The National Building Museum has announced that renowned architectural historian and curator Barry Bergdoll will receive the 2025 Vincent Scully Prize. The award, carrying a $55,000 prize, recognizes Bergdoll’s extensive contributions to architectural history, education, and curatorial practice. The ceremony will take place on October 22, 2025, at the museum’s Washington, D.C., home.
About Barry Bergdoll
Bergdoll serves as the Meyer Schapiro Professor of Art History at Columbia University and was the Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design at MoMA from 2007 to 2013. His publications include works on Léon Vaudoyer, Karl Friedrich Schinkel, and Mies van der Rohe, as well as the seminal survey European Architecture 1750–1890. He is also a member of the jury for the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize.
Bergdoll holds a B.A. from Columbia University (1977), an M.A. from the University of Cambridge (1979), and a Ph.D. from Columbia (1986).
Insights on Architectural Education
In a conversation with RECORD, Bergdoll reflected on contemporary challenges in architectural education:
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He expressed concern over the fragmentation of architectural knowledge, noting that emphasis on contextual issues like climate change can sometimes overshadow the study of form and creativity.
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Bergdoll advocates for maintaining a shared architectural canon, citing Thomas Jefferson’s University of Virginia plan as an example where historical context—such as the role of enslaved labor—can enrich discussions.
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On the topic of architects as “individual geniuses,” he emphasized teamwork as the modern reality, while still acknowledging the public fascination with singular figures.
Curatorial Philosophy and Exhibitions
As MoMA’s architecture curator, Bergdoll explored history, contemporary design, and environmental and social issues, using exhibitions as platforms for public engagement. His 2010 show, Rising Currents: Projects for New York’s Waterfront, addressed sea-level rise through the work of architects in residence at MoMA PS1.
He also highlighted the limitations of MoMA’s current gallery space for architecture and design, lamenting the absence of dedicated architecture galleries since the 2019 renovation.
Bergdoll is preparing an upcoming exhibition at the Bard Graduate Center on the drawings of Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc, opening January 28, 2026. The show, Viollet-le-Duc: Drawing Worlds, will feature both presentation and working drawings, emphasizing the architect’s dual role as practitioner and educator.
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