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Building of the Year

Building of the Year

On December 12, in New York City, seven jurors convened to evaluate and discuss more than 200 projects submitted to AN‘s second annual Best Of Design Awards.

The jury included Thomas Balsley, of Thomas Balsley Associates; Winka Dubbeldam, of ARCHI-TECTONICS; Kenneth Drucker, of HOK; Chris McVoy, of Steven Holl Architects; Craig Schwitter, of Buro Happold; Annabelle Selldorf, of Selldorf Architects; and Erik Tietz, of Tietz-Baccon.

This year, the jury reviewed projects submitted in nine categories, including Best Facade, Best Landscape, Best Single Family House, Best Multi-Family Residential, Best Residential Interior, Best Non-Residential Interior, Best Fabrication Project, Best Student Built Work, and Building of the Year.

In some categories the jury selected a winner and honorable mentions, in others just winners, and in one, Single Family House, they selected a tie between two winners. Over the next six days we will be posting all of the jury’s selections, starting with our winner and honorable mentions for the Building of the Year.

   

Henderson Hopkins
Baltimore, Maryland
Rogers Partners

Henderson Hopkins is the first new public school built in Baltimore in 30 years. A cornerstone for the largest on-going redevelopment project in the city, an essential part of its mission is to serve as a catalyst in the revitalization of East Baltimore, housing innovative early childcare facilities, a school, and shared resources for residents and businesses.

 

The seven-acre campus accommodates 540 students in kindergarten through eighth grade, and 175 pre-school children. Rogers Partners’ design was guided by four key principles: community engagement, integrated urban planning, architecture of its place, and progressive education. The program was put together based on the wants of the local residents. The site planning and building massing take their cues from the surrounding urban fabric. The community’s cultural heritage informed the architectural language. And the architecture was designed with flexibility in mind, so that it will be capable of adapting to evolving pedagogies over time.

“What was achieved here at a very modest budget was really impressive.  Not just in the planning, but in the use of materials, of open spaces, of the entire way that the school operates. They just never let up on this thing.”—Craig Schwitter


Building Of The Year Honorable Mention

The National September 11 Memorial Museum at the World Trade Center
New York City
Davis Brody Bond

Davis Brody Bond took on the daunting task of creating a museum to house the World Trade Center site remains and artifacts. The firm’s goal was to create a space capable of giving each visitor a personal connection with the events of 9/11.

   

To do this, the design introduces visitors to the museum gradually, via a ramped descent.  The sequence by which visitors come across relics of the disaster and obtain an understanding of the architectural framework allows each individual to develop their own reckoning with the space, its monumental features, and the depth of the human tragedy that occurred on the site.


Building Of The Year Honorable Mention

Edith Green Wendell Wyatt Federal Building
Portland, Oregon
Cutler Anderson Architects and SERA

This renovation of a 1960s SOM government building transformed the structure from an energy consuming Class B office block to a LEED Platinum Class A tower. The architects designed a high performance curtain wall to replace the precast concrete paneled facade, increasing the interior space by 26,000 square feet.

   

The energy efficient skin is shaded by a vertical brise soleil calculated to respond to the sun in Portland, reducing heat loading while proving glare-free daylight in the interior. Inside, the architects cut away at the building to expose its structure, giving tenants a direct connection to its history.

 
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