Pub. 3 2015 Directory

17 AIA Europe and AIA International Region conference to be held in Prague in 2017. He is an international advocate for global architec- ture and liaison with the Czech Chamber of Architects (CKA). He has been an AIA Continental Europe board member for several years and was AIACE President in 2012. In his international practice, Thomas’s completed projects include the renovations of the U.N. Czech Mission in New York and the Czech Trade Center in the Merchan- dise Mart of Chicago, the Libeň kindergarten in Prague, and a current collaborative project in China with the Japanese firm, Nikken Sekkei. In addition to his completed projects in Europe, Thomas has partici- pated in over thirty international design competitions, including the Berlin Parliament District competition and the Oslo Opera House competition. His award-winning design for a new Four Seasons Hotel adjacent to Charles Bridge illustrates his gift for uniting the historic and the contemporary in the context of his native Prague. TEACHING Being an architecture educator is an important part of Thomas’s practice. As a teacher and lecturer, he mentors emerging architects by sharing his passion for and expertise in European architecture with American audiences and American architecture with European au- diences, thereby strengthening the knowledge base of each. Thomas was a founding member in 1994/1995 of the Faculty of Architecture at the Technical University of Liberec (TUL), Czech Republic. For several years, he was Associate Professor of Architecture at the North Carolina State University Prague Institute, and before that, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Architecture at Montana State University. In 2011, as a testament to his work in both the United States and the Czech Republic, Mr. Bitnar was appointed to the prestigious position of Docent (Associate Professor) of the Technical University of Brno, Czech Republic. He continues to lecture and teach here and abroad, expanding the global awareness of architecture among emerging professionals. FELLOWSHIP Being elevated to the College of Fellows is an exceptional honor and the culmination of Thomas’s expansive career of commitment to architecture, urban planning and design. PARLIAMENT DISTRICT—COMPETITION OSLO OPERA HOUSE—COMPETITION FOUR SEASONS HOTEL—COMPETITION FROM LEFT: ALBERT W. RUBELING JR., FAIA—CHANCELLOR OF AIA, COLLEGE OF FELLOWS; THOMAS BITNAR, FAIA, LEED AP AP BD+C, PRINCIPAL OF BITNAR ARCHITECTS; ELIZABETH CHU RICHTER, FAIA—2015 AIA PRESIDENT