Summary: AIA Vermont presented seven awards for “excellence in architecture”—three honor awards, two honorable mentions, one citation, and one Fifty Year Award—at the chapter’s annual meeting and design awards presentations last month. There were 10 categories of judging criteria. The jury, comprising Dennis Carlberg, AIA; MichaelDavis, AIA; and Jinlee Park, AIA, all from the Boston Society of Architects, made their choices within these categories.

Honor Award for Recent Public Project
Project: Ferrisburgh Grange Hall
Location: Ferrisburgh, Vt.
Architect: Bread Loaf Corporation
The jury opined that this “was a fabulous project and a great story.” They particularly admired the architect’s use of local crafts and skills. “This is as much a community building as it is architecture,” they noted. “Perhaps timeless beauty is the most sustainable element of all.”
Photo © Jim Westphalen.

Honor Awards for House/Sustainable
Project: Private Residence
Location: Charlotte, Vt.
Architect: Pill-Maharam Architects
This project clearly is “a sustainable design without compromising beauty,” according to the jury. “There is a good connection to the landscape, and this is a house—nothing mannerist or apologetic about it.”
Photo © Jim Westphalen.

Project: Edge Ledge House—A Private Residence
Location: Norwich, Vt.
Architect: Watershed Studio Architecture
“There is just a richness and subtlety to the connection to the landscape,” the jury remarked about this private residence. They commented that this project “turns the house inside out. Because it is so small, much of the program had to be moved outside.“
Photo © Carolyn Bates.

Honorable Mention Award: Recent Public Project
Project: Forestry Building
Location: Hardwick, Vt.
Architect: Black River Design
In addition to its architecture, the jury truly appreciated the site design for this project, terming it “a minimally invasive position.“ Additionally, they admired the “very good detailing, which is well integrated.”
Photo © Gary Hall Photography.

Honorable Mention Award: Historic Preservation
Project: Bemis Block Restoration and Renovation
Location: Harwick, Vt.
Architect: Gossens Bachman Architects
“Warm and welcoming from the street,” is how the jury characterized this restoration/renovation project. “There is great transparency, which is a neat trick with an historic building.”
Photo © John Hemmelgarn.

Citation Award
Project: AVA Gallery and Art Center
Location: Lebanon, N.H.
Architect: Banwell Architects
The jury thought that this architect “really thought through the issues of sustainability and how to integrate it into the existing fabric.” They also noted the “wonderful spaces, and the architectural moves blend old and new without being cloy or superficial.”
Photo © Gary Hall.

Fifty-Year Award
Project: St. Mark’s Church
Location: Burlington, Vt.
Architect: Freeman-French-Freeman
The jury thought that the play of light within the church strongly reinforces its hierarchy of space and ritual. “There is appreciation of a spare but complete sculptural program,” they said. “There’s recognition that, after 50 years, the design is still meaningful. This is a timeless building.”
Photo © Carolyn Bates.