Ron van der Veen FAIA

A national leader dedicated to advancing design innovation and sustainability, Ron van der Veen FAIA (BArch U of Oregon 1981) has focused his work on higher education housing and residential life, enriching the social and academic experience of students around the country.
Ron has spent the majority of his career understanding and defining the connection between a student’s academic performance and his or her sense of personal wellness.  His leadership and his reputation for creating sensitive, sustainable student living environments has resulted in collegiate communities around the country, demonstrating how the power of architecture can profoundly influence students' sense of welfare and thus their educational achievement.

Ron has led not only architecture professionals but also many clients and end users to understand the value of understanding that “dormitories” serve as an integral part of the life of each institution, rather than an afterthought.  Challenging the status quo, he has created a series of innovative projects that have gained international attention -- as one example, the University of California Davis’s West Village, the largest net-zero energy community in the United States.

Ron has expanded his role in influencing student housing design through his active membership and thought leadership in the Association of College and University Housing Officers-International (ACUHO-I) and in Student Housing Business Inc.  He has shared his knowledge about the positive impact sustainable design can have on student wellness and success through seminars, presentations, articles and publications, covering topics from sustainable campus master planning to live/learn residence halls and biophilic design.
Elevated to the AIA College of Fellows 2016