by: Maxinne Rhea Leighton Assoc. AIA
Courtesy Hafele San Francisco.
As the convention began, a group of New Yorkers and San Franciscans convened at the Center for Architecture + Design for an afternoon cocktail to celebrate the opening of the 2008 New Practices | New York Showcase, and to hear the winners of the 2009 San Francisco New Practices Showcase announced. Many of the San Francisco entrants were on hand, and the winners were: CMG Landscape Architecture, Edmonds + Lee Architects, Faulders Studio, Kennerly Architecture + Planning, Min|Day, and Public Architecture, with honorable mentions going to Axelrod Design, and Envelop A+D. New York winners on display were Baumann Architecture, common room, David Wallance Architects, Matter Practice, Openshop Studio, and Urban A+O. The exhibition included a video compilation made by each firm, project images, and a newspaper with more extensive coverage of the firms. This meeting of kindred cities represented the second time AIANY New Practices Committee has participated in such an exchange, having hosted the New Practices London winners at NY’s Center for Architecture in 2007, and then in London in 2008. The New Practices San Francisco exhibition will open at the Center for Architecture in NY on 06.04.09.
Matthew Bremer, AIA, is the principal of Architecture In Formation and the co-chair of the AIANY New Practices Committee.