WESTWOOD, N.J.—On Jan. 14, William J. Martin, AIA, was recognized by the AIA Architects League for his decades-long commitment to professional service and was presented with the Anton Vegliante Award.
The honor is presented to architects who distinguish themselves for their contribution to the advancement of the profession. This year’s Vegliante Award was presented by League Past President and Awards Chair Stacey Kliesch, AIA.
Martin, R.A., AIA, P.P., LEED AP-H, was selected for this honor due to his dedication to the AIA, his devotion to promoting the profession to the public, the press, elected officials and to other architects.
In a press release, the organization said Martin is very well respected among his peers, clients, and community.
“Bill believes in improving the lives of the greater community through design. The Vegliante Award is the highest accolade that can be bestowed onto a member of the Architects League. It is presented to Architects who distinguish themselves for their contribution to the advancement of the profession,” reads the release in part.
Vegliante came to this country from Italy and started his career as a painting contractor. He taught himself English and became an architect. He lived and practiced in Garfield, where he designed churches and schools. He served as vice president of the Architects League from 1928 to 1931, when he died at 47.
Vegliante is remembered as an honest architect, precise, meticulous, dedicated to his profession and respected. Upon his death in 1931 his will stipulated that a bequest be made to the League, to be held in trust, and that the annual interest income from the trust account would be used to make an award to the member who had distinguished themselves in the preceding year in the profession, or who, because of their achievements or accomplishments, would be deserving of the award.
Over the years the award has come to represent recognition of service to the League and is considered the League’s highest honor.
For more than 25 years, Martin has served on the Westwood Planning Board and led the Westwood Zoning Board of Adjustment, serving as chairperson. He also serves on the Closter Historic Preservation Commission and the Bergen County Historic Preservation Advisory Board, where he has been the emcee for their annual awards for the past five years.
Volunteer of the Year
Martin was Westwood’s 2020 Volunteer of the Year. In bestowing that honor that Jan. 6, newly sworn Mayor Ray Arroyo lauded Martin’s “expertise, intelligence, and passion for our town, leading his fellow board members along Westwood’s, tricky and potentially treacherous path of growth and development.”
Arroyo said “You are engaged in a balancing act, weighing individual property rights and aspirations against the general restrictions that limit them for the public good. I know of no one better suited to lead this board in that exercise than William J. Martin.”
Martin attended Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, and continued at Pratt Institute, School of Architecture in New York City. He received his degree in architecture from Pratt in 1988.
Martin is an architect and community planner focused on high-performance resilient and energy-efficient design configurations using cultural vernacular expression. He designed the First
Certified LEED Platinum home in suburban NJ and received an AIA NJ COTE Top Ten Merit Award for the project “Knight on a Chessboard.”
Sole practitioner of WJM Architect in Westwood, focusing on residential and light commercial architecture, Martin is the creator of the Econo-Functional Aesthetic Balance philosophy (EFABism).
He is passionate about all forms of architecture from the smallest intricate details to elegant facades seen throughout his work. While focusing on ways to bring new structures to life, Martin is also involved in multiple historical preservation activities, promoting the rich history of the Northern NJ area and what we can learn from the past.
Martin has been the public relations and communications guru on the AIA New Jersey board, making sure the voice of the architect is heard across all media platforms.
He has also served at the state level, continuing to advocate for the architectural community and our need to be involved in key lawmaking decisions.
Martin will be continuing his roles as a trustee for the AIA Architects League of Northern New Jersey and co-chair for the AIA New Jersey Public Awareness Committee while holding additional positions with other organizations.
For more information, see “Westwood Names Bill Martin Volunteer of the Year 2020,” Pascack Press, Jan. 14, 2020.