The Maine Prize for Architecture is a biennial award that acknowledges an architect,an individual, or an organization that has added significantly to the legacy of Maine building and to the Maine community in the belief that architecture plays a meaningful part in our lives. The recipient of the award receives the Maine Prize Medallion and an honorarium of $10,000.

The 2010 Jury for the Maine Prize for Architecture
Mary Owen Babikian
Leila Bisharat
Suhail Bisharat
Gavin L. Engler
Edward Leger
Wiebke Noack Theodore
Carol A. Wilson FAIA, Chair

Biographies of the Jury

Mary Owen Babikian is the Registrar for the storefront for architecture maine exhibition, "maine modern: 50 years of modern architecture in maine". She has completed her third year of architectural education at University of Maine at Augusta. Mary is a graduate of Colgate University, holds an MD degree from State University of New York at Upstate, and is a board certified pediatrician. She is married with four children and lives in Falmouth, Maine.

Leila Bisharat trained as a demographer and regional planner. Leila has a doctorate from Princeton University and served abroad and in New York with foundations and the United Nations (UNICEF) for twenty-five years. She taught at Princeton University, was a Senior Visiting Research Scientist at Harvard University, and continues to do international consulting work. Leila is a Trustee of the Island Institute, Vice-President of the Chebeague and Cumberland Land Trust and is active in land use for the new Town of Chebeague.

Suhail Bisharat is former Director of the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts where he dedicated himself to the design of the museum and its sculpture garden. He holds an MA in Near Eastern Studies from New York University and a BSC from London University in geology. Suhail has participated in international juries, including the Rockefeller Foundation "Pluralism and Cultural Expression in Muslim Societies" for the Venice Biennale's "Modernities and Memories". He has traveled widely in Europe and the United States as well as in Asia and North Africa. The American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) has certified him as a Jordan Travel Specialist.

Gavin L. Engler is a Maine native who grew up in Skowhegan and now resides in Portland. He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in architecture from Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont. Gavin received the American Institute of Architects School Medal and Certificate of Merit from the Henry Adams Fund for excellence in the study of architecture. He works for Carol A. Wilson Architect.

Edward Leger was former Programme Officer of Arts Branch, Province of New Brunswick, Canada. As an arts consultant Edward Leger has been a jury member of both the Maine Arts Commission and the Maine Craft Association, as well as for arts organization in the Maritime Provinces. A recent project was the commission and installation of two glass mosaic murals for the Cathedrale Norte-Dame de L'Assomption, Moncton, N.B. His last involvement in the Portland, Maine community was as a juror for the Art All Around Competition for painting the oil tanks in South Portland, Maine.

Wiebke Noack Theodore is partner in Theodore + Theodore Architects in Arrowsic, Maine. She received a Masters of Architecture in 1984 from Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture and is a graduate of Barnard Collage. She teaches an Architectural Design Studio at Bowdoin College. Wiebke is the 2009 recipient of the McKeen Center Faculty Award for Public Engagement. She is a LEED accredited professional and a member of the US Green Building Council. In 2006, she was a Juror for Mainestream the Green Home Design Competition sponsored by the Maine State Housing Authority.

Carol A. Wilson FAIA is principal of Carol A. Wilson Architect in Falmouth, Maine, an office known for modern and environmentally responsive buildings. She received her architectural training at North Carolina State University and Cranbrook Academy of Art and is licensed in Maine and New York. Wilson has been a visiting Professor of Architecture at the University of New Mexico, Scholar-in-Residence at Bowdoin College’s Coastal Studies Center, Visiting Critic at VCUQ, Virginia Commonwealth University Qatar and currently teaching at Catawba College's Center for the Environment in Salisbury, North Carolina.