AIA Rochester honored 10 beautiful buildings late last year through its annual Design Awards program, which aims to recognize good design by local architects and projects around Rochester. The jury—Pat Hyland, Assoc. AIA; Ted Kurz, FAIA; AIA Cleveland President Kevin Robinette, AIA; and AIA Cleveland Past President John Waddell, AIA—indicated that they were very impressed with the quality of the submissions in terms of graphics and architectural design. Four of the projects are restorations or additions, five are new buildings, and one is an unbuilt design.

Merit Awards

Historic Hornbeck-Gannett Estate, Brighton, N.Y. (addition and renovation), by Barkstrom & LaCroix Architects
The project completely restores a 1928 Tudor Revival estate in a manner that reflects and complements its historic character. The design philosophy for the new architecture of the manor room addition, garden shed, and pool building—as well as the new landscape plan—was “honor and respect of the powerful design of Arnold and Stern, Architects, and Alling DeForest, Landscape Architect.” The jury called this project “a very sensitive and sophisticated renovation and addition project, authentic in every sense.” They termed the work “a very well-crafted project with incredible sensitivity to detail given to each space that makes the whole very, very impressive.”
Photo © David Lamb.

YMCA Camp Arrowhead Discovery Lodge, Pittsford, N.Y., by Harrison | Bridges & Associates Architects
The YMCA of Greater Rochester’s Camp Arrowhead, a day camp and outdoor education center, sits on a 55-acre site. The new discovery lodge houses locker rooms for the outdoor pool, program space for campers, administrative offices, and meeting/gathering spaces for training and celebrations. The variety of masses and forms of the lodge and the use of a timber frame structure at the main hall and office areas evoke the site’s history as a farm. “Nicely detailed trusses and other elements carry through the ‘lodge’ theme; this project fits nicely in the vernacular of a lodge or camp project,” said the jury. “The composition of forms fits the site well and the function of the building.”
Photo © John Griebsch.

Lasher Road House, by In-Site Architecture
A wooded knoll inspired the owners to commune with the site; the architect’s solution views the house as a “path back to nature.” This path extends from the entry, through the home, to a raised deck amidst the trees. An adjacent block wall weaves the outside in, stores the winter sun’s warmth, and separates private and shared functions. Materials include cedar siding, translucent polycarbonate roof, salvaged heavy timber, recycled slate for the counter, and bamboo flooring. “It is nice to see the use of materials that are not the norm in residential construction,” the jury remarked. “The anchor wall ties this house to the site and sets the foundation for a great, simple plan to which unique details add an element of interest.”
Photography by Mark Sampson and Kurt Brownell.

St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry, Pittsford, N.Y., by Harrison | Bridges & Associates Architects
St. Bernard’s graduate school for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester is housed in a 17,000-square-foot building located on a 4-acre site in a suburban neighborhood. Its one-story design articulates the larger program spaces as gabled, residential-sized, stone masonry volumes. Connecting these masses are transparent, porch-like colonnades, reminiscent of monastery cloister peristyles. “The way this project was conceived as a collection of small buildings is unique. The overall size of the building is interestingly disguised,” the jury noted. “Given its location near a residential area, the materials chosen for this project give it a relevant, monumental quality.”
Photo © David Lamb.

Renovation, Restoration, & Addition to Trinity Hall, Hobart & William Smith Colleges, Geneva, N.Y., by Chaintreuil | Jensen | Stark
Trinity Hall was reconstructed, restored, and updated, including the addition of a new freestanding entrance and monumental stair tower, from which a façade was created to allow the building to appropriately address the main quadrangle that developed directly behind Trinity Hall many years after the building was constructed in 1837. The new entry/stair tower is connected to the existing building via glass-enclosed bridges on all levels. New floor structures, services, and an elevator were threaded through the existing masonry shell to serve reconfigured spaces designed to speak to both Hobart and William Smith’s proud past and future promise. “It is evident that this is the lantern on the campus that draws students in at night. This project’s scale is perfect when set next to the existing building, and the design has nice balance between the traditional existing building and the modern addition,” the jury opined.
Photo © John Griebsch.

Citation Awards

B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing & Information Sciences, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, N.Y., by Chaintreuil | Jensen | Stark
This project showcases three of RIT’s fastest-growing departments: software engineering, information technology, and computer science. A skylighted atrium provides a unifying element for an adjacent existing building, the three colleges (one per floor), and the college administration. Inviting student lounges placed at key locations are signaled by large windows. Faculty offices surround large internal computer lab spaces and provide faculty/student interaction by proximity. Natural light penetrates gently into the computer labs, modulated by borrowed light and full-height glass corridor walls. “The atrium space ties nicely with the entry off the parking lot as well as the existing building,” the jury said. “It is well-crafted and reminds us of the Rookery.”
Photo © John Griebsch.

Artist’s Studio Addition to Leopard Residence, East Avenue, Rochester, N.Y. (addition and renovation), by Burton Architecture
This addition to an existing garage complements and mirrors the detailing of the adjacent house. The studio floor, used by an artist, offers an open and comfortable working environment while creating a nice contextual piece in this dense urban neighborhood. “This project would be a great neighbor, a solid added citizen to a dense urban area,” the jury remarked. “It is a nice contextual piece; the architect played off of the existing house well.”
Photo courtesy of the architect.

SUNY Geneseo Putnam Hall, Geneseo, N.Y., by Bergmann Associates
The new demand for student housing across the country has heightened awareness of both student needs and the importance of life outside the classroom on their overall college experience. The college called for the construction of an 84-bed residence hall to enhance the quality of student life, create a gateway to the North Village Campus, and create spaces to promote student interaction. “The project respects the existing campus yet introduces something new,” the jury remarked. “The entrance and lighted stairway allow the movement of students at night to be showcased.” One juror even remarked, “I wish I could have lived in a dorm like this in college.”
Photo © Tim Wilkes.

Our Lady of Mercy High School, Brighton, N.Y. (addition and renovation), by Stantec Architecture Inc.
This 27,070-square-foot addition on the historic campus employs a naturally lighted two-story gallery space to buffer the old and the new architecture. The new gallery, centered among the auditorium, gymnasiums, locker rooms, and new media center, serves as a gathering and circulation area during school functions and special events. The new gallery’s placement allows the highly articulated existing façade of the auditorium and gymnasium to remain, while it serves as the primary interior focal point. “This is just a solid piece of architecture, in some respects the front elevation has [Louis] Kahn qualities in that it has substance and a sense of permanence,” the jury said. They believed the gallery would be a very useful space. “The project is true to the original building; the building section describes the project intent well.”
Photo © Tim Wilkes.

Pavilion Addition, Manhattan Square Park, Rochester, N.Y. (unbuilt), by Barkstrom & LaCroix Architects
This project constitutes part of the renovation of the Lawrence Halprin-designed Manhattan Square Park. It offers a dynamic architectural element at the south end, where the existing skating rink and warming pavilion come together. The design doubles the area and height of the existing building, creating an exciting form and vibrant space based upon its original exposed-concrete and glass vocabulary. “This is an interesting addition that does not overpower the existing structure,” said the jury. “The two-story space will be an exciting space in which to sit and take in the action at the skating rink.”
Photo © David Lamb.

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