Architecture

Pint-sized, but packing great ideas: The AIA Small Project Awards

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Enough House was designed by MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects and is located in Shobac, Canada. The project is a winner in Category One, which recognizes projects that cost up to $250,000 in construction. The house is one of 13 projects that make up the 2022 AIA Small Project Awards
James Brittain Photography
A Wall Made of Bricks was designed by Dameron Architecture and is located in Brooklyn, New York City. The project is a winner in Category Three, which recognizes projects that measure under 5,000 sq ft (464 sq m)
Amy Barkow
A Wall Made of Bricks consists of 11,000 salvaged bricks that were sourced from the demolition of an existing warehouse. The bricks serve as a barrier for an adjacent botanical garden and venue space
Amy Barkow
Enough House was designed by MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects and is located in Shobac, Canada. The project is a winner in Category One, which recognizes projects that cost up to $250,000 in construction. The house is one of 13 projects that make up the 2022 AIA Small Project Awards
James Brittain Photography
Enough House is a prototype home that aims to offer "just enough" space to be comfortable. It measures roughly 700 sq ft (65 sq m) and is intended to be replicated elsewhere
James Brittain Photography
Goatbarn Lane was designed by Renée del Gaudio Architecture and is located in Boulder, Colorado. The project is a winner in Category Two, which recognizes projects that cost up to $2,500,000 in construction
David Lauer Photography
Goatbarn Lane is a residence for the architect’s father, who sought to live simply among Colorado’s mountain landscape, and it features floor-to-ceiling windows that make the most of the stunning view
David Lauer Photography
Hill Country Wine Cave was designed by Clayton Korte and is located in Hill Country, Texas. The project is a winner in Category Two, which recognizes projects that cost up to $2,500,000 in construction
Casey Dunn
Hill Country Wine Cave is situated inside a cave and makes use of locally sourced materials. Great care was taken to make the space watertight and climate controlled, and it hosts over 4,000 bottles of wine
Casey Dunn
Jesse's House was designed by Jobe Corral Architects and is located in Austin, Texas. The project is a winner in Category One, which recognizes projects that cost up to $250,000 in construction
Leonid Furmansky
Jesse's House is a tiny house for a man who had been homeless for much of his life. It was built to a tight budget and has no indoor plumbing as he shares bathing facilities and outdoor kitchens as part of a tiny house community
Leonid Furmansky
Leimert Park Community Fridge was designed by Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects and is located in Los Angeles. The project is a winner in Category One, which recognizes projects that cost up to $250,000 in construction
Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects
Leimert Park Community Fridge is a volunteer project initiated by a group of 10 young people to distribute free food. It consists of a fridge and food storage space, which are kept sheltered under corrugated plastic
Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects
Little Tiger was designed by Murray Legge Architecture and is located in Austin, Texas. The project is a winner in Category Two, which recognizes projects that cost up to $2,500,000 in construction
Leonid Furmansky
Little Tiger is a Chinese language immersion school that was tucked into an awkward residential site behind a bungalow
Leonid Furmansky
Marfa Suite was designed by DUST Architects and is located in Marfa, Texas. The project is a winner in Category Three, which recognizes projects that measure under 5,000 sq ft (464 sq m)
Casey Dunn
Marfa Suite was created as an attractive guesthouse separated from the main home in a beautiful location in Texas. However due to changing financial circumstances, the owners decided to sell their main home and live in the guesthouse instead
Casey Dunn
Palms House II was designed by Kevin Daly Architects and is located in Venice, California. The project is a winner in Category Two, which recognizes projects that cost up to $2,500,000 in construction
Benny Chan
Palms House II is a stunning three-bedroom single-family house organized around a large courtyard. The project was a renovation that transformed a previous modest house already on the site
Benny Chan
SLC Fire Department Training Center was designed by Blalock & Partners and is located in Salt Lake City. The project is a winner in Category Two, which recognizes projects that cost up to $2,500,000 in construction
Matt Winquist
SLC Fire Department Training Center involved adapting an almost abandoned old fire station building and is designed to maintain a comfortable temperature inside with natural ventilation and a double skin that helps insulate the interior
Matt Winquist
Spatial Laminated Timber (SPLAM) Pavilion was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and is located in Chicago. The project is a winner in Category Three, which recognizes projects that measure under 5,000 sq ft (464 sq m)
Kendall McCaugherty | Hall + Merrick Photographers
Spatial Laminated Timber (SPLAM) Pavilion was created to demonstrate the potential for prefabricated timber framing panels using robotic technology, reducing wood use by almost 50 percent compared to standard cross-laminated timber panels
Kendall McCaugherty | Hall + Merrick Photographers
Temporary Tiger was designed by Murray Legge Architecture and is located in Austin, Texas. The project is a winner in Category One, which recognizes projects that cost up to $250,000 in construction
Leonid Furmansky
When it became clear that the COVID-19 pandemic would affect daily life for the foreseeable future, Austin’s Little Tiger Chinese immersion school opted to move a significant portion of its classes outdoors. The shelter took a week to build and allowed the school to continue its lessons, while offering respite from the intense Texas heat
Leonid Furmansky
The Seattle Street Sink was designed by Elizabeth Golden and Richard Mohler, University of Washington. The project is a winner in Category One, which recognizes projects that cost up to $250,000 in construction
Brice Maryman/Elizabeth Golden
The Seattle Street Sink was created to ensure vulnerable people, including the homeless, would have an opportunity to wash their hands during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is designed to be very simple to build and repair
Brice Maryman/Elizabeth Golden
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A simple home defined by its modesty, a tiny house for the homeless, and a wine cellar built into a cave are just three of the 13 outstanding builds showcased in the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Small Project Awards. We take a look at this year's crop of projects, which are relatively small in size and cost, but punch above their weight with superb design.

Now in its 19th year, the AIA Small Project Awards aims to raise awareness about the value that architects can bring to projects, no matter their size or scope.

2022's selection of 13 projects are split into three categories: projects that cost under US$250,000 in construction costs, those that cost up to $2.5 million in construction costs, and, finally, those that measure under 5,000 sq ft (464 sq m).

We've chosen three standout projects that caught our eye below, but be sure to head to the gallery to see more on these, as well as the remaining designs featured in this year's AIA Small Project Awards.

Enough House is a prototype home that aims to offer "just enough" space to be comfortable. It measures roughly 700 sq ft (65 sq m) and is intended to be replicated elsewhere
James Brittain Photography

Designed by MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects, the idea behind Enough House is to offer "just enough" space as absolutely necessary to make its owner comfortable.

The modest dwelling is located in Nova Scotia, Canada, and finished in rusted Corten steel. It features a timber frame and compact and tasteful interior layout with the main living area, kitchen and bathroom situated downstairs, with steps leading up to the main bedroom and a ladder offering access to a compact loft space

"Through a simple form and the use of conventional materials, the project is executed with great rigor and skill, utilizing a carefully considered constructional layering that challenges conventions of frame, substrate, and finish elements," said AIA's jury.

Jesse's House was designed by Jobe Corral Architects and is located in Austin, Texas. The project is a winner in Category One, which recognizes projects that cost up to $250,000 in construction
Leonid Furmansky

Jesse's House, by Jobe Corral Architects, is a simple tiny house built for someone who had been homeless for much of their life. It's located in the Community First! Village, a cluster of micro-homes, services, and amenities in Austin, Texas, that supports those experiencing chronic homelessness.

The tiny house's interior is very simple and doesn't even contain plumbing, since cooking and bathroom facilities are shared in the tiny house community, though there is a basic kitchenette and fridge for snacks. It looks very comfortable and cosy inside, with generous glazing and a high roof, and has been specifically designed to make its occupant feel safe and at home.

"Working with a modest budget, the project strategy cleverly establishes a series of overlapping domestic zones that transition between personal abode and the surrounding community, creating a rich range of spaces that belie its tiny footprint," said the jury.

Hill Country Wine Cave is situated inside a cave and makes use of locally sourced materials. Great care was taken to make the space watertight and climate controlled, and it hosts over 4,000 bottles of wine
Casey Dunn

The Hill Country Wine Cave is tucked into a small cave in a rural spot in Texas. Designer Clayton Korte had to go to great lengths to transform it into a space suitable for hosting an impressive 4,000-plus collection of wine bottles.

Boulders and lush vegetation help camouflage the cave's mouth, while the interior itself is tastefully finished in wood and provides a bar and a relaxing area with several seats. Generous glazing at the entrance helps open up the space to the outside.

"This beautifully detailed project takes advantage of an excavated cave-like space carved from a hillside," noted the jury. "Within this very tight and constrained existing condition, the strength of the design strategy lies in its ability to orchestrate a range of spatial experiences that frame and capitalize on the unique characteristics of this context."

Source: AIA

View gallery - 26 images
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