ROBERT IVY, FAIA
A Life
In Design
An acknowledged leader in defining architectural excellence, in mass communications, and in creating organizations with integrity.
The story of
robert ivy
Robert A. Ivy, FAIA, has served as an accomplished leader in two of the most influential positions in architecture, each for over a decade—as Chief Executive Officer of the American Institute of Architects and as Editor-in-Chief of Architectural Record, one of the most-widely known professional publications in the world. In both roles, he tackled the critical issues of our time and left the organizations changed for the better and poised for a new generation of growth.
As CEO of the AIA from 2011 to 2022, Ivy spurred the association’s growth for the 21st century. His efforts included transforming AIA’s governance, launching a foundation for minority scholarships, and focusing on core values, such as climate action and social justice, while prioritizing research and education, all during difficult periods in American life.
He has served as a frequent keynote speaker, panelist, moderator, and media spokesperson for events coast to coast and around the world, from the White House and the Monterey Design Conference to gatherings in Europe and Asia. He has been interviewed by the Atlantic, the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Bloomberg News, the San Francisco Chronicle, and as well as numerous television sources.
From 1996-2010, Ivy served as longtime Editor-in-Chief of McGraw-Hill’s Architectural Record, a venerable New York-based publication. With his guidance, Record became the most widely disseminated architectural journal worldwide, a leader in addressing the critical questions of the time. Ivy led Architectural Record through significant moments in history, including the rise in digital technology, explosive growth of China, and the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. Architectural Record’s recovery efforts after Hurricane Katrina led to a partnership with Tulane University and the competition “High Density for the High Ground.” The publication developed editorial policies that drove significant discussion on technology, practice, and sustainability, as well as community-based design.
As Vice-President and Editorial Director for McGraw-Hill’s design and construction division, Ivy launched new publications (such as Architectural Record: China), oversaw numerous print and web properties in the design and construction portfolio, including Engineering News Record, and sat on the senior leadership of the construction group, which included Dodge Database.
During his tenure, Ivy and Architectural Record garnered numerous awards, including the National Magazine Award for General Excellence, an unusual accomplishment for a professional publication, and more than 30 Jesse Neal awards for business journalism.
In 2009, Ivy received the G.D. Crain award for his lifetime contributions to business media. The following year, he joined I.M. Pei, FAIA, as one of the two recipients of the title “Master Architect” by Alpha Rho Chi, a professional educational fraternity founded in 1914. He is the only architect thus honored in the 21st century.
A prolific writer, Ivy is the author of Fay Jones: Architect, a book honored with the George Wittenborn Award for the “highest standards of scholarship, design, and production.” It will be reissued in its third printing by the University of Arkansas press in 2025.
He served three times as the U.S. Commissioner at the Venice Architectural Biennale. He has received two lifetime achievement awards in recent years: the Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award from the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters (2020), the organization’s first architect recipient, joining a small group of distinguished Mississippians; and the Mortimer Marshall Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Institute of Building Science for advancing architecture and the building sciences.
In 2025, he was chosen as the first recipient of the first Distinguished Alumni award, given by the newly renamed Tulane School of Architecture and the Built Environment.
Ivy earned an M. Arch. Degree from Tulane University, and a BA (cum laude) in English from Sewanee: The University of the South (TN).
Prior to his career in New York and Washington, Ivy practiced architecture in Columbus, MS, his hometown, where he lived with his wife and their three children. A dedicated preservationist, he still maintains an historic home there. Both he and his wife Holly have been cited by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History for their contributions to historic preservation in Mississippi.
