Architecture

Superb American design celebrated with AIA Architecture Awards

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The Shed was designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, with Rockwell Group and is located in New York City. The building is one of 11 outstanding projects highlighted in the 2022 AIA Architecture Awards
Iwan Baan
The Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment was designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects | Partners and is located in Princeton University, New Jersey
Michael Moran
The Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment connects two existing buildings on the Princeton University campus and supports research dedicated to environmental issues and energy resilience. Its design incorporates meandering paths, sunken courtyards, and lots of greenery
Michael Moran
Billerica Memorial High School was designed by Perkins & Will and is located in Billerica, Massachusetts
Chuck Choi
Billerica Memorial High School's design is inspired by the 1800s-era buildings that surround it. The school was constructed from brick and sustainably sourced wood, and its interior layout focuses on maximizing natural light inside and offering flexible spaces that encourage collaboration
Chuck Choi
The Home Building at Thaden School was designed by EskewDumezRipple and is located in Bentonville, Arkansas
Timothy Hursley
The Home Building at Thaden School's overall design is inspired by traditional farmhouses and it's constructed from wood. Stormwater is managed on-site and it includes a water lab that invites students to learn about the use of water
Timothy Hursley
The Marine Education Center at the University of Southern Mississippi was designed by Lake|Flato Architects in collaboration with Unabridged Architecture, and is located in the University of Southern Mississippi
Casey Dunn
The Marine Education Center at the University of Southern Mississippi replaces a the original building lost during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and was designed to be resilient in the face of severe weather. It was constructed using locally sourced materials and takes its place remarkably well among the landscape
Casey Dunn
The Menil Drawing Institute was designed by Johnston Marklee and is located in Houston, Texas
Richard Barnes
The Menil Drawing Institute is the USA's first freestanding building dedicated solely to the exhibition, study, and conservation of works on paper. It's topped by a white steel-plate roof that's likened to a folded sheet of paper and its overall design maximizes natural light inside
Richard Barnes
The Richardson Olmsted Campus was designed by Deborah Berke Partners, with Flynn Battaglia, Goody Clancy, and is located in Buffalo, New York
Christopher Payne
The Richardson Olmsted Campus radically transformed the central portion of the historic landmark building into a boutique hotel. The project retained the grandeur of the original while improving its flexibility, natural light, and accessibility
Christopher Payne
The Century Project at the Space Needle was designed by Olson Kundig and is located in Seattle, Washington
Hufton + Crow
The Century Project at the Space Needle involved the addition of a new glass floor, a new observation deck, and a totally refurbished interior
Hufton + Crow
The Owsley Brown II History Center was designed by de Leon & Primmer Architecture Workshop and is located in Louisville, Kentucky
Roberto de Leon, Jr.
The Owsley Brown II History Center's construction involved painstaking research of the area's original circa-1800 development to ensure it takes its place well in the local neighborhood
Roberto de Leon, Jr.
The Shed was designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, with Rockwell Group and is located in New York City. The building is one of 11 outstanding projects highlighted in the 2022 AIA Architecture Awards
Iwan Baan
A huge section of The Shed's exterior moves along a series of wheels guided by a pair of huge rails, allowing it to create a flexible events space
Iwan Baan
The US Embassy in London was designed by KieranTimberlake and is located in the UK
Richard Bryant
The US Embassy in London is partly covered in an outer envelope of plastic to reduce solar heat gain while still allowing sweeping views of the city and lots of daylight inside. The building also boasts several sustainability features, including rainwater capture and solar power
Richard Bryant
The Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design was designed by Miller Hull Partnership, in collaboration with Lord Aeck Sargent, and is located in the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
Jonathan Hillyer
The Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design boasts multiple energy efficient features, including passive cooling, solar harvesting, and rainwater capture, allowing it to produce more power and water than it needs
Jonathan Hillyer
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The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has revealed the recipients of its annual Architecture Awards. The prestigious prize highlights 11 outstanding projects this year, including an energy efficient US Embassy in the UK, a flexible events space in New York City, and the renovation of Seattle's iconic Space Needle.

Featured in the AIA 2022 Architecture Awards are the finest new buildings by firms licensed in the US. Though the buildings themselves don't actually have to be located in the US to qualify, all but one of them is this year, with the exception being the US Embassy in the UK.

"The 2022 Architecture Award program celebrates the best contemporary architecture and highlights the many ways buildings and spaces can improve lives," said the AIA. "The nine-member jury selects submissions that demonstrate design achievement, including a sense of place, purpose, history, and environmental sustainability."

We've highlighted a few standout projects that caught our eye (see below), but be sure to head to the gallery to check out each of the 11 buildings featured in the AIA 2022 Architecture Awards.

A huge section of The Shed's exterior moves along a series of wheels guided by a pair of huge rails, allowing it to create a flexible events space
Iwan Baan

The Shed, by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, is a remarkably ambitious project located on NYC's Hudson Yards mega-development, close to other high-profile works like Heatherwick Studio's Vessel.

The building measures 200,000 sq ft (roughly 18,500 sq m), and reaches a height of 120 ft (36.5 m). Its interior layout provides gallery space, a theater, a rehearsal space, and more. Likened by its designers to gantry cranes found in shipping ports, a section of its exterior shell moves horizontally along a series of wheels, enclosing a nearby open-air plaza to turn it into an additional events space. The entire process takes around five minutes to complete.

The US Embassy in London was designed by KieranTimberlake and is located in the UK
Richard Bryant

The US Embassy in London, by Kieran Timberlake, measures 518,050 sq ft (48,128 sq m) and reaches a modest height of 65 m (213 ft). Its glazed facade is partially wrapped in an eye-catching transparent plastic covering that's shaped to reduce solar heat gain and glare, while still enabling staff to enjoy the view of the Thames and allowing lots of daylight inside.

The sustainable design is extensive and includes daylight-responsive lighting and shades, roof-based solar panels that reduce its draw on the power grid, ground-source heat pumps for efficient heating and cooling, and a rainwater capture system for use in toilets and irrigation.

The Century Project at the Space Needle involved the addition of a new glass floor, a new observation deck, and a totally refurbished interior
Hufton + Crow

With its Century Project at the Space Needle in Seattle, Olson Kundig expertly handled the delicate task of renovating one of the USA's most iconic towers.

Having originally opened in 1962, the 184-m (605-ft)-tall observation tower had received several ill-conceived renovations over the decades. Olson Kundig put this right with the addition of the world's first rotating glass floor on one level. There are also new floor-to-ceiling glass barriers and glass benches installed on the observation deck one floor above, as well as a new interior decor throughout the tower.

Source: AIA

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2 comments
EH
Pretty good stuff here compared to some of the other awards. Still, architecture would be better off admitting the last century was a mass psychosis and starting again from Gaudi instead of the likes of Corbusier!
ljaques
@EH Agreed, pretty much. But it's still billions of wasted dollars, square feet, and massive amounts of absolutely worthless bling. Let's start over from the Art Nouveau era, please. At least that's somewhat functional while being innately fluid and beautiful to the eye.