The Uptown is thrilled to announce that our lead architect, John Cluver, a Senior Partner with Voith & Mactavish Architects, has been named to the American Institute of Architects’ College of Fellows, its highest membership honor. This distinction is awarded to architects who exemplify excellence in practice and who have made a lasting impact on architecture and on society at large.
“John has been with us since the first time we started contemplating purchasing the former Metro, to determine whether it was a viable space for a five-screen film center,” says Uptown president Ira Deutchman. “Still, when it was time to hire a firm, we solicited bids and concept drawings from several other architects before determining that John’s expertise in preserving and transforming historic arthouse cinemas was invaluable to our mission. This recognition from the AIA confirms what we have seen in John all along.”
Voith & Mactavish Architects LLP, where John is Senior Partner & Director of Historic Preservation, is a Philadelphia and New York-based team of forty architects, planners, and designers. The firm is led by founding partner Daniela Voith and four additional partners — making V&M Philadelphia’s longest-continuously operating woman-owned architecture practice.
In addition to his role at V&M, John serves on the City of Philadelphia’s Historical Commission Architectural Advisory Committee, the Board of Advisors for the Master of Science in Historic Preservation program at Notre Dame, and the Board of Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site. He is also a member of the Association for Preservation Technology and holds a Certificate in Historic Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Design in addition to his professional degree in architecture from the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture. John has published articles on sustainability and window restoration in the Association for Preservation Technology Bulletin and has presented for the Preservation League of New York, SCUP, and APPA. In 2006 John volunteered with the National Trust for Historic Preservation in New Orleans to complete urgent conditions assessments in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and in 2008 was honored by the American Institute of Architects Philadelphia Chapter as Young Architect of the Year.