Winners of the AIA Georgia 2013 Design Awards

AIA Georgia presented 21 awards to 15 Georgia-based architecture firms at the AIA Georgia 2013 Design Awards Gala on Oct. 12 at the Columbus Convention and Trade Center. The annual Design Awards recognize works of excellency and distinction by Georgia architects.

Awards were given in the categories honor, merit, and citation: Two Honor Awards, Nine Merit Awards, and 10 Citation Awards.

The Design Awards Jury comprised of well-respected architects who practice outside the state of Georgia. Steven Raike AIA, NCARB, LEED BD+C and Associate Partner with Lake|Flato led the jury from San Antonio, Texas. Other jury members included Rives E. Taylor FAIA, LEED BD+C, Principal Regional Director of Sustainable Design with Gensler; and Kit Johnson AIA, LEED BD+C, City Architect for the City of Austin, Texas. Scott H. Allen AIA, NCARB, Principal|Senior Partner with 2WR of Georgia, Inc served as the Design Awards Chair.

Have a look at all the winning projects below.

From the AIA Georgia press release:

"Two Honor Awards were presented. An honor award recognizes outstanding achievement in design. This award is granted to projects that exemplify excellence of architectural design on all levels of analysis. This award is reserved for those projects that stand out from a group of otherwise meritorious project.

Decatur Recreation Center, Decatur, GA – The Decatur - Recreation Center was originally constructed in 1958 and houses a diverse group of recreational, civic and arts programs for the city of Decatur. Working closely with City officials, the architect re-programmed the facility and developed plans to renovate and re-purpose the building to accommodate the functional requirements of a 21st century recreation and community center."

"Congregation Or Hadash Synagogue, Atlanta, GA – This project transforms a suburban automotive paint and body shop into a new synagogue for a 400-family conservative Jewish congregation. A large courtyard, placed at the front entrance, together with an over-sized canopy, opens the building to its surroundings and starts a dialogue between old and new elements."

"There were nine Merit Awards, showing excellence on many levels. Merit awards are for projects deserving of recognition, clearly demonstrating the architect’s design abilities and displaying a high standard of architectural quality.

Leila House, Decatur, GA – Leila House is a modern home in an historic district, paying homage by name and design to architect Leila Ross Wilburn, whose historic work surrounds the new structure. The design for the home mends the strict guidelines of the historic neighborhood with the needs of contemporary life and construction techniques."

"Riverdale Town Center, Riverdale, GA – The Riverdale Town Center provides a new focal point for an Atlanta suburb located along an arterial strip that lacked an identifiable core. The Town Center includes a City Hall with council chambers / municipal courtroom, a Community Center with gymnasium and activity rooms, and a Town Green with an amphitheater."

"Eastbrook Middle School, Dalton, GA - Eastbrook Middle School is an 800 student replacement school that allows a new educational model to thrive in a 21st century learning environment. The design responds to these needs by providing a variety of learning environments for different educational experiences and interactions, resulting in a school that is more relevant to the students of today."

"Simulation Center at Hamad Medical City, Doha, Qatar - The Hamad Medical Simulation Center is a unique solution for the repurposing and repositioning of an abandoned concrete structure. Highly visible from the nearby main public road and situated at the entrance of the campus, the iconic auditorium form is shrouded in backlit, glass panels that vary in translucency."

"Hyundai Capital Operations Center, Atlanta, GA - The new Hyundai Capital Operations Center in Atlanta, Georgia transforms the notion of the call center workplace. With a focus on employee well-being, the design uses living gardens, geometric forms, and sightlines to the outdoors to create a satisfying work environment as a way to maximize employee productivity."

"Atlanta Beltline, Atlanta, GA - The Atlanta Beltline is a 22-mile transformative corridor project that will connect 45 neighborhoods through transit, open space, parks and trails. It is a comprehensive example of landscape infrastructure that will serve to organize, engage and guide future development in one of America’s fastest growing metropolitan areas."

"Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum North Garden, Savannah, GA - This project is a wall around a garden. Revealing itself as carved clay, the wall becomes steps for a belvedere, and the slope for a ramp that descends to a small pool with the sound from a trickle of water. At this refreshing cool spot, the visitor is momentarily immured."

"Music City Center, Nashville, TN - This project creates a landmark presence to support an already active metropolitan entertainment district and trigger future surrounding development. Its design recalls regional geography and instruments common to a rich local music culture, all composed for openness, connectivity and action to create unique experiences and memories for visitors and passersby. It’s an inhabitable sculpture that houses events and is an event itself."

"University of Georgia College of Environment+Design, Athens, GA - This renovation of Joe Amisano’s Visual Arts Building might paradoxically be measured by what is no longer seen: decades of accumulated distractions were surgically subtracted from the mid-century masterpiece while state-of-the-art systems were delicately added. New smart teaching spaces and LEED Gold sustainability bring to life the current mission of UGA's College of Environment and Design."

"There are ten Citation Awards: a citation award recognizes projects of notable accomplishment.

University of West Georgia, Ingram Library and Tom Murphy Archives, Carrollton, GA - The renovation of the Ingram Library at the University of West Georgia comprehensively reconsiders the 52,000 sf on the lowest 2 floors of the library. The renovation realigns study and research spaces, condenses existing reference libraries, and expands student training and classroom areas to meet current and projected needs."

"Bitsy Grant Tennis Center Renovation, Atlanta, GA - Therestoration of the Bitsy Grant Tennis Center focused onreturning the facility to its historic mid-century character asconstructed in 1952 by Aeck Architecture. The concrete andglass structure is sited adjacent to the Bobby Jones GolfCourse at Atlanta Memorial Park in Atlanta."

"Barcelona Wine Bar, Atlanta, GA - Capture the spirit of an authentic Spanish tapas dining experience: the client’s simple call to action. While easily said, creating that atmosphere inthe heart of the Southeast was more challenging. Through custom detailing and a carefully considered material palette, the result is one of Atlanta's best wine bars."

"Georgia Tech Leadership Challenge Course, Atlanta, GA - The Georgia Tech Leadership Challenge Course is a rope-based event training course designed to stimulate teamwork, foster problem solving, and provide physical challenges for its participants. The project consists of three pre-fabricated towers that were given unique identities and a pavilionhousing storage and restroom facilities."

"Gensler Design Firm, Atlanta, GA - A design firm reconsiders their workplace, creating a new office that showcases the design process, promotes internal mobility, and provides the ideal mix of spaces for both collaboration and focus work."

"Domus Labarthe, Blanco, TX - Domus is a family compound for a retired scientist and his wife in Blanco, Texas. The Genius Loci of this Hill Country site is the 19th century German settlers’ utopian culture and the unforgiving environment. The ―Freethinkers‖ vision of a retreat for the arts and an appreciation for Roman archetypes, frames the views, defines solar orientation, and dictates all sustainability and social issues."

"The Edge, Atlanta, GA – Originally constructed in the mid 1940’s, The Edge Office Building is located in the Historic Martin Luther King Jr. District and is approximately 9,000 square feet. The building has received four green globe certifications and has also received LEED Platinum certification, which is the highest achievable rating under the LEED certification system."

"North Avenue Dining Hall, Georgia Tech - Georgia Tech’s North Avenue Dining Hall, an infill addition to existing underutilized retail space along North Avenue, activates a city street, heals a blighted campus edge and humanizes a 10-story urban fortress. An ever-changing LED light wall glows like a firefly, making the project a beacon for the East Campus."

"Piedmont Newnan Hospital, Newnan, GA - Piedmont Newnan Hospital is a state-of-the-art acute care hospital and a signature icon and destination for healthcare in Newnan, Georgia, a growing rural community south of Atlanta. It is a showpiece in a current trend of acute care hospitals and the largest and most complex projects undertaken in Coweta County."

"Architecture Auditorium, Atlanta, GA - The Project Architect for this renovation first crossed the threshold of the architecture auditorium as a teenager, in his first year of study. At the time, it was a well-worn place—a victim of too many insensitive face-lifts. The challenge was to respectfully re-express the space’s original design, incorporating modern comfort and technology."

For more details. click here.

Images courtesy of AIA Georgia.