AIA New Orleans Moves Design Beyond Sustainability for 2012 Awards

AIA New Orleans Moves Design Beyond Sustainability for 2012 Awards

This year’s AIA New Orleans Design Awards, and especially it’s Honor Award recipients, were focused on the next steps for the green building revolution. Themed “Design Beyond Sustainability,” these awards (first presented in March) move the sustainability discussion beyond expected examinations of energy efficiency and material performance and into debates on the roles of social sustainability and community building. Merit Award for Interior Architecture: The Gutenmacher Apartment in Paris, France, designed by AEDS. Jury comments: The material choices in the connecting stair play out a conceptual logic [that links] the materials and character of each floor [in a way] that is clever and maximizes the potential of a very tight space. Image courtesy of Christian Richters.

Merit Award for Adaptive Reuse: Rice Mill Lofts in New Orleans, designed by Wayne Troyer Architects. Jury comments: The jury was extraordinarily impressed with the extensive re-investment that was needed to bring this historic mill a new life and use. The multiple buildings, location and scale of the project created a potential that we were happy to see realized with loft and live work housing. Image courtesy of Chad Chenier Photography and Wayne Troyer.

Merit Award for Residential Architecture: Columbia Parc at the Bayou District in New Orleans, designed by Broadmoor Design Group. Jury comments: This large scale neighborhood development creates a nicely textured, well-detailed and well-scaled ensemble of buildings that do a good job of defining the street and public realm. There is an interesting variety of styles, with each building exhibiting a sense of identity, [yet] the whole has a strong integrity with interesting recall of the character and elements of place. Image courtesy of JHP Architecture/Urban Design and Rion Rizzo.

Merit Award for Architecture: St. Bernard Fire Station No. 6 in Meraux, La., designed by Chase Marshall. Jury comments: The jury appreciated the demands of working within the constraints of FEMA, and an extremely tight budget. [We] found that this project was worthy of recognition for its successes as a functionally expressive and important anchor in the neighborhood. Image courtesy of Will Crocker Photography and Chief Thomas Stone.

Merit Award for Interior Architecture: U.S. Mint Jazz Theater in New Orleans, designed by Eskew + Dumez + Ripple. Jury comments: The jury loved the transformation of this theater space with the use of a beautiful and functional new wall element. It is a simple idea richly articulated and crafted, and consistently carried through into the scale of the whole. Image courtesy of Timothy Hursely.

Merit Award for Adaptive Reuse: Lamar Advertising Corporation Headquarters in Baton Rouge, La., designed by Eskew + Dumez + Ripple. Jury comments: This project redefined the potential of an existing large floor plate building with a strong, direct concept that opens the heart – the core – of the building, creating new light, new views and new “edge” in multiple ways. Image courtesy of Timothy Hursley.

Merit Award for Architecture: Weatherhead Hall in New Orleans, designed by Hanbury Evans Wright Vlatta + Co. with John C. Williams Architects. Jury comments: The jury found merit in the planning and organizational relationships of this dormitory complex. The interlocking buildings frame a courtyard and a set of spaces that transition from public to semi-public to semi-private, providing opportunities for a variety of community building and social interaction zones. Image courtesy of Robert Benson.

Merit Award for Historic Preservation and Restoration: LSU Music and Dramatic Arts Building in Baton Rouge, La., designed by HMS Architecture. Jury comments: The beauty of this historic Art Deco theater really comes to life, and this is where the jury really found merit in this project. Adjustments, integration of better sight lines, new access and the introduction of contemporary components are seamless, and true to the spirit and integrity of the original theater. Image courtesy of David L.Hoste and Nathaniel Walker.

Merit Award for Residential Architecture: The V House designed by Errol Barron/Michael Toups. Jury comments: What we loved about this house were the outside places that let you linger in the beauty of the site and its extraordinary views. Image courtesy of Errol Barron.

Honor Award for Unbuilt Architecture: Grow Dat Youth Farm in New Orleans, designed by Tulane City Center. Jury comments: This unbuilt project captivated the jury from concept to presentation. The adaptive reuse of shipping containers beautifully reinforces the client’s mission and message of reinvestment. The containers sit lightly on the land with a point support system in a well-designed site plan that zones programmatic uses very well. The canopied and enclosed spaces are nicely proportioned, and multiple green systems are layered into development of the design. Image courtesy of Johanna Gilligan and Emilie Taylor.

Honor Award for Architecture: New Orleans BioInnovation Center in New Orleans, designed by Eskew + Dumez + Ripple. Jury comments: At every level, there is clarity and evidence of a consistent, singular approach that plays itself out with a multilayered richness of texture and materials. It is a large building that manages to have a strong street presence that is also comfortable and well-scaled. Image courtesy of Will Crocker and Timothy Hursley.

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