ENR’s editors have selected John Kirksey as the recipient of ENR Texas & Louisiana’s eighth annual Legacy Award.

This program was added to our annual awards line up in order to recognize industry veterans with many years of experience and long lists of contributions to their profession and community. In choosing this year’s recipient, ENR’s editors weighed several criteria, including each nominee’s history of innovation, outstanding career highlights and an engagement within the industry and the surrounding community.

Through his leadership, community involvement, passion for the environment and sustainable practices, and dedication to architecture, Kirksey has had a profound impact on the community and profession, as well as the built environment across Texas. His efforts range from mentoring the next generation of architects to leading the charge on environmental stewardship across Houston in helping found programs and organziations such as Freeways to Treeways, the Galveston Bay Foundation and Coastal Conservation Association of Texas.

Kirksey serves as chairman of Kirksey Architecture, which he founded 50 years ago, just one year after graduating from The University of Texas, with a mission to design high performing, healthy buildings that positively impact the people, environment and communities that they serve. Under his leadership, Kirksey Architecture became one of the largest architecture firms in the state of Texas and is frequently recognized for its innovative designs and culture-oriented practices.

The firm is making sustainability a priority and has certified over 38 million sq ft of LEED projects and provided LEED training courses for 2,200+ industry professionals. In addition, Kirksey worked with his staff and environmental scientists to achieve the goal of becoming a carbon-neutral company in 2019. And since 1986, Kirksey Architecture has been planting trees in lieu of giving gifts to clients—through that program Kirksey and his team have planted over 11,000 trees.

To read more about Kirksey and his achievements, check out the Feb. 14 print issue of ENR Texas & Louisiana.