Mar 31 2005
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) announced today
the eight recipients of the 2005 Housing Committee Awards. The
AIA’s Housing Awards Program, now in its fifth year, was
established to recognize the best in housing design and promote the
importance of good housing as a necessity of life, a sanctuary for
the human spirit, and a valuable national resource.
The 2005 jury consisted of Jury Chair, Edward M. Hord, FAIA; Donna
Kacmar, AIA; Jane Kolleeny of Architectural Record; Jonathan S.
Segal, FAIA; and Gina Van Tine, AIA. They selected the award
recipients from 106 submissions. The recipients will be recognized
May 20 at the AIA 2005 National Convention and Design Expo in Las
Vegas.
The jury recognized projects in four award categories: Community
Design, Single-family Housing, Multifamily Housing, and Innovation
in Housing Design.
Single-Family
This category recognizes two distinctions—Single-family Market
and Single-family Custom housing. Single-family Market recognizes
merchant-built homes; Single-family Custom recognizes outstanding
custom and remodeled homes.
Single-Family Market
Greenwood Avenue Cottages, Shoreline,
Wash.
Ross Chapin Architects, Langley, Wash.
Developed as a for-profit venture by an
architect/developer team, this community demonstrates the market
for small-household detached housing and offers a compelling
example of infill residential development in a first-ring suburb.
The team worked closely with the city to create a unique
single-family development code that limits house size to 1,000
square feet, orients homes around a common landscaped space, and
clusters parking away from the street. The resulting cottages exude
warmth and comfort with high ceilings, generous porches, pitched
roofs with dormers, alcoves, and built-ins. “We like the site
plan and how the small space was maximized by the use of porches
and the connection to the well-cared-for garden,” the jury
said.
Urban Infill 01, Milwaukee,
Wisc.
Johnsen Schmaling Architects, Milwaukee, Wisc.
“The eyes on the street are a great presence,” the jury
said of this project. “It creates and encompasses space and
can be adapted for one or two families.” A local developer
approached the architect to design an affordable prototype for
blighted urban infill sites in Milwaukee’s central city. The
program called for an adaptable layout that could be used for a
single-family residence or a two-family duplex. Working on a tight
budget of $65 per square-foot, the architect designed this duplex
prototype as a simple bar building made up of three interlocking
components: a cedar-clad box for the entry and vertical
circulation; a stucco box for up to 1,900 square feet of living
space; and a concrete veneer wall that peels away from the house
and transforms into a free-standing perforated garden.
Single-Family Custom
Lake Austin Residence, Austin,
Texas
Lake/Flato Architects Inc., San Antonio, Texas
The architect used a 30-foot-wide canal that runs along one side of
this narrow lakefront property as the organizing element for the
design of this “fishing camp.” Its main entrance is a
long boardwalk that runs alongside the canal to a large screened
boathouse, the property’s central gathering space. The main
house contains three bedrooms and communal space, while separate
office and guest buildings line the canal. The architect created
water courts along the canal with excavated fill, creating a
peninsula from the dining room. Stone garden walls face the street
and adjacent property, forming courts at the master suite and along
the pool. The jury termed the project a “very nice composition
of simple forms and nice use of materials. It has the feel of a
fishing village with lovely wood outbuildings that make it almost a
compound. The front walls set up a sense of mystery.”
The Canyon House, Julietta,
Idaho
Paul Hirzel: Architect, Pullman, Wash.
The owners wanted a year-round, economical retreat for their
family, as well as a place imbued with wilderness for their
grandchildren to explore. Two buildings define the site: a
bunkhouse nestled into a ravine and a studio house 300 yards away.
The glazed south wall of the bunkhouse opens to a walled terrace
built into the hillside. The east and west façades have
small windows that frame views of microenvironments. The studio
house, a derivative of the canyon’s mining structures, is a
simple rectangular box inserted into a moment-resisting wooden
frame. The lines of the studio house reference the 30 percent slope
of the site, the verticality of the trees, and the horizontality of
the floor plates. “We like the simple forms carved out for
different uses,” the jury said. “It has a real presence
that is integrated, but not overpowering.”
Multifamily Housing
Low and high-density projects for both public and private clients
were considered for this award category. In addition to
architectural design features, the jury evaluated the contextual
integration of buildings in their environs, transportation options,
and utilization of open recreational space.
Soma Studios and 8th + Howard
Apartments, San Francisco
David Baker + Partners, Architects, with associate architect I. A.
Gonzales Architects, San Francisco
This five-story building offers San Francisco’s “South of
Market” community 74 one-, two-, and three-bedroom family
apartments; 88 studio apartments; and 6 community rooms. Bold
colors of a geometric mural along one side of the building add
visual interest on the street, while semi-public courtyards provide
outdoor areas for residents and break the hard urban edge. This
100-percent affordable property houses an eclectic mix of
residents. Bus lines, rapid transit, and bike lanes border the
property, and a car-share pod located in the garage, offers another
convenient alternative to owning a car. The reduced parking
allotment permitted space for a child-care center, grocery store,
and retail shops. “We liked seeing a lot of design attention
to various spaces within a large project,” enthused the jury.
“There was close attention paid to basic elements to make it
happen and make it 100 percent affordable.”
Community Design
Livable communities offer choices in housing, job opportunities,
transportation, recreation, and shopping. The Community Design
award recognizes the careful planning and design that architects
contribute to making safe, attractive, economically viable, and
sustainable communities. Both high and low density projects for
public and private clients are eligible for consideration by the
jury in this category. In addition to architectural design
features, the jury looks at the integration of the buildings into
their context, examining each project’s open recreational
space and transportation options.
LeMoyne Gardens Revitalization,
Memphis