Deborah Berke

Deborah Berke is the Edward P. Bass Dean and J.M. Hoppin Professor of Architecture at the Yale School of Architecture, making her the first woman to hold the position since 2016. As founder of the New York-based firm TenBerke, she has led significant projects including Princeton University Residential Colleges, the Richardson Olmsted Complex adaptive reuse, and 21c Museum Hotels across the U.S.

Her academic achievements include an MUP from The City College of New York and a BArch/BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design, where she later received an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts (2005). She serves on the Pritzker Architecture Prize jury and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Research & Practice: Berke’s work emphasizes sustainable architecture, adaptive reuse of historic structures, and community-focused urban design. Her firm’s projects, such as the Rockefeller Arts Center and Brown University Brook Street Residence Halls, blend functionality with poetic spatial composition. Her book Working Artifice: House Rules: An Architect’s Guide to Modern Life (2025) explores architecture’s role in everyday contexts.

Scientific Awards:

• AIA Gold Medal (2025)
• AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion for Architectural Education (2022)
• Cooper Hewitt National Design Award (2017)
• Berkeley-Rupp Prize (2012)
• Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from RISD (2005)

Advisory Roles & Recognition: Advisor to the Norman Foster Foundation, board member of the James Howell Foundation, and featured in Architectural Digest’s AD100 Hall of Fame. She has lectured globally on gender disparity and diversity in architecture.