2013 AIA Institute Honor Awards - Interior Architecture

The American Institute of Architects today selected the 2013 recipients of the Institute Honor Awards, recognizing works that exemplify excellence in architecture, interior architecture and urban design.

Following are the nine winning projects in the category "Interior Architecture":

Blessed Sacrament Chapel and Abbey Church Pavilion--Modifications to Marcel Breuer's 1961 St.John's Abbey Church Project; Collegeville, MN
VJAA

The original Abbey Church complex by Marcel Breuer (1961) was modified to include a new Blessed Sacrament Chapel, a two-level lobby addition (9,200-square-foot) and the renovation of the existing Chapter House. The chapel space is focused on a modern re-interpretation of the 14th century reredos wall (an ornamental panel) that holds the tabernacle. Designed to shield the view of an existing window, the wall diffuses natural light into the space. Platinum leaf is used on the ceiling to distribute light and echo Breuer’s discreet use of precious materials in the Abbey Church. A new stair uses lattice-like steel railings to bring light to the lower level of the addition.

 

BNIM Iowa; Des Moines, IA
BNIM

Located in a former bank lobby on the southeast corner of an active street intersection, the space includes full-height glazing to the north and west, building lobby to the south, and a new demising wall to the east. The fundamental design objective for this project was to create an environment of collaboration in a space that engages the surrounding urban core. The space is organized around a central wall lined with cork panels and designed for critiques, display, and spontaneous collaboration. Shared daylight, acoustics, and multiple levels of planned and unplanned interaction are vital parts of achieving the spirit of collaboration set forth as the key design objective.

 

Charles Smith Wines Tasting Room and World Headquarters; Walla Walla, WA
Olson Kundig Architects

Inspired by the client’s rock-and-roll style, the space is capable of transforming from office and retail to dining and entertainment. Fit within a former auto shop (built in 1917), the design highlights the patina and aesthetics of its former life, featuring a large shape-shifting element dubbed the Armadillo, as well as large hand-cranked pivoting window walls that merge the interior with the exterior. Prefabrication of substantial components including the Armadillo and mobile furniture including seating, tables and stages contribute to the fluidity of the space.

 

Chicago Apartment; Chicago, IL
VJAA

The new 5,500-square-foot apartment is located in a new high-rise in the Midwest. The main social spaces are lined by warm wood surfaces conceptually set within larger, brightly lit and open circulation areas. Rather than walls shear lines of material divisions define rooms and separate the living spaces. The display of a collection of contemporary Asian art plays a central part in the development of the spaces. Sculpture is used for its silhouette and to create an element of surprise. Digitally designed and fabricated reflective aluminum plate screens create a layered effect while moving natural daylight into the center of the plan.

 

Doc Magic; Torrance, CA
RA-DA

For a technology company that deals in highly sensitive information transmitted over the internet, RA-DA’s unique play of light and careful sculpting of passageways contrasting open work areas succeeded in creating a powerful physical presence to reflect the company’s strong virtual presence. The success of this project is not only in the commitment to the study of a single paradigm that so eloquently embodies an obscure goal, but also in the flawless follow-through from concept to reality.

 

Lamar Advertising Corporate Headquarters; Baton Rouge, LA
Eskew+Dumez+Ripple

This adaptive re-use of a 1970’s era data center transforms what most considered a ‘throw away’ building into an unexpected and exciting corporate headquarters for a billboard advertising company. To counteract the expansive, largely windowless floor plate of the existing building, the design removes a portion of the structure to create an outdoor court – or ‘garden room’ – that brings a captured landscape and daylight into the middle of the office environment. Elsewhere in the building, additional structure was removed to connect the multiple floors into one communicating whole, promoting employee interaction and reinforcing the culture of the company as a single creative community.

 

McAllen Main Library; McAllen, TX
Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle, Ltd. (MS&R)

In need of a new library and understanding that the greenest building is one that already exists, the City of McAllen, Texas, decided to convert an abandoned Walmart big box store into its new main library. The primary design challenge was to create a functional, flexible library of 125,000 square feet on a single level. To meet this challenge, forms, materials, patterns, and colors create elements that organize the space, provide landmarks for visitors, and modulate the scale of spaces within the largest single-story library in the U.S.

 

PACCAR Hall (interior), Foster School of Business, University of Washington; Seattle, WA
LMN Architects

The design responds to the business school program’s strong emphasis on social connectivity and its active central campus site with a high degree of porosity—in terms of both visual and functional relationships. The 4-story central atrium works as a collector of community activity and social heart of the school, spilling into a vibrant daylit cafe. Common areas throughout the school are organized as a series of interconnected spaces that function in many different combinations—creating opportunities to cross paths, casually encounter, interact and engage outside of instructional rooms and offices.

 

Todd Bolender Center for Dance and Creativity; Kansas City, MS
BNIM

Relocating the Kansas City Ballet (KCB) involved preservation and adaptive reuse of the 52,000-square-foot historic Power House at Kansas City’s Union Station, a former coal-burning plant completed in 1914. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2004, the building sat abandoned from the 1970s until 2006. The project team had the daunting task of turning generator rooms into dance studios, coal bunkers into dressing rooms, and fire pits into usable space, all while adhering to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.

 

The jury for the 2013 Institute Honor Awards for Architecture includes: Andrew Wells, FAIA, Jury Chair, Dake Wells Architecture; Susan H. Jones, FAIA, Atelierjones, LLC; Carlos M. Martinez, AIA , Gensler; Ronald J. McCoy, FAIA, Princeton University and Catherine M. Truman, AIA, Ann Beha Architects.