AIA Grand Valley (Mich.) is pleased to present the nine projects chosen as recipients of the chapter’s 2005 Honor Awards, recognizing excellence in design and professional achievements by AIA Grand Valley members. This year, a jury from Detroit—Chair Kenneth Neumann, FAIA; Alan Cobb, AIA; Arthur Smith, FAIA; and Brooke Smith, AIA—selected a total of nine Michigan projects to receive a total of four honor awards, one interior award, two sustainable design awards, and two outstanding details awards.

Honor Awards

Forest Hills Public Schools Community Fine Arts Center, Grand Rapids, Mich., by Integrated Architecture
The architect’s main goals for the Forest Hills Public Schools Community Fine Arts Center were to create a highly visible, flexible center that would draw the community together and provide ample space for a wide variety of activities, effectively creating a cultural center. The glass and metal design fills with sunlight during the day and acts as a beacon when evening events take place. Designed in collaboration with a 104-member community advisory committee, the center’s classrooms, dance studios, multipurpose meeting rooms, artist-in-residence studio, café, and public spaces reflect the community’s desire to provide students and families with a state-of-the-art venue. Equipped to serve as a self-supporting regional theater, the center’s 1,221-seat auditorium also accommodates large high school performances. Designed to achieve a USGBC LEED™ rating, the center is constructed of high-recycled content materials and sustainable materials. “The simple exterior form is very easily understood, detailed exquisitely,” the jury commented. “The interior is imbued with significant amounts of natural light, appropriate for performing arts.”
Photo © Mark Thomas Production, John J. Korom Photography, Scott Vynn.

The Rapid Central Station, Grand Rapids, Mich., by Progressive AE
The owner wanted to build a permanent facility to replace an outmoded facility on the same lot, a downtown brownfield site adjacent to a major freeway. As such, this project had the potential to assist in the renewal of the neighborhood that had seen abandonment in recent years. In response, the architect strove to promote public transportation as forward-thinking, convenient, and “cool” while providing a safe, pleasant, pedestrian-friendly environment for patrons and staff. The design consists of two parts: a one-acre platform and the building. The platform creates a public plaza surfaced with a snowmelt system throughout and covered by a flowing Teflon™-coated, tensioned-membrane canopy. In contrast to the canopy, the building is all angles and horizontality. A central concourse in metal and glass is flanked by a masonry tower and service wing that recall the neighboring buildings. “This design represents a serious investigation in creating an environment for a building type typically not considered,” the jury remarked. “The public can enjoy a refreshing architectural solution that is exemplary, as good as any in America.”
Photo © Chuck Heiney Photography.

Countryside Elementary School, Byron Center, Mich., by Tower Pinkster Titus Associates
The architect’s vision included a remarkable school that teaches and supports educational curriculum related to the natural environment while reflecting the agricultural heritage of the community. The site is adjacent to protected wetlands, and building components are scaled to resemble a grouping of smaller structures, suited for younger students. The building massing creates interesting exterior spaces for play, exploration, and teaching amid forms that are varied and represent a contemporary interpretation of farm buildings. Barn, silo, and shed forms use traditional farm materials and colors to support this concept. The interior includes a rich variety of space sizes and shapes for large and small group activities, including rooms within rooms. Each classroom employs wireless and portable technology for optimum teaching and learning flexibility. “Clear and strong plan development is created through the corridor connections to the circular knuckles, which change direction,” said the jury. “It offers a contextual reflection on the farm without being corny, no pun intended.”
Photo © Carr Cialdella Photography.

Louis A. McMurray Conference & Transportation Center, Muskegon Heights, Mich., by Hooker DeJong
“Nothing good happens in reverse,” proclaimed the transportation director during a programming session, setting the tone that helped the architect craft the design. The circular building, conceived from the turning radius of a city bus, results in a vehicular flow where “nothing happens in reverse.” Buses drive forward around a loop within the facility, stopping for fuel, wash, and repair. The outward aesthetic strives to inspire urban renewal in an area of Muskegon Heights that had seen little progress in decades. For that, the architects employed a collision of pragmatic forms and inventive shapes that results in “an artistic symphony of color and texture, revitalizing a tired neighborhood.” Penetrating the central lobby is an infusion of line, shape, color, and light. Inside, concentric rings, radiating from the building’s center point, map interior spaces with reference to the recurring theme. “This project is a testimony to the county leadership in an investment to quality architecture, transforming what could be dull and mundane,” the jury said. “The architecture has turned a community liability into an asset.”
Photo © Bill Lindhout Photography & Pat Chambers.

Interior Award

The Custer Building, Grand Rapids, Mich., by Via Design
The owners wanted to consolidate their various operations from three sites into one unified facility—an existing four-story brick manufacturing building with a one-story, metal warehouse. The architect removed metal panels from the four-story building’s façade and unbricked the windows, which were fitted with large, steel sash-type industrial glazing. On the north façade, the most visible to downtown and the adjacent expressway, contemporary materials and forms were introduced including a glass curtain wall system, balconies, and a sculptural stair tower element. The interior concrete and brick structure expresses itself throughout, in contrast to the technical and contemporary nature of the building functions. The jury was taken with the interior design of this adaptive reuse project, calling it a “refreshing renovation of an existing historic structure.”
Photo courtesy of the architect.

Sustainable Design Awards

Forest Hills Public Schools Community Fine Arts Center, Grand Rapids, Mich., by Integrated Architecture
The architects designed this center to achieve a LEED™ certification and teach by example the luxuries that come from the wise use of natural materials, sunlight, and space. Situated on the site to take maximum advantage of natural light, the building’s sun-shaded curtain wall allows the lobby to fill with sunlight during the day and act as a beacon at night when evening events take place, without significant heat gain or loss. The steel, concrete, masonry, and glass that form the shell all contain high-recycled content. Unlike most auditoriums, the conditioned air for the theater is supplied from a plenum below the floor as opposed to the ceiling, creating significant energy savings and a quieter, more comfortable environment. The jury praised this project for its “thorough integration of sustainable design principles in an outstanding project.” They said: “This project is an excellent opportunity to communicate sustainability to the public, and how sustainable project work can also be beautiful, as well as responsible.”
Photo © Mark Thomas Production, John J. Korom Photography, Scott Vynn.

Beta Design Corporate Offices, Grand Rapids, Mich., by Beta Design
This building is located in a historic district of an urban area, on a site that was classified as a brownfield because it contained a building that had deteriorated beyond reuse. The architect embraced many sustainable design strategies to educate users and visitors alike. For instance, the HVAC system uses zones as well as a heat-recovery system. Extra insulation has been incorporated into the walls and roof. In-floor radiant heat is also located around the perimeter of the building providing additional climate control. The windows have a tinted low-e glazing adjusted by photocells, and a variety of live plants enhance the indoor air quality. “This brownfield site and existing building has been transformed into a wonderful place of work,” the jury said. “The interior environment has artfully incorporated color and natural light to energize the life in this office complex.”
Photo courtesy of the architect.

Outstanding Detail Awards

Devos Performance Hall, Grand Rapids, Mich., by Progressive AE
Accepting the challenge to update, energize, and improve an outdated performance hall, the architects chose to bathe exposed concrete circulation-space walls with changeable colored light and create a refined and sophisticated performance hall. The extended side walls of the performance hall were redefined by flanking the existing concrete columns with translucent doors and panels. Acoustically designed and shaped wood panels, columns, and translucent panels create a new pattern and rhythm enriching the hall enclosure. The architects made the design simple, limiting construction to the summer months to avoid loss of revenue to the performing companies. Many of the materials were constructed off-site and, in most cases, custom fittings were not possible. Railings and translucent panels are “slipped” off of floor edges and behind wall openings to allow use of standard sizes that were more easily field assembled. “With an element as simple as lighting, this project captures and transports,” the jury enthused. “The rather bland form of the existing theater is invigorated with the insertion of sophisticated detailing of guardrails and fixtures.”
Photo © Mark Thomas Productions.

Residence on Lake Michigan, Grand Haven, Mich., by Dan Vos Construction
The owners of this residence, located high on a Lake Michigan dune, desired a “cottage style” vernacular retreat. A significant grade differential between the home’s approach and front entry was solved by a gently curving staircase and natural stone landscaping. Protected under a cantilevered corner, the angled entry allows for a gentle entrance into the interior space. In addition to spiral entry, another of the owners’ favorite elements is the expansive lakeside deck, made of renewable Australian Jarrah wood and brick pavers. A second-story balcony provides a vantage point for taking in the beauty of the lake. The interior design premise was for each living area to enjoy the spectacular lake views and share space through a relatively open plan. Decorative tin ceiling panels were used to designate the dining area within the main gathering area. “The designer understood the language of this great historic style—proportion, scale, function, and detail make this residence a worthy recipient of the detail award, and wonderful place to live,” said the jury.
Photo courtesy of the architect.

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