George Ranalli, under whose tenure as dean the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture at The City College of New York has been transformed into a first-tier design school, will be awarded the Sidney L. Strauss Award from the New York Society of Architects.  Dean Ranalli, who has led the school since 1999, will be recognized for outstanding achievements within the architectural profession at the society’s annual awards dinner, November 18.

“I felt there was no better choice for this award at this time than George Ranalli,” said David J. Millner, first vice president of the New York Society of Architects. “Dean Ranalli has led the school to new heights through various competitions and also strives to give his students the best. The students are some of the most talented and hard working individuals in the field. There is no other school of architecture that has had more impact on the shape, look and operation of this city than the Spitzer School of Architecture.”

Under Dean Ranalli’s direction, the Spitzer School of Architecture is training its students to be socially conscious, well-rounded and highly skilled architects.  “I wanted to create a program that could offer its students the same training and necessary skills of any private university,” he said. “I want my students to feel confident in their capabilities and to know that they, too, can compete on any level.”

A native of the Bronx, Dean Ranalli received his Bachelor of Architecture degree from Pratt Institute and he holds a Master of Architecture from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

Off campus, Dean Ranalli has acquired professional recognition for the renovation of the New York City Housing Authority’s Saratoga Avenue Community Center in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn.  The project, for which he received the commission around the time he became dean, has been the subject of articles in “The Wall Street Journal” and “The New York Times” and a monograph by ORO editions.

“The Saratoga project was very important to me,” he said.  “I wanted to work with the New York City Housing Authority so that I may place more emphasis on the idea of public construction. The project was very engaging and I am very proud of my work.”

His other awards include the Renaissance Award from CCNY’s School of Architecture Alumni Association (2005), an Honorary Master of Arts degree from Yale University (1996) and the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects Projects Award, for the Stonington Historical Society Library/Archive (1997).

About the Strauss Award
The Sidney L. Strauss Award is given by the New York Society of Architects and friends of Sidney L. Strauss in recognition of outstanding achievement for the benefit of the architectural profession.  Past recipients include: New York master builder Robert Moses, architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable and Amanda M. Burden, chair of the New York City Planning.