The American Institute of Architects North Carolina Chapter (AIANC) was pleased to present the F. Carter Williams Gold Medal Award to Turan Duda, FAIA. This is the highest honor presented by the Chapter to a member of AIA North Carolina.  It is awarded to an individual in recognition of a distinguished career or extraordinary accomplishments as an architect. The award is named in memory of Raleigh architect, F. Carter Williams, FAIA. 

Turan received his Bachelor of Architecture degree from North Carolina State University’s School of Design. He earned a Master of Architecture from the Yale School of Architecture, graduating with high honors as the recipient of the Winchester Traveling Fellowship in Europe.

His professional career began with eighteen years as Senior Associate working alongside Cesar Pelli, where he built an international portfolio consisting of corporate, institutional, and civic commission projects. Establishing Durham-based Duda|Paine Architects in 1997 with fellow Pelli colleague Jeff Paine, FAIA, Turan led the design of notable regional, national, and international projects that are reinventing academic campuses, cities, workplaces, and our understanding of design for the wellness of the inhabitants.

By compiling a single-studio international, multi-discipline design talent, Turan has created a design culture and process that transcends building typology. The firm’s portfolio includes signature headquarters projects such as the new NCR Global Headquarters in Atlanta, transformational student centers such as Talley Student Union at NC State University, and new models for advancing human wellness such as Duke University Student Wellness in Durham and the Center for Health & Wellbeing in Winter Park, Florida.

In recent years, Turan’s design leadership has left its mark on cities across North Carolina, bringing his international perspective to create new models of working, learning, research, and urban development. Turan was a visiting scholar at the American Academy in Rome, where he investigated the influence of fragmentation and layering on the experience of architecture in urban centers. He is also an accomplished artist and uses pencil and pastels to investigate form, color, and patterning in architecture.

“... I have witnessed how Turan’s approach to design aids my city in accommodating growth by building and reinforcing connections across its many disparate neighborhoods. He influenced this warehouse district, where his design for The Dillon established a transitional aesthetic bridge to the downtown’s main street, Fayetteville” said Mary Louise “Lou” Jurkowski, FAIA Emeritus and 2015 recipient of the F. Carter Williams Gold Medal.