Kideney Architects Makes $25,000 Gift to School of Architecture and Planning

Kideney Architects, a long-standing supporter of UB and the School of Architecture and Planning, has committed $25,000 in scholarship support to help bring the most qualified aspiring architects to Buffalo.

The gift supports the Kideney Scholarship, an annual tuition scholarship of up to $5,000 for graduate students in architecture. It was established by the Buffalo firm in 2009 to help the Department of Architecture recruit and retain the best and brightest students.

“For years, Kideney Architects has been a difference-maker in our recruitment and retention efforts,” said Dean Robert Shibley. “This long-term commitment of support comes at a critical time, with our program on the rise and increasingly competing with the nation’s top architecture schools for the best students.”

The scholarship is also designed to build a pipeline of talent to Western New York, where Kideney Architects has practiced since its founding in 1926.

"As a Buffalo firm for 88 years now, we recognize the importance of attracting, developing and maintaining top talent. It has played a crucial part in the success not only of our firm, but of the entire architectural community of Western New York," said Raymond Bednarski, president and CEO of Kideney Architects and a graduate of the School of Architecture and Planning himself. "We are proud to support the students of the School of Architecture and Planning and are committed to helping keep our best and brightest right here where we need them." 

In addition to financial support, Kideney scholars are introduced to the firm’s principals, receive a tour of its facilities and current projects, and are considered for internships with the firm. Several past Kideney scholars have gone on to work for the firm.

Western New York’s oldest architectural design firm, Kideney Architects is widely regarded for its design of health care and K-12 and higher educational institutions, as well as specialized services in historic preservation. Recent commissions for the firm include the Crossroads Culinary Center on UB’s North Campus, expansion projects at Erie County Medical Center and Kenmore Mercy Hospital, and multiple projects for the Buffalo Public Schools’ $1 billion reconstruction initiative. The firm is also architect for Conventus, a 335,000-square-foot medical center rising in downtown’s Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.

The firm’s ties to the School of Architecture and Planning also run deep. Three of the firm’s four principals – Raymond Bednarski (BPS ’96), Anthony Gorski (BPS ’91) and Timothy Kupinski (MArch ’89) - are graduates of the School of Architecture and Planning, with several more alumni on the firm’s 43-person staff.

Kideney Architects and the School of Architecture and Planning are also frequent collaborators on architectural and design initiatives in the community. The two partner with the Buffalo Architecture Foundation on the “Architecture + Education” initiative, which introduces elementary students in Buffalo Public Schools to the profession through design education. Kideney Architects was also part of the steering committee to develop a preservation plan for Buffalo, an effort facilitated by Robert Shibley as director of the school’s Urban Design Project.