AIA Orlando held its 2004 Awards for Design Excellence Presentation and Gala in April at the Country Club of Orlando, where the component presented four awards to individuals and companies who have contributed significantly to the community. They also recognized 10 projects with AIA Orlando’s distinguished Awards for Design Excellence. From a field of 42 entries, the jury selected five awards of merit in architecture and five awards of honor in architecture.

Governmental Awards of Merit

City of Bartow Municipal Facility, Bartow, Fla., by Architects Design Group, Inc.
The project is a master-plan and facility-design concept for the City of Bartow that envisions an interconnected city services complex. The pedestrian connector wall separates public and staff functions and serves as the primary unifying element while providing security to nonpublic, protected areas.

Jury comments: “Conceptually clear, its beauty is in its simplicity.”
Photo © Architects Design Group

Orange County Convention Center West Entrance, Orlando, by C.T. Hsu & Associates, P.A.
The new 40-foot-tall glazed lobby and office structure spans 320 feet between existing massive stair towers and across what once was the facility’s service entrance. Visitors from the parking area and buses are now welcomed onto the center’s massive “front porch” by the radiating metal-clad “V” columns. The spacious lobby leads to enclosed bridges toward the exhibit halls.

Jury comments: “The project is aesthetically pleasing and creates a sense of identity for the existing building.”
Photo © Mark S. Gall

Governmental Award of Honor

Alachua County Courthouse, Alachua, Fla., by DLR Group
The new Alachua County Courthouse will house 11 courtrooms within a total of 118,000 square feet. The architects aimed to create a building that reflects the dignity and honor appropriate to a courthouse and makes a notable, yet sympathetic civil addition to the fabric of the downtown.

Jury comments: “Elegant classical façade and beautiful interiors create a strong civic presence.”
Photo © George Cott—Chroma Inc.

Institutional Award of Merit

Faith Church of the Redlands, Homestead, Fla., by MATEU Architecture Inc.
This building’s image pays homage to its farmland context. The composition recalls greenhouses, industrial vocabularies, and other utilitarian structures. The “peeled” appearance of the roof stands as a subtle reminder of this place’s history and a testament of how a disaster (Hurricane Andrew, in this case) can bring people together.

Jury comments: “This unbuilt project has clarity of concept and proper use of the roof as an element of expression (appropriate for a church). This project follows tradition yet explores new forms for this genre of building type.”
Photo © MATEU Architecture

Educational Award of Honor

Boone High School (Administration and Classroom Building), Orlando, by C.T. Hsu & Associates, P.A.
Framed by the new administration building and fine arts center, the swooping steel entrance canopy announces the revitalized and reenergized nature of this historic school. The master-plan concept and modern design have redefined the campus image using sleek concrete panel exteriors, clear anodized aluminum, and tall curtain-wall accents at lobbies and music spaces.

Jury comments: “The entrance-roof shape announces the arrival and provides an identity for a rather simple building.”
Photo © Bob Braun

Health-Care Awards of Honor

Central Florida Community College Century Center, Ocala, Fla., by Hunton Brady Architects, P.A.
Century Center forms the new gateway to CFCC’s Ocala Campus. It supports the private sector, community, and community college programs with its Corporate and Technology Training Center, Strategic Planning Center, Senior Institute, and Public Policy Institute.
This three-story, 60,000-square-foot project organizes the interior spaces around a three-story atrium and was designed as a technologically smart and flexible-learning environment. It combines CFCC’s academic programs, corporate-training facilities, and a 300-person conference room.

Jury comments: “Elegant use of materials.”
Photo © Randy Lavoy

Student Health Center, University of Central Florida, Orlando, by MATEU Architecture Inc./ Hunton Brady Architects
Three major components dictate this building’s organization: medical-care pods, administrative services, and a pharmacy surrounding a three-story atrium. The extension of the second-floor administrative wing over a major campus pedestrian circulation system engages the center’s clients. The medical-care areas house two pods per floor, with the atrium allowing natural light into the heart of the building. The entry sequence to the health center is clear, direct, open, and friendly. Vistas from the lobby to the new courtyard focus on a majestic existing oak tree while the atrium provides visual cues to assist clients’ orientation.

Jury comments: “The linear element establishes a true threshold while serving as a circulation corridor. This unbuilt project is well conceived and detailed.”
Photo © MATEU Architecture Inc.

Interior Awards of Merit

Orlando Public Library—Library Central Interior Renovation, by HKS Architects, Inc.
This urban library’s first renovation in 20 years, the 29,000-square-foot addition offers a “classic and vibrant, yet up-to-date” interior that complements the original by John Johansen. The architects replaced drab colors, subdued lights, and rigid rows of books and tables with colorful and contemporary furnishings that artfully display CDs, videos, and best sellers. The space also features a teen center, gift store, and performance area.

Jury comments: “The project creates a good adaptation of an existing building by expressing original structure yet adding a new dimension. The result is inviting to its occupants.”
Photo © Ed LaCasse, LaCasse Photography

Downtown Mini Dealership, Orlando, by MRI Architectural Group
The Downtown Mini Cooper, a 10,000-square-foot urban-infill project constructed at a major corner intersection in downtown Orlando, serves as home to a 6,000-square-foot automobile dealership with a three-bay service garage, 2,000-square-foot café and 2,000 square feet for a speculative retail tenant.

Jury comments: “Simple massing creates a nice urban street retail presence. Clean lines help emphasize their merchandise.”
Photo © Daniel Dickson Photography & Raymond Martinot

Residential Award of Honor

Casa Vela, Sebastian Inlet Beach, Fla., by MATEU Architecture Inc.
Casa Vela (“Sail” House), a sculptural shelter carefully juxtaposed in its natural context, draws its strength from the imagery of sailboats, anchorage, and durability. The soft, curving stainless-steel plane that surrounds the southeast side recalls the image of a sail, while effectively buffering against incessant southeasterly winds.

Jury comments: “Jury’s favorite! This unbuilt design has a fresh approach to residential design. The project’s essence is in its simplicity. The program is clear and expressed volumetrically.”
Photo © MATEU Architecture Inc.

Service Awards

• Award of Merit: George Herbs, vice president and treasurer, Rollins College
• Niles Schweitzer Community Service Award: Fred Pryor, AIA, Hunton Brady Architects
• Contractor of the Year Award: Bradfield & Gorier
• Young Architects Forum Achievement Award: Danny Gordon, AIA, Hunton Brady Architects.

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