Low-Key Projects Take Top Honors in Maryland

Low-Key Projects Take Top Honors in Maryland

AIA Maryland celebrated its annual design awards on Sept. 15 at Morgan State University in Baltimore. The four-person Louisiana-based jury selected 17 recipients. Honor Award for Residential Architecture, Nevis Pool and Garden Building in Bethesda, Md., designed by Robert M. Gurney, FAIA, Architect. Jury comments: This project takes a relatively small and simple program and does a phenomenal job of handling all of the constituent parts in a very accomplished and complete manner. Image courtesy of Maxwell MacKenzie Architectural Photographer.

Honor Award for Institutional Architecture, George Mason University Founders Hall in Arlington, Va., designed by SmithGroup. Jury comments: This project takes a large, complicated program and develops a project that’s extremely strong urbanistically while also creating a clear public face for the campus. Image courtesy of Maxwell MacKenzie Architectural Photographer.

Public Building of the Year, Institutional Architecture, Civic Building and Veterans Plaza in Silver Spring, Md., designed by Machado and Silvetti Associates. Jury Comments: The project is all about the public realm. The layering of the space flows seamlessly from the public plaza, through the foyer, into the gathering space at the building interior. Image courtesy of Anton Grassl/Esto.

Merit Award for Commercial Architecture, Ruppert Nurseries in Laytonsville, Md., designed by Muse Architects. Jury comments: This project takes the vocabulary of the existing house on the property and does a very nice job of creating a campus of buildings that don’t replicate or mimic, but draw inspiration from the original house to create a very strong, very clear design. Image courtesy of Alan Karchmer Architectural Photographer.

Merit Award for Residential Architecture, Hampden Lane House in Bethesda, Md., designed by Robert M. Gurney, FAIA, Architect. Jury comments: For as simple and straightforward as the cubic volume of the house is, the way in which it relates to the landscape is really quite wonderful. The more you look at this project, the more you realize that the relationship of outdoor spaces to the house itself is really quite strong. Image courtesy of Maxwell MacKenzie Architectural Photographer.

Merit Award for Interior Architecture, Creative Alliance Café in Baltimore, designed by Kroiz Architecture. Jury comments: This is a project that shows wonderful restraint. The existing building remains as a found shell and the few interventions are very thoughtful and discreet, not overwrought in any way. Image courtesy of PI.KL Studio.

Merit Award for Institutional Architecture, Montgomery College—Rockville Campus Science Center in Rockville, Md., designed by Stantec Architecture Inc. Jury comments: This is a complicated program on a campus where achieving this level of quality project is not necessarily an easy thing to do. This project is commendable in the way in which it takes a very difficult program and develops an architectural language that is particular, but clearly a part of the campus. Image courtesy of Patrick Ross Photography.

Merit Award for Interior Architecture, Under Armour Innovation Lab in Baltimore, designed by Gensler. Jury comments: The interior and the choices of furnishings and color palette were very restrained but very successful. A very clear project. Image courtesy of Michael Moran Photography, Inc.

Merit Award for Commercial Architecture, Phillips Corporation in Hanover, Md., designed by Alexander Design Studio. Jury comments: A lot of places that have workshops combined with typical office functions make very strong barriers between them, and one of the nice things about this project is the way one is able to understand the machine shop from within the cleaner space. Image courtesy of Patrick Ross Photography; Elijah Northen.

Citation for Residential Architecture, Piedmont Farm in Howard County, Md., designed by Muse Architects. Jury Comments: Within the framework of very traditional architectural vocabulary, this project is very well resolved and accomplished in its detailing. The proportions are nicely handled and the material qualities add an obvious richness to the project. Image courtesy of Erik Kvalsvik.

Citation for Residential Architecture, The Fitzgerald in Baltimore, designed by the Design Collective, Inc. Jury Comments: It’s great to see a multi-family project like [this] integrated into a complex urban environment in its [transit] infrastructure--a rail line, a highway, a large parking garage that was mandated by the client. Image courtesy of Ron Solomon Photography.

Citiation for Residential Architecture, House on Walloon Lake in Boyne City, Mich., designed by McInturff Architects. Jury comments: The organization of the plan on the site and the framing of the views out to the lake were very successful. We appreciated the way the outdoor screened enclosed room was created as a separate entity, distinct from how porches are typically handled. Image courtesy of Julia Heine/McInturff Architects.

Citation for Interior Architecture, confidential architecture firm in Washington, DC, designed by Perkins + Wills. Jury comments: It’s nice to see the creation of a range of collaborative spaces in a kind of loose structure, allowing people to get together and work and communicate in a more open environment. Image courtesy of Maxwell MacKenzie Architectural Photographer.

Citation for Unbuilt Architecture, Druid Hill Pool House in Baltimore, designed by Hord Coplan Macht. Jury comments: The way in which the roof was handled adds a playful element, while also bringing natural light into each of the spaces. [The building] looks like summer. Image courtesy of Hord Coplan Macht.

Citation for Institutional Architecture, Roland Park Library Addition in Baltimore, designed by Alexander Design Studio. Jury comments: It’s almost as if the existing building is glorified [by the addition]. It was very well executed. Image courtesy Alexander Design Studio.

Citation for Institutional Architecture, National Intrepid Center of Excellence for Traumatic Brain Injury in Bethesda, Md., designed by SmithGroup. Jury comments: There is a compelling dialogue between the gesture of the façade and the solid figure inside the lobby, which is filled with natural light. The resultant space created by the two forms is very dynamic. Image courtesy of Maxwell MacKenzie Architectural Photographer.

Citation for Commercial Architecture, First and Franklin Presbyterian Church Interior Sanctuary Restoration in Baltimore, designed by Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects. Jury comments: There was a lot of research about what the original colors were, [how] to handle the HVAC system [so it] would integrate more seamlessly, and the [structural and ornamental elements.] You can tell it was a labor of love for the architect. Image courtesy of Alain Jaramillo.

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