Summary: Late last year, architects celebrated design excellence in the Green Mountain State, where, in fact, many of the submissions heralded “green” and sustainable design practices. The jury gave the nod to eight projects, which the chapter honored at the AIA Vermont annual meeting December 6, 2006, at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vt. The jury hailed from AIA Connecticut.

Honor Award

Project: “Bridge Houses” at Landmark College
Location: Putney, Vt.
Firm: Bread Loaf Corporation
This Honor Award was for a project that represents exceptional value beyond a single category and is worthy of special recognition. The jury thought that the project was “well integrated with the landscape.” The jurors commented: “The plan was very strong, clean, and simple” and the “execution and selection of materials are superb.”
Photo © Jim Westphalen.

Merit Awards

Project: Vermont Law School Gazebo
Location: South Royalton, Vt.
Firm: Truex Cullins & Partners
The jury thought this project in the small project category had “charm, pure, simple elegance” and was “very inviting.”
Photo © Jim Westphalen.

Project: Clinton Elementary School
Location: Clinton, Mass.
Firm: Dore & Whittier Architects
The jury thought that this project clearly stated “it is a public building for kids.” They noted of this entry in the recent public project category, “The interior spaces have comfortable scale and attractive colors. The overall scale is very effective.”
Photo © Jim Westphalen.

Project: Buxton Classroom Building
Location: Williamstown, Mass.
Firm: Black River Design Architects
The jury commented that the “transition from the existing building to the new one was very successful.” There are “ingenious ‘green’ details” that “are architecturally distinguished.” This entry was judged in the sustainability category.
Photo © John Rahill.

Project: Debevoise Hall at The Vermont Law School
Location: South Royalton, Vt.
Firm: Truex Cullins & Partners
The jury thought that this project in the historic renovation category has “spectacular color inside and out” and that the “integration of furniture to the interior is spectacular.” They also commented that this project was “carefully thought out.”
Photo © GBH Studios.

Project: The Burlington International Airport—north terminal
Location: Burlington, Vt.
Firm: Freeman-French-Freeman
The jury was impressed by the “interesting use of Modernist materials” in this interior architecture submission and also praised the bringing of “art to architecture in a place where people spend a lot of time.”
Photo © Gary Hall Photography.

Citations

Project: Private residence
Location: Waltham, Vt.
Firm: John Anderson Studio
The jury recognized this submission in the category for an “older private project.” They commented that “early sustainability sustains” and this project represented a new direction in the ’80s. “The bold and recognizable silhouette remains integrated.”

Project: George Aiken Center—Rubenstein School of Environmental and Natural Resources at the University of Vermont
Location: Burlington, Vt.
Firm: William Maclay Architects & Planners
The jury thought submission in the proposed project category was “a textbook in sustainable concept and criteria.”