by: Jessica Sheridan Assoc. AIA LEED AP
Event: AIA New York Chapter 2008 Design Awards Symposium
Location: Center for Architecture, 02.25.08
Speakers: Architecture Jury: David Adjaye, RIBA — Adjaye/Associates (London); Will Bruder, AIA — President, Will Bruder + Partners (Phoenix); Ada Karmi-Melamede, AIA, IIA — Principal, Ada Karmi-Melamede Architects (Tel Aviv); Interior Architecture Jury: Pamela Babey — Co-founder, BAMO (San Francisco); Donna V. Robertson, FAIA — Dean, College of Architecture, Illinois Institute of Technology (Chicago); L. Paul Zajfen, AIA, RIBA — Principal, CO Architects (Los Angeles); Projects Jury: Terry Dwan — Designer, Riva 1920 (Milan); Karen McEvoy, MRIAI, NCARB — Director, Bucholz McEvoy Architects (Dublin); Luigi Prestinenza Puglisi — Architecture Critic, Instituto Nazionale d’Architecttura (Rome)
Moderator: Hillary Ballon — Associate Vice Chancellor for New York University Abu Dhabi
Organizers: AIANY Design Awards Committee
Sponsors: Benefactors: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; Syska Hennessy Group; Patrons: HDR|Daniel Frankfurt; HOK; Langan Engineering & Environmental Services; Richter + Ratner; Lead Sponsors: Arup; Gensler; KI; Lutron Electronics; Mancini Duffy; RMJM Hillier; Thornton-Tomasetti; Sponsors: Armstrong World Industries; Atkinson Koven Feinberg Engineers; Cosentini Associates; FXFOWLE Architects; JCJ Architecture; MechoShade Systems; New York University; Pei Cobb Freed & Partners; Peter Marino Architect; Ricci Greene Associates; Swanke Hayden Connell Architects; Toshiko Mori Architect; Turner Construction Company; Weidlinger Associates
Courtesy AIANY
If the 2008 AIANY Design Awards are a measure of what is currently pushing the envelope of design, then it is material, craft, and context that define the cutting-edge. The “Academy Awards of Architecture,” as referred to by 2008 AIANY President, Jim McCullar, FAIA, in his introduction, jurors worked by consensus, sifting through entries in the categories of Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Projects to select new ideas that challenge the status quo. Although the distinguished and international jurors were different in each category, it was the three themes that permeated all of the projects that led to the winning designs.
With only one Honor Award in architecture, the jury was strict about choosing a project that signaled a direction outside of the norm. It was the use of technology in a restrained, edited manner that swayed the judges to select The addition to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, MO, designed by Steven Holl Architects. Ordinary building materials, such as translucent glass, were incorporated in a unique way that the judges felt had not been seen before. The building has a clear, orchestrated sequence of spaces; the landscape is seamless with the building; and the human scale and touch are evident throughout.
Projects that reclaimed existing spaces with sensitivity to history, context, and the relation to the street and architecture garnered awards from the Interior Architecture jurors. They selected projects for Honor Awards that were mostly small-scale and incorporated a variety of materials. Banchet Flowers in NYC, designed by De-Spec Inc./Vista Engineering, for example, preserved the historic fabric of the existing Meatpacking District warehouse, but opened the façade to pedestrians. Architecture Research Office received praise for its insightful yet witty take on program, specifically in planning how students study in lounge areas, in The Susan P. and Richard A. Friedman Study Center in Providence, RI. The attention to detail and respect for Louis Kahn won honor for the Yale University Art Gallery Media Lounge, designed by Joel Sanders Architect.
Ecology, novelty, and layered complexity drove the Projects jury to select six Honor Award-winning submissions. They were looking for projects that transcended new technology, projects that did not just use technology to create spectacle. They were drawn to projects in urban conditions, challenging how parks can be used in existing conditions. Whether the project is small (BEATFUSE! by OBRA Architects or Waterfront Tower by Cook + Fox Architects) or large in scale (Toshiko Mori Architect’s Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems or Governors Island Redevelopment by West 8/Rogers Marvel Architects/Diller Scofidio + Renfro/Quennell Rothschild & Partners/SMWM), or whether the project is sited in a challenging environment (Leeser Architecture’s World Mammoth and Permafrost Museum) or leisurely (ELV Winery by David Yum Architects), it communicates the in-depth research and methodology necessary to make the project successful.
While all the winning projects deserve their honors, jurors had some reservations about the entries as a whole. Although they sought sustainable projects, they were surprised at how few had applied for LEED certification. Interior Architecture juror L. Paul Zajfen, AIA, RIBA, felt that there is still a long way to go before the quality of green design is worth a design award. Just because a project is green, he argued, does not mean it is good enough to win an award. Architecture juror Ada Karmi-Melamede, AIA, IIA, was disappointed that out of the near 5,000 AIANY members, only approximately 400 submissions were received. “We lack a serious dialogue about our profession,” she said. Without conversation, the bar will never get raised. Too many firms play it safe, agreed fellow Architecture juror Will Bruder, AIA. In post 9/11 society, he continued, architects seem to be afraid to create something that has never been seen before.
For a full list of honor and merit awards, go to the Names in the News section.