The AIA’s New York chapter, led by Rick Bell, has just put out the call for entries for the 2012 AIANY Design Awards (deadline: 2/3/12); Francis Cauffman, led by James Crispino, has been recognized as one of the fastest-growing A/E/C industry firms on ZweigWhite’s annual Hot Firms List; Patron Steven Holl was named as the winner of the prestigious 2012 AIA Gold Medal; SOM’s Chicago Office, where Philip Enquist is the Partner in Charge of Urban Design and Planning, received AIA Chicago’s Firm of the Year award; Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin included the opening of Helmut Jahn’s Mansueto Library at the University of Chicago (pictured at left) in his round-up of the best architecture of 2011; Board Member Enrique Norten will serve as a juror for this year’s Deutsche Bank Urban Age Award, which will focus on Cape Town, South Africa (deadline: 2/24/12); AmericasMart founder John Portman will receive a special honor, the “Legend for Life” award, in recognition of his five decades of entrepreneurship and service to the home decor industry; Board Member Saskia Sassen made Foreign Policy magazine’s list of the Top 100 Global Thinkers for her “passionate advocacy of an urban-based society”; and the undergraduate program at the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Architecture, led by Frederick Steiner, was ranked second in the nation by DesignIntelligence.