2020 AIA Pennsylvania Architectural Excellence Design Awards Recipient Gallery
Earlier this fall, one of the most recognized and influential architects in the country, Tom Kundig, Principal of Olson Kundig, and 2020 AIA Pennsylvania Architectural Excellence Design Awards head juror, convened a meeting of three local Seattle jurors. Tom’s office, a laboratory for design experimentation, in the historic Pioneer Square neighborhood of downtown Seattle made the ideal backdrop for a full day of reviewing the 140 projects submitted to this year’s design awards program. 2020’s honorees exhibited distinguished design in the categories of Architecture, Preservation Architecture, Interior Architecture, Regional and Urban Design, Unbuilt, Impact Design, and Single Family Residential Design.
The jury recognized projects deemed worth of award with the following levels of distinction:
Silver Medal: A Silver Medal may be granted, at the jury’s discretion to the project that distinguishes itself from the rest of the submissions representing the highest level of achievement.
Honor Award: An Honor Award may be granted, at the jury’s discretion, to projects that exemplify distinguished achievement in any category.
Merit Award: A Merit Award may be granted, at the jury’s discretion, to any project that either lies outside of the other categories or bears an exceptional aspect that the jury feels represents excellence which deserves recognition.
The 4th annual AIA Pennsylvania Architectural Excellence Awards are made possible by our generous Preferred Partners and Sponsors. A special thank you to:
Fenner & Esler, provider of insurance and risk management for Architects and Engineers.
Microsol Resources an Autodesk Platinum Partner with offices in Philadelphia. Supporting architecture, engineering, and construction firms to ensure they get the most out of their software investments.
Bell Insurance, a full service insurance agency specializing in serving businesses as well as individuals.
Milber Makris, providing a wide range of legal services tailored to design professionals with offices in Berwyn, Pennsylvania.
Acoustic Distinctions The Harman Group Oldcastle APG Sheetz
The Jefferson School Middle School Building
Award Level: Silver Medal
Architecture Firm: DIGSAU
Project Location: Georgetown, DE
Client: The Jefferson School
Photography credit: Todd Mason, Halkin Mason Photography
Category: Architecture
Local Chapter: Philadelphia
Project Team: Structural Engineer - MacIntosh; General Contractor - Lighthouse Construction
Located in rural Sussex County, Delaware, The Jefferson School sits on 43 wooded acres adjacent to the Redden State Forest and serves the community by providing an affordable K-8 nature-focused educational program. The campus is an ecological treasure, with two ponds, trails with five family fitness stations, a garden, greenhouse, solar farm, a five-member goat tribe, numerous chickens, and a bee observation window. The school cultivates alliances with regional partners to build a nature-centered, hands-on curriculum for its students.
Inspired by the elegant simplicity of the local agricultural vernacular, the new building creates a nature-centered, hands-on educational facility that shapes outdoor spaces while providing modern, adaptable classrooms and a multi-use community room able to host the entire school. Informed by the desire for simplicity and the need to be cost-effective, the new building is modeled after the local agricultural structures and
constructed using simple residential wood-framed construction.
ANSYS Hall
Award Level: Honor Award
Architecture Firm: Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
Project Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Client: Carnegie Mellon University
Photography credit: Chuck Choi
Category: Architecture
Local Chapter: Pittsburgh
Project Team: Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, Fire Safety-Buro Happold; Structural-Barber & Hoffman; Civil-Langan Engineering; Landscape Architecture-Klavon Design Associates; IT, AV, Security-BrightTree Studios; Architectural Lighting Design - Lam Partners;
Acoustics - Babich Acoustics; Code-HKA
A hive for teaching, prototyping, and implementation, ANSYS Hall is a 36,000-square-foot mixed-use building designed for Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering in collaboration with the engineering software company ANSYS, Inc. The building serves as a connective framework—acting as a physical bridge between the surrounding buildings while bringing together multiple academic departments, ANSYS Inc., and extracurricular groups. Targeting LEED Gold, the design centers on innovation with flexible high-bay, laboratories, and collaboration areas that open onto an outdoor maker court.
ANSYS Hall is the final link to the College of Engineering “Maker Ecosystem” that includes nano-, micro-, and macro- fabrication, bringing together undergraduate and graduate students from multiple disciplines in a hands-on environment that encourages and displays the cross-pollination of ideas and innovation. The iconic design of the hall responds to the underlying historic campus context while offering a high-performing, adaptable space with an eye towards the future.
El Rosé
Award Level: Honor Award
Architecture Firm: ISA
Project Location: Philadelphia, PA
Client: Callahan Ward
Photography credit: Sam Oberter Photography
Category: Architecture
Local Chapter: Philadelphia
Project Team: Structural Engineer-Larsen & Landis; Electrical Engineer-J&M Engineering; Mechanical Engineer-J&M Engineering; General Contractor-Callahan Ward
Philadelphia’s Front Street corridor is defined by the elevated train line running overhead. Historically a divider, in recent years the el has become an attractor for retail and night life – as well as housing development. El Rosé fits eleven apartments and a ground level commercial space into a 36-foot-wide, 100-foot-long through-block parcel spanning from Front to Lee Street, a narrow, overgrown alley. The gritty site context inspired a textured, layered outer shell in a mix of dark gray corrugated metal and fiber cement lap siding. A range of profiles and widths organized in a quilted pattern create visual variety along the south-facing lot line wall where windowing was not permitted by building code. A carved exterior corridor entry off Front Street leads to a central social courtyard and lightwell, creating a porous massing with bright pink carved social spaces visible throughout the urban fabric in and around the el.
MuseumLab at the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh
Award Level: Honor Award
Architecture Firm: Perfido Weiskopf Wagstaff + Goettel
Project Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Client: Children's Museum of Pittsburgh
Photography credit: Eric Staudenmaier Photography
Category: Interior Architecture
Local Chapter: Pittsburgh
Project Team: General Contractor-Mascaro Construction; Design Architect-Koning Eizenberg Architecture; Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, Fire Protection Consultants-Iams Consulting, LLC; Structural Consultants-Atlantic Engineering Services; Sustainability Consultant-BranchPattern; Acoustics Consulting-BABICHacoustics; Civil and Geotechnical Consulting-Langan Engineering; Historic Preservation Consulting-Clio Consulting
MuseumLab reincarnates a historic Carnegie Library as a testing ground for teen learning. The Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh developed the ambitious project with Manchester Academic Charter School to exchange ideas between the informal world of museum learning and the formal world of classroom education. MuseumLab inspires discovery and immersive learning with studios, maker labs, and gallery spaces offering access to cutting edge art, tech, and making for 8-14 year olds. Second and third floors house the charter middle school and venues for community events, and the ground floor has incubator space for non-profits.
The re-use applies the hybrid design approach of a “beautiful ruin,” blending old/new honoring the building’s history and importance to the community. The result is a striking architectural montage of crisp, fully modernized spaces, and spaces incorporating historic features. MuseumLab set a new standard for Universal Design, achieved LEED Gold v4 Certification, and exceeded AIA 2030 goals.
Philadelphia Metropolitan Opera House
Award Level: Honor Award
Architecture Firm: Atkin Olshin Schade Architects
Project Location: Philadelphia, PA
Client: EB Reality Management
Photography credit: Hugh Loomis & Christopher Hoffman
Category: Preservation Architecture
Local Chapter: Philadelphia
Project Team: Structural Engineer-David Chou & Associates; Mechanical Engineering-Concord Engineering Group; Historic Preservation Powers & Co.; Construction Manager-Domus Construction
When the Met first opened on North Broad Street in 1908, it was one of the largest theaters of its kind. Over the years, the building fell into serious disrepair, survived two fires, and sat vacant from 1988 until 1995. In 2015, the new owner embarked on a two-year, highly ambitious rehabilitation to reclaim the building’s former splendor by transforming the structure into a 3,400-seat concert and special event venue.
The team worked to preserve the Met’s remaining historic design features while introducing new compatible elements that would allow the building to function as a contemporary music venue. New features include ADA upgrades, restrooms, seating, lighting and sound systems, and mechanical/electrical systems. One of the most impressive aspects of the project is the preservation of the building’s character-defining plaster ornamentation.
Richards Medical Research Laboratory
Award Level: Honor Award
Architecture Firm: Phase 1: EYP Architecture and Engineering; Phases 2 and 3: Atkin Olshin Schade Architects
Project Location: Philadelphia, PA
Client: University of Pennsylvania
Photography credit: Halkin Mason
Category: Preservation Architecture
Local Chapter: Philadelphia
Project Team:
Structural Engineer-Keast & Hood; MEP Engineering-Urban Engineers; Envelope Consultants- Heintges & Associates; MEP Engineer-Bruce E. Brooks & Associates; Structural Engineer-CVM; Envelope Consultant-RWDI; Sustainability Consultant-Re:Vision; AV/IT/Security Consultant-Shen Milsom & Wilke; Acoustics Consultant-Metropolitan Acoustics; Conservation Consultant-Building Conservation Associates; Construction Manager-TN Ward, Co.; Construction Manager-Intech
The University of Pennsylvania’s Richards Medical Research Laboratory is an important building by Louis Kahn, one of the greatest 20th century architects. The design of Richards, while groundbreaking, never fully served the original laboratory program to its best advantage, with scientists complaining of a lack of privacy, and inflexible spatial organization, and glare from the oversized windows. The ambitious restoration and renovation project for the buildings included replacement of the exterior glazing and mechanical/electrical systems, and established design and preservation standards for interior renovations. Key to the success of this new program was the removal of wet labs from the buildings and replacement with other medical research labs that require less plumbing and fewer air changes. The renovations have significantly reduced energy usage in the buildings.
A Catalyst for Renewal: Chandler Ullmann Hall, Lehigh University
Award Level: Merit Awards
Architecture Firm: MGA Partners
Project Location: Bethlehem, PA
Client: Lehigh University Facilities Services/Campus Planning & Projects
Photography credit: Halkin | Mason Photography
Category: Preservation Architecture
Local Chapter: AIA Philadelphia
Project Team:Engineer-Structural-CVM Engineers; Engineer-Electrical, Mechanical-HF Lenz Company; Lighting Designer-The Lighting Practice; Landscape Architect-Ground Reconsidered; Acoustician-Metropolitan Acoustics; Engineering-Civil-Langan Engineering
At the historic center of Lehigh University’s campus, Chandler Ullmann Hall stands out with iconic red brick chimneys that identify it as one of the first collegiate chemistry buildings in the country, unique for its innovations in ventilation and safety. The entire building is renovated and restored for new use as the home of the Departments of Psychology and Math.
Reviving the durable but rather inflexible masonry building presented several essential challenges. Originally built with little infrastructure, Chandler Ullmann Hall had endured a century of accretive layers of ductwork, wiring, devices, and lighting. New infrastructure pathways are carefully introduced into the renovation so that the character of existing masonry walls and original ceilings is not compromised. Key spatial features of the original building were honored by improving circulation patterns, re-establishing relationships to the grand windows, and planning large activity spaces such as classrooms in key locations.
Charles Library
Award Level: Merit Award
Architecture Firm: Stantec | Snøhetta Joint Venture
Project Location: Philadelphia, PA
Client: Temple University
Photography credit: Michael Grimm Photography
Category: Architecture
Local Chapter: AIA Philadelphia
Project Team: Design Team-Stantec | Snøhetta Joint Venture; Design Team | Landscape Architect-Snohetta | Stantec Joint Venture; MEP - Stantec; Structural - LERA; Civil-Hunt Engineering Company; Facade Consultant-Heintges Consulting; Lighting Consultant-Tillotson Design Associates; Library Programmer-Brightspot Strategy
The new 220,000 SF Charles Library reinterprets the traditional research library typology as a repository for books, creating instead a dynamic state-of-the-art learning space where innovative solutions to today’s complex challenges can be discovered. Located within a vibrant urban campus, Charles Library defines a social and academic heart for the large diverse Temple University student body and surrounding Philadelphia community.
By enhancing connectivity to academic resources and fostering learning through social interaction, the design inspires students to engage more directly with the library’s activity. And, as a world-class facility, the project marks a transformative moment for Temple University, the City of Philadelphia, and academic libraries around the world.
East End Transformation
Award Level: Merit Awards
Architecture Firm: KieranTimberlake
Project Location: St. Louis, MO
Client: Washington University in St. Louis
Photography credit: James Ewing / JBSA and Peter Aaron / OTTO
Category: Architecture
Local Chapter: AIA Philadelphia
Project Team: Architect-KieranTimberlake; Local Architect - Tao + Lee; Underground Parking Garage Architect-BNIM; Landscape Architect-Michael Vergason Landscape Architects with Arbolope-Studio; Construction Manager-McCarthy Building Companies, Inc.; Structural Engineer-KPFF Consulting Engineers, Inc.; MEP Engineer-BuroHappold Engineering, with KAI Engineering; Central Utilities MEP Engineer-McClure Engineering; Civil Engineer-Cole; Lighting Designer-Fisher Marantz Stone; Code Consultants-Code Consultants, Inc.; Cost Estimator-The Capital Projects Group; Food Service-Webb Foodservice Design; Specifications-Heller & Metzger
Architect - Henry A. and Elvira H. Jubel Hall
Moore Ruble Yudell Architects and Planners
In 2015, Washington University in St. Louis embarked on a major campaign to transform its underutilized East End into a vibrant and inviting gateway to the university. The project turns a car-centric site into a major new campus landscape framed by new buildings and pedestrian circulation in front of Brookings Hall, the campus's landmark main building. By relocating hundreds of surface parking spaces underground, creating an expansive new park, and constructing six new buildings, the project strengthens academic connections, enhances campus green space and circulation, improves parking and accessibility and better frames iconic Brookings Hall. The transformation also improves links between the university's Danforth Campus and the adjacent, 1,300-acre Forest Park --home to the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Missouri History Museum and other popular attractions.
Esperanza Health Center
Award Level: Merit Award
Architecture Firm: Brawer & Hauptman Architects
Project Location: Philadelphia, PA
Client: Esperanza Health Center
Photography credit: Don Pierce Photography
Category: Preservation Architecture
Local Chapter: Philadelphia, PA
Project Team:
MEP Engineering-Smith Miller Associates; General Contractor-Target Building Construction; Structural Engineer-Orndorf & Associates, Inc.; Owners Representative-OmniVest Management, Inc.
As a landmark historic building at the intersection of Kensington and Allegheny, ground zero for the city’s devastating opioid epidemic, the building’s renovation promises to uplift a neighborhood in desperate need of optimism and support. The owner/client organization is a multi-cultural faith-based ministry providing affordable, holistic healthcare to the Latino and under served communities of North Philadelphia. Services include primary medical care for adults and children, dental care, prenatal care, behavioral health services, on-site medication dispensaries, social services assistance, and many others. This project serves as a model for adaptive reuse excellence in Philadelphia and will hopefully serve as a precedent for the future development of our city. This health center is an exemplary project that demonstrates how an enlightened client with a visionary mission paired with a creative design team clearly demonstrates how preservation and adaptive reuse of a neighborhood’s architectural assets can build community and uplift its residents.
Etna EcoDistrict Plan
Award Level: Merit Award
Architecture Firm: evolveEA
Project Location: Etna, PA
Client: Etna EcoDistrict Parnters
Category: Regional and Urban Design
Local Chapter: AIA Pittsburgh
Project Team:Associate Project Manager-evolveEA
The Borough of Etna has long held a vulnerable position - environmentally, economically, and in terms of social equity. The community faces food scarcity, underinvestment, and serious environmental challenges, such as increasingly frequent flooding and air quality, that limit positive outcomes. In response, the community came together to increase their resiliency with actions and architecture.
The Etna EcoDistrict focuses on six quality of life areas that are manifest in place: water, mobility, air, energy, food, and equity and through a series of catalytic projects, Etna has demonstrated their commitment to carbon neutrality by the year 2050.
The plan has already resulted in community cohesion that has proven durable during covid. The effort also yielded:
• a new non-profit to steward the plan
• initiation of a Community Library in a historic building
• achievement of the world’s first EcoDistricts Certified Community.
MaST II Community Charter School
Award Level: Merit Award
Architecture Firm: EwingCole
Project Location: Philadelphia, PA
Client: MaST Community Charter School
Photography credit: Halkin/Mason Photography, LLC
Category: Architecture
Local Chapter: AIA Philadelphia
Project Team:Engineer-Structural-O'Donnell & Naccarato; Engineer-MEP-Schiller & Hersh; Contractor-BSI Construction, LLC; Engineer Civil-Pennoni
The MaST Community Charter School II at Tacony is a new K-12 educational complex on 19 acres of reclaimed industrial land along the Delaware River in Philadelphia. Serving a student body of 600 from across the entire city, MaST II (Math, Science, & Technology) is the second campus of the community charter school organization known for its innovative programs in design and robotics. The design concept celebrates their commitment to technology and hands-on learning with bold exterior architecture and dynamic, flexible interior learning environments.
Rain Check 2.0
Award Level: Merit Award
Architecture Firm: EvolveEA
Project Location: Buffalo, NY
Client: Buffalo Sewer Authority
Category: Regional and Urban Design
Local Chapter: AIA Pittsburgh
Project Team:Project Manger-evolveEA; Landscape Architect-evolveEA; Associate Designer -evolveEA; Engineer-Arcadis
Buffalo’s stormwater challenge is to protect its water resources and public health as its aging combined sewer network continues to collect and treat increasing amounts of rain and melting snow. Like many combined systems, combined sewer overflows in Buffalo Sewer’s system cause wastewater to flow into the region’s streams and rivers, and Lake Erie. Green infrastructure is part of Buffalo’s solution to manage runoff, improve waterways, increase resiliency, and enhance quality of life in the city.
Rain Check 2.0 identifies potential green infrastructure projects to reduce runoff from over 500 acres of impervious surface, fulfilling Buffalo Sewer’s obligations under the federal Long Term Control Plan (LTCP). The Opportunity Report summarizes the Rain Check 2.0 effort to identify opportunities for green infrastructure on sites within Buffalo Sewer’s priority combined sewer overflow basins, and includes recommendations for how green infrastructure can equitably and impactfully be deployed throughout the City.
Scott Residence
Award Level: Merit Award
Architecture Firm: Richard Pedranti Architect
Project Location: Altamont, NY
Photography credit: Tom Stock
Category: Single Family Residential
Local Chapter: AIA Northeastern Pennsylvania
Project Team:Associate Architect-Richard Pedranti Architect
The Scott Passive House was designed by an architecture firm focused on energy efficient design and fabricated by an off-site construction firm that manufactures, delivers and assembles high-performance buildings.
Homeowner Elizabeth Scott customized a version of the existing line of prefabricated Passive House designs, which provided the confidence of a proven building system with a design that met her own specifications and needs.
The project is a continuation of a familial legacy in sustainable living for Scott, who grew up in a “post and beam passive solar house” that her parents built in 1979.
To expand design options and increase living space, the team added a Passive Roof assembly to Elizabeth’s home. The roof employs the same high-performance materials as the Passive Walls and reclaims living space typically dedicated to the attic. Elizabeth’s customized Passive House is one and a half stories and features four bathrooms and three bedrooms.
Shifted
Award Level: Merit Award
Architecture Firm:KJO Architecture
Project Location: Philadelphia, PA
Photography credit: Sam Oberter
Category: Architecture
Local Chapter: AIA Philadelphia
Project Team:Engineer-Structural-ALFA Engineering Inc; Engineer - MEP - Hutec Engineering & Consulting; General Contractor -GRIT Construction
SHIFTED sits on a tiny L-shaped leftover lot, just 867 square feet tucked between corner parcels on adjacent streets. As industrial and larger commercial uses have vacated the neighborhood, smaller multi-family housing and nimble micro-businesses have taken their place. SHIFTED uses a series of stacked and displaced volumes to accommodate cozy residential dwelling units above a street-level apothecary. Despite the small footprint and modest construction budget, each unit benefits from its own private outdoor terrace with views along the avenue and an abundance of natural light from oversized windows.
St. Joseph’s University, Arrupe Hall
Award Level: Merit Award
Architecture Firm: Moto Designshop
Project Location: Merion Station, PA
Photography credit: Moto Designshop Inc.
Category: Un-Built
Local Chapter: AIA Philadelphia
Project Team:
Architect-Moto Designshop; Civil Engineer-Stantec; Cost Estimator-International Consultants, Inc.; MEP Engineer-Bruce E. Books and Associates; Lighting Consultant-Beam; Structural Engineer-Keast and Hood; Acoustical Engineer-Metropolitan Acoustics; Geotechnical Engineer-GeoStructures Inc.
Arrupe Hall at Saint Joseph’s University will establish a residence for the Jesuit priests who work at the University and the Jesuit high school in Philadelphia. The project is focused on providing them not only a home, but a space that supports this religious community and their devout life’s work.
Shaped around a vertical courtyard to delineate the programmatic spaces, the primary design focus is on the residential chapel. Inspired by the Gregorian calendar, the chapel form takes on a curvilinear shape. The brick pattern further expands the initial geometries and mathematic roots of the form, morphing along its path to create a veil. The use of timeless materials grounds the building within the traditional campus fabric, while the artistic detailing suggests the progressive values within.
The Louisville Knot
Award Level: Merit Award
Architecture Firm:ISA
Project Location: Louisville, KY
Client: Louisville Metro Government
Photography credit:
Category: Ben Norton & ISA team
Local Chapter: AIA Philadelphia
Project Team:General Contractor-Denton Floyd Real Estate Group; Lighting Consultant - Lam Partners; Fabricator-Core Design
The Louisville Knot works to mend a physical and psychological barrier in the urban fabric of downtown Louisville, KY, created by the Ninth Street Overpass, an elevated highway interchange passing over Main Street. A series of bent and bundled steel tubes hand-formed from a mile of linear material by a local fabricator weave together to create seating, tables, lighting, signage and an extra large swing, re-framing the sidewalk and an adjacent parking area under I-64 as an inviting space to gather.
The competition-winning design, commissioned by the City of Louisville, and programmed through a public community process, strengthens urban and social connections, transforming an underutilized area into a welcoming pedestrian thoroughfare. The structure provides a tactical framework for parties, play, and commerce, encouraging residents and visitors to not only cross the divide, but occupy it.
UBER Advanced Technology Group
Award Level: Merit Award
Architecture Firm: NEXT Architecture
Project Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Photography credit: Elliott Cramer Photography
Category: Interior Architecture
Local Chapter: AIA Pittsburgh
Project Team:Project Architect/ Project Manager-Next Architecture L.P.; Interior Designer-Next Architecture L.P.; Interior Designer-Next Architecture L.P.; Architectural Support-Next Architecture L.P.
UBER’s Advanced Technology Group (ATG) is responsible for pioneering self-driving vehicle technology and was need of expansion space in the City of Pittsburgh.
The Crucible Building has a rich history that speaks to the history of the City of Pittsburgh. The Crucible Steel Company was founded in the late nineteenth century, the building thrived until the bust of the industry in the 1970’s. In doing this project our team was tasked with sorting through layers of construction from multiple uses to showcase what the building originally was, while suiting UBER’s need for expansion.
Our team drew inspiration from the process of making crucible steel; different from how most steel was produced in Pittsburgh via blast furnaces. Our team wanted to take a light but purposeful touch in our design to highlight the building’s original structure and purpose.