Joyce Owens, FAIA, RIBA, B.Arch ’84, has been elected 2027 president-elect of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), positioning her to serve as AIA national president in 2028. Her election marks a significant milestone for the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture and for the profession at large. Owens becomes only the second Notre Dame graduate to lead the AIA, following Bill Bates, FAIA, B.Arch ’75, who served as AIA national president in 2019.
“Joyce Owens’ election as AIA president-elect is a moment of great pride for the Notre Dame School of Architecture and a testament to the enduring value of an architectural education grounded in tradition, civic responsibility, and service to the common good,” said Stefanos Polyzoides, Francis and Kathleen Rooney Dean of the School of Architecture and Professor. “Throughout her distinguished career, Joyce has demonstrated how architects can bring beauty, resilience, and humanity to the places where people live and work. Her leadership will bring a powerful and timely voice to the national profession.”
Owens described the moment as both a personal milestone and an opportunity to speak to the broader role architects play in shaping communities.
“Being elected AIA president-elect by my peers is an extraordinary honor, one I accept with deep gratitude and clear intention,” Owens said. “I feel my campaign message resonated because it articulated what architects know but have struggled to communicate: architects shape how people live, love, and work in their communities. Through design, we solve complex problems, blending creativity and technical expertise to address climate, culture, safety, resilience, and quality of life. Architecture goes far beyond buildings; it influences how communities function, recover, and thrive."
Owens traced that conviction back to her time at Notre Dame. Her third year abroad in the School's Rome Program, she said, first showed her that architecture was about more than design.
“My education at Notre Dame, particularly the transformative Rome Program, planted the seed that architecture is not isolated design, but holistic problems to be solved,” she said. “Decades later, I feel the public clearly does not understand what architects do. As AIA president in 2028, my commitment is to empower architects to tell their story and help the public understand what we do, why our work matters, and how we shape more adaptive, equitable, and thriving communities.”
Owens is the founding principal of Architecture Joyce Owens | Studio AJO, a Florida-based architecture and interiors firm she established in 2007. Internationally recognized for award-winning, climate-sensitive design, her work has focused especially on resilient coastal and island homes, resorts, and commercial projects. Before founding her U.S. practice, Owens was co-founding partner of Azman Owens Architects in London, where her clients included Boris Johnson, Alexander McQueen, and the Victoria and Albert Museum.
“Joyce’s influential work in shaping the future of coastal architecture illustrates a way toward a more resilient future,” said School of Architecture Prof. Sean Nohelty, AIA, B.Arch ’97. “As AIA president in 2028, her voice on a national stage will help restore reason, beauty, and trust in architecture. Joyce is the embodiment of the Notre Dame mission to be a force for good in the world through architecture and design. Her vision, passion, and leadership are especially needed at this time.”
Her election to one of the highest leadership roles in the architectural profession reflects a career defined by design excellence, professional service, and a commitment to architecture’s public value. It also underscores the enduring impact of a Notre Dame architectural education, one that prepares graduates not only to design buildings, but to shape communities, strengthen the profession, and lead with purpose.
“Joyce and I are the same generation of alumni—a generation of architects whose careers have witnessed transformative technological shifts and challenging environmental and social issues,” said Ron Henderson, FASLA, B.Arch ’85. “Joyce’s work draws from the lessons of Notre Dame—where our education deeply grounded us in contextual awareness and cultural literacy through our third year in Rome and our fourth year centered in Chicago. Her career has taken her to coastal communities where her design and technical leadership demonstrates that these Notre Dame lessons of equity and responsibility to the human condition prepared us for success working with unique people and places.”
The School of Architecture congratulates Owens on this extraordinary achievement and celebrates her continued leadership in advancing the discipline of architecture nationally and internationally. Owens will join the School of Architecture for the Fall 2026 Lecture Series on Sept. 30 at 5:15 p.m., for more information visit the event page.