Michael Maltzan, Maurice Cox, and Merrill Elam elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters

Three architects and planners — Michael Maltzan, Maurice Cox, and Merrill Elam — have been announced as part of this year’s class of newly-elected members to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. They were joined by Oscar-winning actor Frances McDormand and Ukrainian author Andrey Kurkov in the nineteen-member group of inductees which will be honored in a special ceremony to be held on May 24th in New York City. (Kurkov, who is being inducted into Foreign Honorary membership, will also deliver a keynote address.) The 300-member Academy was founded there in 1898 and has included luminaries such as Mark Twain and Cass Gilbert and currently features 30 member architects including Billie Tsien, Steven Holl, Elizabeth Diller, Meejin Yoon, Walter Hood, and last year’s inductees Mabel O. Wilson, Deborah Berke, Michael Van Valkenburgh, and Thomas Phifer. Michael Maltzan of Michael Maltzan Architecture Michael Maltzan. Photo credit: Monica Nouwens.A contemporary mainstay in his adopted h...