Duvall Decker is deeply honored to be named the 2026 recipient of the American Institute of Architects Architecture Firm Award. We are profoundly grateful to the AIA for this recognition, and to the extraordinary people who make up our studio — those who continue, day after day, to practice architecture in a place of palpable need, guided by a belief in the public good. For us, the most important project for a design studio is the design of the practice itself, and we are grateful to undertake that work together.

In celebration of this achievement, we created a commemorative coin that weaves together the symbols, stories, and shared memories that have shaped the life of the firm.

A Symbol of Craft, Memory, & Place

Head

The head of the coin features Duvall Decker’s logo, the Natural Join, which is a symbol used in relational algebra to combine tuples into a relational dialogue. For Duvall Decker, the idea has always extended beyond mathematics. Form is neither the object nor the perception of the object, but the living field of transaction between and amongst us and things. These exchanges are valuable when they become critical, educational, equitable, healthy, or therapeutic – when they foster hope to speculate upon who we might become. We design, seeking to foster such valuable spaces of experience. This is the art of the work.

Tail

On the tail side, the border of the coin carries the design profile of the Springdale Municipal Complex concrete skin, recipient of the 2026 AIA Justice Facilities Review Award. This skin is designed to enliven the surface with the highlights, shadows, and color differences of natural light. Its inclusion reflects the firm’s ongoing commitment to meaningful civic architecture.

Our practice works in a place alive with contradictions — lush, green springs and hot, harsh summers, fertile soil and persistent inequity, beauty alongside profound need. Mississippi is a place where the ground itself carries stories of struggle and hope. Here, where things seem hardest, we work to foster some public good.

The Natural Join is intentionally used in an incomplete form — a quiet acknowledgment that the work is never finished.

The Natural Join floats above the branching pattern of an oak tree, inspired by the conference table designed for our studio and fabricated locally. It serves as a reminder that good work begins around the table, in conversation and collaboration.

Hidden among the branches are a crow and an armadillo, two creatures that have become good luck charms for the studio.

The crow’s story stretches back long before the founding of the firm. Growing up in New Jersey, Roy’s mother — a painter who rehabilitated injured wildlife — once cared for a crow that became part of the family. Over time, crows found their way into Roy’s own paintings and creative work, eventually becoming a recurring figure within the culture of the studio.

The armadillo entered the story years later, through coincidence and repetition. Anne Marie and Roy began encountering live armadillos just before receiving good news of commissions. Armadillos are commonly found as casualties along the roads of Mississippi, the result of an unlucky encounter with a passing car. Live armadillos were clearly the lucky ones! Over time, many members of the studio experienced the same encounter, and the armadillo transformed into a kind of talisman for the firm. On a good day in the studio, you will often hear someone say, “This is a live armadillo day.”

Together, the crow and the armadillo have become woven into the fabric of the practice — appearing quietly in construction drawings (labeled NIC), hidden details, and handcrafted objects throughout the studio.

On the tail side, the border of the coin carries the design profile of the Springdale Municipal Complex concrete skin, recipient of the 2026 AIA Justice Facilities Review Award. This skin is designed to enliven the surface with the highlights, shadows, and color differences of natural light. Its inclusion reflects the firm’s ongoing commitment to meaningful civic architecture.

Together, these symbols tell a story beyond projects or recognition. They speak of friendship, perseverance, humor, craft, shared rituals, long conversations, and a steadfast belief that conscientious work of any kind can serve the public good.