45-Year Industry Veteran Celebrated for a Career of “Architecture for Change”
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Howard Graf of Graf & Lewent Architects – a studio of DIGroup Architecture (DIG) – has been honored with the President’s Award for Architectural Practice.
The inaugural honor, given by the Queens Foundation for Architecture and AIA Queens Chapter, was presented at Flushing Town Hall in Queens, N.Y. – a fitting location given Graf himself spearheaded the venue’s three-phase, $7 million restoration in the early 2000s.
Graf was selected for the honor due to his decades-long personal and professional commitment to Queens and Greater New York City communities.
A registered architect in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Virginia and Maryland, Graf has served as a past president of AIA- Queens, AIA-New York State and the Flushing Council on Culture & the Arts. Additionally, Graf serves as the chairperson of the executive board for the Queens Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the board of directors for the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation.
In 1989, he and Steve Lewent co-founded G&L, known for specializing in public sectors assignments including airport and university clients.
DIG, headquartered in New Brunswick, NJ and has an office in Philadelphia where the firm is currently completing the Paschalville Library renovation, acquired G&L in April. Graf, who earned his Master of Architecture and MBA from the University of Illinois, is a principal at DIG and is looking ahead to future projects.