Thomas Vonier

Thomas Vonier (FAIA, RIBA) is a Paris-based architect and the founding president of AIA Continental Europe (1994-1995).He was the first president of the AIA International Region and chairman of the jury for Honorary Fellows of the American Institute of Architects. In 2010, he was named AIA 2010-2012 board of directors, as the AIA's international director. He became president of the AIA in 2017.
Based in Paris and Washington D.C., Tom’s practice serves public and private clients with global industrial operations. He also works with municipalities to improve urban security. As a board certified security professional, Tom led groundbreaking research for US embassies and consulates, resulting in landmark recommendations to the Secretary of State and a new generation of design criteria. He was international advisor to the Federal Triangle planning project, which received a Presidential Design Award.
With a group of young architects in Washington D.C., Vonier pioneered work in energy conscious design and the use of solar and wind energy. He was part of the team that received a P/A Design Award for the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine. He received the Henry Adams Award for his research on public museums, completed under a fellowship from the National Science Foundation.
An award-winning author on both architecture and security, Tom was the European correspondent for Progressive Architecture magazine, where his work was nominated for the Jesse Neal Award. An avid cyclist, he followed the Tour de France and wrote about the experience for The Washington Post.
Founder of the European Chapter of the AIA, Tom was also liaison delegate to the Architects’ Council of Europe in Brussels. He was elected to serve as Secretary General of the International Union of Architects (UIA)in Paris, and leads in its roles with UNESCO, the WTO and various world heritage and climate organizations. He has lectured widely on architecture, and served as a research affiliate with the Laboratory of Architecture and Planning at MIT.

Vonier attended Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, earning a Master of Architecture.

• Henry Adams Award for Excellence in Architecture
• Progressive Architecture, Merit Award for Design (with Edward Larrabee Barnes)
• AIA Fellow

• AIA elevates 62 members to fellow Architectural Record