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Joyce Owens (born December 3, 1959) is an American architect, licensed in 1989, and currently based in Fort Myers, Florida. Joyce Owens, FAIA RIBA, was the first woman to receive the 2022 AIA Florida Gold Medal[1], the highest award AIA Florida bestows. In 2020, she received the AIA Florida Medal of Honor for Design[2]. She is only one of two architects in the State of Florida to hold both these honors.
Owens completed projects throughout Florida, London, and Italy and is the founding principal and owner of Architecture Joyce Owens LLC [3], a women-owned business (WBENC Certified), founded in 2007, and named Forbes Top 200 Residential Architects of 2025. Owens' firm is known for its focus on high-end luxury Tropical Modern design and Rebuilding Florida Stronger Smarter with an emphasis on Florida's subtropic climate, prone to hurricanes, harsh salt air, and relentless humidity. Owens is a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and a fellow of American Institute of Architects (AIA) - the highest membership honor for exceptional work and contributions to architecture and society. Owens was also the 2017 President for the AIA Florida.
Education and Career
Owens graduated from Notre Dame University in 1984 with a professional degree in architecture before winning a Rotary Foundation scholarship to study in London. She received her Post-Graduate Studies in Architecture (Int'l Rotary Scholar) from Kingston, University, London, UK in 1987.
From 1993 to 2003, Owens was a co-founding partner at the London-based firm Azman Owens Architects, where her clients included Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Fashion Icons Alexander McQueen and Vivian Westwood, Fashion Guru Isabella Blow, and retail corporation TAG Heuer.
Owens left her London-based practice after 15 years and relocated to Florida in 2004. After moving back to the States, she founded Architecture Joyce Owens LLC and Studio AJO LLC (AJO).
Completing over 150 projects as the lead architect, between her UK and US practices, Owens' Florida firm has garnered attention and international publicity for numerous award-winning buildings and designs, which are environmentally and regionally sensitive, as well as culturally appropriate for their place. Her Florida company is a comprehensive architectural, interiors, and design firm, specializing in coastal residential, commercial, and interiors.
Through Owens' leadership, her team has become "The Coastal Architects[4]" and is a huge advocate of the climate-sensitive architectural style Tropical Modern[5] which incorporates resiliency, as well as passive and active sustainable principles into the their luxury residential and unique commercial projects.
Her core values, which landed her in Forbesmagazine as a Top 200 Residential Architect [6], are:
Sustainability: emphasizing environmentally-sound solutions tailored to unique locations;
Innovation: challenging conventional norms to deliver innovative designs;
Collaboration: fostering robust partnerships with clients, team members, and consultants;
Integrity: upholding the utmost ethical standards and acting in the best interests of both client and environment.
Owens was an architectural columnist for the Fort Myers News Press and USA Today, both Gannett owned. From 2019 to 2021, she served on the AIA National Strategic Council.
Rebuilding Florida Stronger Smarter
Even before Hurricane Ian directly hit SWFL in September 2022, Joyce Owens was already prioritizing sustainability in homes along the Gulf Coast of Mexico. The homes she and her team designed that were completed or in the process of being built on Sanibel Island and Captiva Island suffered little damage after the storm[7]. In October 2022, AJO launched a Rebuilding Florida Stronger Smarter campaign to share her expertise and provide architectural design knowledge for buildings that can withstand the intense storms and subtropical climate extremes of Florida [8]. This campaign provides information for other architects, contractors, engineers, and the general public on the safety and value of sustainability and resilience in coastal design.
Notable Honors and Awards
□ 2025 Forbes: America's Top 200 Residential Architects [9]
□ 2023 Gulfshore Business Top Ten Business Women in SWFL [10]
□ 2022 AIA Florida Gold Medal of Honor Award [1]
□ 2024|23|22|21 Gulfshore Life Best Architect | Lee County | Florida | USA
□ 2022 Gulfshore Life Woman of the Year | Florida | USA [2]
□ 2020 AIA Florida Medal of Honor of Design Award [11]
□ 2018 AIA FlaSW Firm of the Year
□ 2018 AIA National Fellowship
References
[edit]- ^ a b "2022 Awards Winners". AIA Florida.
- ^ a b "Men and Women of the Year". Gulfshore Life. November 2022.
- ^ "Registered Agent Name". Sunbiz.org.
- ^ Moeller Jr, G. Martin. "Above and Beyond: Resilient Design Put to the Test". Florida/Caribbean Architect Magazine.
- ^ "Design Icons 2022". BBEYOND.
- ^ Olsen, Richard. "Architecture and the American House Now". Forbes.com.
- ^ Finch, Allison. "Many Floridian rebuilding for when the next Ian strikes". AccuWeather.
- ^ "AJO_FLRSS". Instagram.
- ^ Olson, Richard. "America's Top 200 Residential Architects". Forbes.
- ^ "Women in Business 2023". Gulfshore Business. May 2023.
- ^ "2020 Winners". AIA Florida.