Posted on September 22, 2025 by Sean M. Wood
Pemberton giving a speech at the event.
Sue Ann Pemberton’s, M.Arch, career teaching and practicing architecture spans five decades, making her a most worthy candidate to receive AIA San Antonio’s Legacy Award at its annual People + Place Celebration.
The award goes to someone in the profession who has had a distinguished career making an impact on the architectural community and industry. The San Antonio chapter noted, “As a professor in the School of Architecture + Planning at The University of Texas at San Antonio, she has shaped generations of students with a strong sense of civic responsibility and design excellence.”
Pemberton began as a lecturer at UTSA in 1984 shortly after UTSA began offering an architecture degree in 1979. She was promoted to Professor of Practice in 2021, specializing in design, materials and historic preservation.
"We are thrilled that Sue Ann has been honored by AIA San Antonio,” School of Architecture + Planning Director Dr. Michelangelo Sabatino said. “As an architect, preservationist, and educator, she is a bridge between the university and professional practice."
Pemberton also has more than 35 years of professional experience in private practice and state and federal work. She is the principal of Mainstreet Architects.
“San Antonio has been able to retain a lot of its character from its earlier years,” the former president of the San Antonio Conservation Society said. “You see a progression of growth and development in San Antonio. The city has had a pretty good track record of having new construction without destroying the overall character of San Antonio.”
She said the award is proof that the outside world recognizes what they do at the university.
“A lot of the leaders who were winning awards that night were our students,” Pemberton said. “They were graduates of the UTSA School of Architecture + Planning. They’re leaders in their firms. It validates the value of UTSA as an institution that prepares students for real-world challenges.”
— Sean M. Wood
