A Curator Who Opened New Horizons for Architectural Exhibitions

The National Building Museum has selected Barry Bergdoll as the 2025 Vincent Scully Prize recipient. A professor of art history at Columbia University and former Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Bergdoll has been recognized for his achievement in bringing architecture from the academic realm to the general public.

Established in 1999, the Vincent Scully Prize honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to architecture, historic preservation, and urban design. Past recipients include Jane Jacobs, Denise Scott Brown and Robert Venturi, Theaster Gates, and Walter Hood. Bergdoll becomes the 27th honoree.

Experimental Curation at MoMA

Bergdoll's curatorial philosophy shone brightest during his tenure as MoMA's chief curator from 2007 to 2014. He sought to present architecture not as a mere display of beautiful buildings, but as a living system operating within social, political, and economic contexts.

His 2009 exhibition "Rising Currents: Projects for New York's Waterfront" addressed the redesign of New York's coastline in the age of climate change. The 2012 show "Foreclosed: Rehousing the American Dream" confronted housing issues following the financial crisis, while 2015's "Latin America in Construction: Architecture 1955-1980" challenged Western-centric narratives of architectural history.

These exhibitions posed the question to visitors: "What choices have shaped the city you live in?" They enabled the general public, not just architecture specialists, to understand how cities and architecture function and to consider their own role within these systems.

Bridging Scholarship and Public Engagement

Jury chair and critic Paul Goldberger praised Bergdoll: "He has been masterful at connecting rigorous academic research with public engagement. He has consistently presented architecture not as a closed field, but as something situated within broad social, political, economic, and cultural issues."

National Building Museum President and Executive Director Aileen Fuchs explained the selection: "Through his scholarship and exhibitions, architecture has reached wider audiences, its relevance to our daily lives has become visible, and we have been enabled to see the built environment with new eyes."

Bergdoll currently serves as the Meyer Schapiro Professor of Modern Art History at Columbia University, teaching architectural history from the 19th century to the present. His research demonstrates that architecture is not merely a matter of form, but a crystallization of the desires and conflicts of its era.

The award ceremony will take place on October 22, 2025, featuring a conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Philip Kennicott.