An architecture firm with ties to Iowa State recently won a prestigious national architecture award.The firm of Herbert Lewis Kruse Blunck Architecture, won the 2001 American Institute of Architects Architecture Firm Award on Feb. 16 in Washington D.C. ISU faculty member Calvin Lewis, professor and chairman of architecture, is a member of the winning firm.”It would be comparable to a lifetime achievement award,” he said.The firm award, chosen by the AIA national board of directors, is given out annually, and only 40 awards have ever been distributed, said Gregory Palermo, associate professor of architecture.The firm needed 10 letters of recommendation to qualify for the award. Letter writers included Maya Lin, creator of the Vietnam Memorial, Mark Engelbrecht, dean of the College of Design, and Michael Gartner, chairman of the Iowa Cubs.”I escape, sometimes, to a quiet little spot in the midst of a campus for emotionally disturbed children — a spot where the firm designed a soaring greenhouse in memory of my 17-year-old son, who died in 1994,” Gartner wrote in his letter.Lewis said he sees this as much more than an award for only his firm.”It really is an award for the state of Iowa,” he said. “Ninety percent of what we’ve done has been in Iowa. This recognition is for that whole group.”Lewis said he hopes the firm’s award sets a precedent for other Midwest firms.”In a way, they see it as empowering to them,” he said. “If a firm from Des Moines, Iowa, can win it, then they can to. This really is an award for all the clients and institutions that were in this with us.”Suzanne Schwengels, executive director of the Iowa chapter of AIA, said the firm’s achievement has made winning the award more attainable for local firms.”It sort of cracked through an invisible barrier; maybe not a conscious one, but an unconscious one,” she said. Past recipients of the award have been near the coasts, which made winning an even greater achievement, Lewis said.”Most of our staff is from Iowa State,” he said, “which speaks well of the department and the state.”The firm, based out of Des Moines, consists of four partners — three of whom are ISU alumni, Lewis said. Lewis graduated from Iowa State with a bachelor’s degree in architecture in 1969, while Rod Kruse and Paul Monkins both graduated with a bachelor’s degree in architecture in 1974 and 1985, respectively. The firm was started in 1961 by Charles “Chic” Herbert, who graduated from Iowa State with a bachelor’s degree in architecture in 1951. It was an era when modern architecture was fairly new in Iowa, Lewis said.”It was a commitment at the time in Iowa to do modern architecture,” he said. “It wasn’t likely to be successful.”The firm is also responsible for many of the structures on campus, Lewis said, such as the Jacobson Athletic facility, the College of Design and Alumni Hall.”I’ve known Cal for the last 15 years,” Palermo said. “He’s exhibited a great passion for quality in the buildings he has built.”