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Eight Architects and Agencies Honored for Great Civic Design |
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The Civic Design Awards, hosted annually by the AIA Washington Council, was held Thursday, May 14, 2009 at the ACT Theater in downtown Seattle. Eight awards were handed out for unique civic designs. Each design brought analogous praise from the jury for their transparency which allowed for the use of natural light and a connection to the environment. This lucidity was especially noted as a grand contribution to schools, where vibrant design can be a tactile encouragement of children's growth.
The AIA|WA used a new format for the event. Instead of a lunch, the evening included a cocktail hour prior to the program and the awards were presented in a theater atmosphere. With only a ten dollar cover and a new format the event was more accessible to architects from a variety of firms. Participation was at an all time high.
Three categories of awards were presented at the event: Citation, Merit, and Honor. In the Citation category SHKS Architects and the Seattle Public Library won for the Magnolia Branch of the Library; Mahlum Architectsand theBainbridge Island School District won for the Bainbridge High School 200 Building; and lastly LMN Architects and the City of Kent won for the Show Ware Center.
In the Merit category Mahlum Architects and the Tacoma School District won for Gray Middle School; the Miller|Hull Partnership and the King County Library System won for five Design/Build Community Libraries; and finally Mithun Architects and the Port of Seattle won for the Shilshole Bay Marina.
The applicants that won the Honor Award were: Perkins+Will Architects and the University of Washington for the UW School of Medicine Phase Two, and both NAC and Opsis Architects in conjunction with Western Washington University won for the WWU Academic Instructional Center.
Awards are determined by established criteria; however detailed interpretation of the criteria is left to the jury. This year the jurors were: Rick Sundberg, FAIA, LEED, and Principle at OSKA Architects; Matt Cohen, WSU Assistant Professor of Architecture; and Kathryn Merlino, UW Assistant Professor of Architecture. |
The American Institute of Architects is a professional society of architects that was founded in 1857 and the first Washington chapter was established in 1894. AIA/WA encourages participation from all architects in Washington in the 2010 Civic Design Awards. Please visit www.aiawa.org to view pictures of the winning projects. For higher resolution, printable photographs and more information please contact us at info@aiawa.org or 360.943.6012.
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