AIA Puerto Rico presented Honor Awards to eight projects and Recognition Awards to five individuals during the chapter’s annual convention last month. Jury members Terry Brown, FAIA, Albuquerque; Alex Diez, AIA, New York City; and Jesus Amaral, FAIA, Puerto Rico, served as jury members, evaluating projects in four categories.

Recently Built Projects

• The “Relocation Housing for Israel and Bitumul Barrios” earned Elio Martínez-Joffre, AIA, the 2003 AIA Puerto Rico Honor Award. “This beautiful project was impressive due to its delightful color and playfulness of forms,” the jury commented. “The apartments’ bold shapes are gracefully sited. The strong social statement that this project makes to Puerto Rico challenges stereotypes of public housing and provides a unique platform for future development for poor and underdeveloped neighborhoods.”

• “The Learning Center at the Arecibo Observatory,” by Pilarin Ferrer-Viscasillas, AIA, Mendez Bruner Badillo and Associates, received Honorary Mention. The small project, which is essentially a large classroom, impressed the jury because of its “sculptural boldness, especially how its form hugs the land while at the same time erupts from it. The architects accomplished this on a very difficult site.” The observatory, part of the National Astronomic and Ionosphere Center, is operated by Cornell University under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation. It offers 10,000 square feet and outdoor space, including an observation platform with a 1,000-foot-tall radio telescope.

• The jury also selected two projects for Merit Certificates: “Doral Financial,” by Segundo Cardona, AIA, Sierra Cardona Ferrer (image below); and “House Remodeling on España Street” by José Marchand-Siffre, AIA. The jury chose the first because “the project offers a new vocabulary of architecture to the financial district with its arching roof-line and amber accents that attract attention in a simple unpretentious manner,” and the latter because it “demonstrates how a very constricted site with seemingly few possibilities can actually lead to a very creative solution cleverly integrating exterior spaces with interior ones.”

Unbuilt Projects

The jury granted an Honor Award to “Infill Housing in the Historic Center of Vega Baja,” by Jorge Rigau, FAIA. “In this age of urban sprawl, it is important that the fabric and texture of our cities and of our streets be maintained and repaired to prevent their further decline,” they noted. “The urban infill project in Vega Baja is of critical importance.” The project was conceived and presented with clarity and intelligence, the jury found, and its different housing prototypes appropriately respond to specific site conditions.

Research/Publications

“Proposal for the Rehabilitation of the Faculty Center,” by John B. Hertz, AIA, was singled out for an award in the research/publications category. “The research for this project is complete and clearly illustrated. This in-depth research is important to the University of Puerto Rico because it sheds light on the needs and strengths of renovating an historic building designed by Henry Klumb,” the jury said. “Careful renovations to this building will help maintain the unique character of the campus.”

Student awards

• AIA Puerto Rico invites AIAS students from its two schools of architecture to submit projects to the awards program as a means of integrating the students into the profession. In the AIAS category, the jury presented an honor award to the “Solar House,” prepared under the direction of Dr. Fernando Abruña, AIA, for the national Solar Decathlon. University of Puerto Rico students Nancy Nazario, Jammile Victorio, Brian Padilla, Arlene Vázquez, Vanesa Miranda, Doraida Cabrera, and Destiny Young took part in this project, which the jury characterized as “setting a high standard in leadership in revolutionizing basic living conditions for the future in a clear solution to a difficult problem.”
• An Honorary Mention went to the “Research, Extraction, Preparation, and Application of Mineral Pigments,” prepared by Polytechnic University students Lorely González, Alejandro Santiago, and Carlos Quiñones, under the direction of Beatriz del Cueto, FAIA. “This is a thorough and informative research project, where students attempt to understand traditional techniques as well as new possibilities for finishing architectural surfaces,” said the jury. “The research is not only of great value to the students who conducted it, but also a significant contribution to the field of historic preservation.”

Recognition Awards

Chapter members nominate candidates for recognition awards, which are evaluated by a local multidisciplinary jury that includes the secretary of public works, director of the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, president of public broadcasting, and president of the College of Architects. This year’s winners include:
• Sierra Cardona Ferrer, who received the Firm of the Year Award for excellence in design and client service since 1984
• Elio Martínez Joffre, AIA, who received the Excellence in Education award for his work with University of Puerto Rico students in community service
• Edward Underwood-Rios, AIA, for his tenure in the Municipal Assembly of the City of San Juan, who was chosen for the Excellence in Public Work award
• Astrid Diaz-Vega, AIA, who received an Honorable Mention in Community Outreach for her television program “Notes on Architecture” and her “Hurricane-Secure Houses” publications.
• The Commitment to Architecture Award, granted to non-architects who have advanced the cause of good design and improved the dignity of the profession through their interest, actions, and focus on related issues, went to Socorrito Diaz, an elementary school teacher who has devised a program to teach her grade-school students appreciation of architecture.

Copyright 2003 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.