AIA Architecture and Urban Design Awards 2009
Environmental Performance and Community Connections Top Honors List
Jun 3, 2009
The list of AIA design awards for 2009 is cause for celebration. The jury chose projects reflecting a return to basics. Eight architecture and six urban design projects were recognized.
There are no bijou homes or egocentric buildings in this mix. Projects mirror the economic restraint of the times. Honors award recipients model the attributes of the city of the future: sustainable design and community connections.
Sustainable Design for Buildings
In each category, a concern with environmentally sound design was paramount. That concern was expressed in several ways:
- With passive strategies to take advantage of day lighting and natural ventilation: Vincent James Associates Architects (VJAA) used a New Orleans vernacular of canopies, shutters and fans in its design for the Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life in New Orleans
- With active strategies: Renzo Piano designed the New York Times’ building, a 52 storey addition which opened in 2007. The double façade increases energy efficiency and deploys a sophisticated exterior sunscreen of white ceramic rods, together with automated sensing systems to control natural daylight.
- Through adaptive reuse: Faneuil Hall Marketplace, designed by Benjamin Thompson and Associates for Boston between 1976-78, received the 25 Year Award for the transformation of the existing and derelict marketplace. Designed in the early 19th century, it was transformed into an urban, pedestrian gathering place.
Creating Community Connections in Architecture and Urban Design
Another major theme running through the selected projects was cultivating a sense of belonging and connection. The awards committee chose the Gary Comer Youth Center in Chicago for its provisions for community programming. The building is located on Chicago’s southwest side, an area in need of inspiration and rebuilding.
TEN Arquitectos’ Orange County Great Park was one of the urban design winners. When completed, the Park will cover 1,400 acres, reusing a site once home to an air force base. The former runway is bisected by a man-made canyon which connects several surrounding residential communities. Cultural and community facilities are part of the site’s development program.
Back to Basics
The only single family home in the Honors list was Salt Point House in Duchess County, New York. Designed by Thomas Phifer and Partners, this 2,200 square foot house melds with the surrounding landscape. The architects used corrugated and perforated stainless steel in an ingenious way to achieve this effect. The building is a simple rectangular volume and modestly-sized for a designer home.
Two projects, one an architectural winner, the other selected in the urban design category, offer affordable housing. The Plaza Apartments in San Francisco were developed as part of that city's Housing First program. Not only does the building provide chronically homeless people with dignified lodging, but it has earned a LEED silver rating.
Porchscapes is an Habitat for Humanity development in Fayetteville that is both affordable and environmentally sustainable. The project is a LEED Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) pilot, and has managed to keep construction costs to $60 per square foot.
One firm captured two awards for its architecture. VJAA, already cited for the Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life, also won for the Charles Hostler Student Center in Beirut, Lebanon. Designed in association with Samir Khairallah & Partners, the student center is exemplary for its synthesis of architecture and landscape.
After several years of eccentric and opulent design, the 2009 awards bode well for the future of architecture and urban design. All of the award winners can be viewed and enjoyed at the website for Architectural Record.
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