South Broad Street, now known as the Avenue of the Arts. The Avenue has been named one of America's great streets by the American Planning Association. Jim now serves on the board of the Avenue of the Arts, Inc., where he has been co-chair of its Vision and Legacy Committee.

The following links provide an overview of Jim Kise's leadership and design acumen as illustrated in several of KSK's signature projects, as well as his work with other organizations.

  Click here to view AIA announcement
  Click here to view samples of work