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March 19, 2026
The ICAA is a nonprofit educational organization committed to promoting and preserving the practice, understanding, and appreciation of traditional design.
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Now available to watch in full for the first time on classicist.org.
In Unlocking the Mysteries of Place, which has aired nationwide on PBS, architect Gil Schafer describes the ways he draws upon the power of memory to create extraordinary homes.
In this portrayal of a master at the height of his craft, he leads viewers from his firm’s renovated design studio in Manhattan, to a Hudson Valley home inspired by English estates, and to a summer house on the shores of Lake Champlain. Influenced by the elegance and charm of classical and vernacular American architecture, and considerate of the needs of contemporary living, Gil reflects on his design process and the particular qualities that define an unforgettable place.
Award-winning architect Gil Schafer is one of the nation’s leading practitioners of contemporary classical architecture. A fixture on Architectural Digest’s AD100 and a winner of Veranda’s “Art of Design Award,” Schafer and his firm’s work have been widely recognized around the country.
Unlocking the Mysteries of Place with Gil Schafer is the fourth installment in the critically acclaimed Design in Mind series, following Bunny Williams - Not a House but a Home (2021), On Location with James Ivory (2019), and Robert A.M. Stern: Always a Student (2018). Design in Mind is distributed by American Public Television (APT) and has appeared on PBS nationwide.
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This film was made possible by the estate of Christopher H. Browne and the Orville Gordon Browne Foundation.
Also made possible by Charles Bolton, Jamb Ltd., Vella Interiors, Inc., Albert Putnam Associates Engineers LLP, Little Harbor Window Co. Inc., Munder Skiles, Redd Kaihoi LLC, and Tirschwell & Co. Inc.
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The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art (ICAA) announces the winners of the 2026 Arthur Ross Awards for Excellence in the Classical Tradition. This year’s winners—an illustrious roster of architects, designers, artisans, stewards, and educators—are Voith & Mactavish Architects, Thierry Goux, Craig & Company, Hoerr Schaudt, The Frick Collection, and Alejandro García Hermida.
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Richard Economakis, a professor of architecture at the University of Notre Dame and a member of the ICAA's Board of Directors, continues his four-part video series A Survey of Classical Architecture. Following the first two entries in the series, which focus on the emergence of Western classical architecture in Ancient Greece and the continuation of those architectural expressions in Ancient Rome and the writings of Vitruvius, this third installment analyzes how the rediscovery of Vitruvius's works inspired a new period of architectural splendor known as the Italian Renaissance.
The session opens with an analysis of Alberti's De Re Aedificatoria (a.k.a. Ten Books on Building), starting with the organization of the treatise, his mural (as opposed to columnar) outlook, and treatment of the formal elements. The course continues with a discussion of Serlio's contributions, including his organization of the columnar types as a 'cast of characters', his description of architecture as dramatic play, and his approach to proportioning and articulating the classical elements. The lecture ends with descriptions of Vignola and Palladio's treatises, stressing their modular approach and refinements.
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In the Making spotlights the architects, designers, and artisans using historical precedent to address contemporary challenges. Each episode is a deep dive into a select project, revealing the unique history, environment, and human ingenuity that shaped the design process.
In the third episode, landscape architect Janice Parker walks the grounds of an estate on Long Island, and explains how she and her firm revitalized the gardens with new plantings and landscape designs while still honoring the site's historic character. Originally designed in 1913 by two women landscape architects, the property had retained numerous elements over the decades that imbued it with personality and depth: worn brickwork paths, an aquatic lily garden, and established trees including Kwanzan cherry and European beech. The re-design process, as Janice explains, presented a series of challenges that needed to be overcome, such as weighing the options of preserving historical details versus re-creating them with new materials.
The newly restored landscape draws from historical precedent and contemporary design in equal measure: a spectacular series of garden rooms featuring abundant rose blooms, sculptural hornbeams, water features that delight the ear and eye, and moments of bright color and moody shadow.
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The Architecture of Place: In Conversation with... is a series of interviews between design practitioners, scholars, and educators. The latest iteration of the series, from December 2025, features conversations with three designers and place-makers from different backgrounds and points of view: Manvendra Singh Shekhawat, Felicity Cain, and Soraya Hosni.
In this installment of the winter 2025-2026 Architecture of Place series, Manvendra Singh Shekhawat interviews Felicity Cain.
Felicity Cain is an architect and urban specialist whose work explores the intersection of cultural heritage, reconstruction, and the right to place. She currently serves as Deputy Country Director for UN-Habitat in Syria, leading programs for the urban and housing sector recovery of historic cities across Syria.
Before her work in Syria, Felicity spent seven years in Afghanistan, where she lead heritage rehabilitation and artisan-led regeneration projects in Kabul’s Old City and the Bamiyan Valley with Turquoise Mountain. She has also previously worked with the UN, NGOs and private sector across Asia and the Middle East. Her interest lies in the importance of cultural heritage in guiding recovery efforts in post-conflict and crisis-affected contexts.
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Presented as part of The Richard H. Driehaus Curricula for the Built Environment at the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art. The ICAA is very grateful to The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation for its generous support of this program.
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JULY 25 - AUGUST 1
64 credits towards the Certificate in Classical Architecture | Submitted for AIA CES Approval
The ICAA is pleased to announce that registration is now open for the 2026 Intensive in Classical Architecture: Newport, hosted by the ICAA New England Chapter, in collaboration with the ICAA National Office.
The ICAA's Intensive program in Classical Architecture is an eight-day course of study that introduces participants to the ICAA’s core curriculum through coursework in the classical orders, composition, proportion, drafting, observational drawing, and the literature of classical architecture. Participants learn how to draw, render, and compose with the classical language to form an understanding of the basic theoretical tenets on which the classical tradition is founded. Instruction is provided by professionals and educators active in the field of classical design.
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If your membership is due for renewal, or if you would like to join and support the ICAA, you can do so on our website.
By renewing today, you will remain connected to the ICAA’s diverse programming, publications, and community, while also supporting our educational programs and courses, lectures, workshops, scholarships, and more.
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