Carol Ross Barney, FAIA, has made significant contributions to the built environment. As an architect, urbanist, mentor, and educator, she has relentlessly advocated that excellent design is a right, not a privilege.

Barney’s projects vary in type and scale, but uphold a deep commitment to the role architecture plays in life quality. This has manifest itself in spaces that transition urban dwellers from point A to point B and enrich the metropolitan experience; to buildings that are environmental stewards, showcasing sustainability in an overtly compelling way; to spaces that inspire young children and the brightest minds of tomorrow to learn, invent, and break boundaries.

Barney is a graduate of the University of Illinois. Following graduation, she served as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Costa Rica planning national parks. She teaches an advanced Design Studio at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and serves on their College Board of Overseers.

Barney’s work has been honoured with over 100 major design awards, including six national American Institute of Architects Institute Honor Awards, over 40 AIA Chicago Awards, two AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) Top Ten Project Awards, and the AIA Chicago Lifetime Achievement Award, the AIA Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture and the AIA Illinois Gold Medal.  She was named as a ‘Gamechanger’ by Metropolis magazine in 2018.  Projects include: Chicago Riverwalk, McDonald’s Chicago Flagship, Oklahoma City Federal Building, and CTA Stations.