Pentagram's Michael Bierut to receive the 2026 Architectural League President's Medal

The Architectural League of New York has named design pioneer Michael Bierut as the recipient of its 2026 President’s Medal. 

The organization’s highest honor recognizes figures whose work has shaped the built and cultural environment. He joins past honorees, including Walter Hood, the Aga Khan, Christina Figueres, Renzo Piano, Richard Serra, and Henry Cobb.

A longtime partner at international design partnership Pentagram, Bierut has spent more than four decades shaping how architecture is experienced through graphics — from NYC parking signage to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s OMNY identity and the crowning inscription at the Obama Presidential Center. 

"I learned early on that to understand a city, you had to understand its architecture," Bierut noted. "And by making architecture understandable, you could make urban life better for everyone."

Beyond conventional practice, Bierut co-founded Design Observer and has taught at Yale School of Art, helping shape design discourse for decades. 

The medal will officially be presented on May 18.