The 25 – Peter Lyden

During his decade as president of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art (ICAA), Peter Lyden has transformed the previously fragile organization into a thriving and financially stable entity that has a global reach that is helping to democratize classical and traditional architecture and design.

The institute, which has been instrumental in educating students, practitioners, and enthusiasts in the principles of classical, traditional, and vernacular art, architecture, and design through lectures, workshops, conferences, publications, and even documentaries broadcast on PBS affiliates, now reaches over 80,000 people each week.

Under Lyden, the institute established partnerships with King Charles’s The King’s Foundation and the International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture & Urbanism to create new courses and an award honoring emerging talent in the field.

Lyden established the institute’s film and video program and the “Design in Mind” documentary series that has been nominated for Regional Emmy Awards. He also initiated New Heights and the Grand Tour, programs that introduce middle-school students to classical and traditional architecture and design.

In addition to diversifying and strengthening the institute’s educational offerings, including the annual Summer Studio in Classical Architecture in New York City, Lyden established the Bunny Mellon Curricula, which explores the intersection between architecture and landscape design.

Lyden, who has been working in senior administrative roles in arts and sciences nonprofits for over 20 years, previously had been the chief philanthropy officer at the American Museum of Natural History. He also worked for American Ballet Theatre and Montefiore Medical Center for many years.

As a child in Europe and England, Lyden developed a love for classical architecture. At Yale, when he was a student in the School of Management and Public Health, his focus was on nonprofit administration.

A long-term trustee of Blenheim Palace, the birthplace and ancestral home of Sir Winston Churchill, Lyden is responsible for its renovations and recent memorial to the former prime minister.

“The ICAA is thrilled to focus on issues such as sustainability, craftsmanship, and affordable housing, among others,” he says. “People are increasingly drawn to places—houses, communities, towns, and cities—that are based on the time-tested principles of beautiful and healthy design, and the ICAA’s message is more relevant than ever today.”