James Polshek is an American architect. Polshek earned a Master of Architecture degree from Yale in 1955 and began his own architecture firm in 1963. Polshek became Dean of the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Colombia University in 1972. In 2018, Polshek received the highest award from the American Institute of Architects, the AIA Gold Medal, and he has been awarded over 200 various architecture awards.