Richard H. Driehaus

Of particular significance are the initiatives developed with his support in recent years in the Iberian Peninsula. He loved Spanish and Portuguese heritage and thanks to his generosity all those who practise architecture, urbanism and the crafts and trades of the Peninsula’s various regions have been able to hope again that their knowledge and expertise may be enjoyed also by future generations.

Thus in 2012, with the University of Notre Dame, he established the Rafael Manzano Award for New Traditional Architecture. Endowed with €50,000, it is intended for architecture practitioners working in Spain and Portugal and is granted in recognition of the contribution made by the awardee to the field of architecture and urbanism within a respect for traditional principles, either in the restoration of monuments, public spaces and urban environments of artistic and historical value or in the building of new structures or public spaces which, based on local tradition, are harmoniously integrated into those environments.

Since then the Richard H. Driehaus Charitable Lead Trust has supported INTBAU (the International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture Urbanism) in the organisation of a series of initiatives aimed at promoting traditional architecture and urbanism, building trades and the preservation of Iberian heritage.

These include the Richard H. Driehaus Architecture Competition, unlike so many others, promotes the practice of an architecture and urbanism that preserves and gives continuity to local traditions as well as helping to generate urban structures that are more beautiful and better integrated with our architectural heritage. It also promotes the use of coherent building systems and sustainable materials, allowing quality employment to be created for local master artisans. This initiative is organised in two phases, allowing the involvement of the municipalities of the sites where the projects are carried out. In the first phase, Spanish municipalities are invited to submit proposed subjects and sites. An international jury then selects the three that best meet the competition’s aims and purposes and whose realisation is considered most feasible. The second phase consists of an international architectural design competition launched for each of the three previously selected subjects and sites. The international jury then meets again to select the winning architecture and urban design proposals.

In parallel to the competition, the Richard H. Driehaus Building Arts Awards have been bestowed since 2017 to honour and publicise outstanding masters of the building arts. Accordingly the applicant projects are divided into four categories, each rewarded with a €10,000 prize and a commemorative plaque. Moreover, in order to give continuity to the work of such master artisans, one of the four award-winners each year receives the Donald Gray Building Arts Grant. This involves support of €14,000 for the selected master craftsperson for training an apprentice over a whole year. These apprentices in turn receive support of €12,000.

The National Network of Traditional Master Builders was set up in 2016 as a national directory of the leading masters of building trades active today. A large number of these craftspeople are listed in it along with some of their most notable work, the techniques they use and their contact details. The Network of Masters makes these trades accessible to society at large, helping them to be better known and appreciated. Moreover, with the visibility given to the masters included, demand for their work is encouraged, along with transmission of their expertise. So far, more than 2,000 practitioners have been identified and studied, and after an evaluation of their work, more than 450 have been selected.

In 2019, The Richard H. Driehaus Heritage Preservation Medal was created. It is a companion award to the Manzano Prize for New Traditional Architecture which recognizes entrepreneurs, developers, heads of foundations or other institutions that are making significant contributions to preserve and build upon heritage and architectural traditions in Spain and Portugal.

This constant activity over the past decade has included many other cultural projects: congresses, exhibitions, publications and other initiatives that have brought the national and international public closer to the often overlooked qualities of the magnificent urban and cultural heritage of Spain and Portugal.

He also worked with many Spanish institutions on various projects. These notably include the Ministerio de Transportes, Movilidad y Agenda Urbana, the Ministerio de Cultura y Deporte, the Instituto del Patrimonio Cultural de España, Infraestructuras de Portugal, the Gobierno de Navarra, the Gobierno de Cantabria, the Governo dos Açores, the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de Santa Isabel de Hungría, the Real Academia Sevillana de Buenas Letras, the Fundación Medinaceli, the Prince’s Foundation, the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Hispania Nostra, the Universidad de Alcalá, the Universidad Alfonso X el Sabio, the Universidad de Cantabria, the Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, the Universidad de Navarra, the Universidad del País Vasco, the Universidad de Sevilla, the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, the Centro de Investigación de Arquitectura Tradicional, the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, the Escola Superior Gallaecia, the ISCTE (Instituto Universitário de Lisboa), the Universidade de Évora, CHAM Açores, the University of Notre Dame, the University of Miami, the Benedictine College, the Judson University, the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomás de Manila and the Consejo Superior de Colegios de Arquitectos de España, among many others.