September AIA-SWO Chapter Meeting Recap

David's House Traumatic Brain Injury Residence by 2Form Architecture - 1st Place, Public/Institutional Architecture, 2008 People's Choice Awards

The September 2008 AIA-SWO chapter meeting featured our annual Awards Gala, showcasing the results of our Craftsmanship and People’s Choice awards programs. If you weren’t there, you missed a great event. Gerlinger Hall Lounge on the University of Oregon campus provided a decorous backdrop for the stately proceedings, enjoyed by the 50 AIA-SWO members and guests in attendance.

AIA150 Scholarships
The evening’s first point of order was to bestow the AIA150 Scholarship for Community Activism to two students nominated by faculty at the University of Oregon’s School of Architecture and Allied Arts. The scholarships were established by our chapter’s AIA150 committee, part of the national celebration of the American Institute of Architects 150th anniversary in 2007. The committee was pleased to award the scholarships to two students destined to become leaders of our profession:

• Erik Churchill, Graduate Student in Architecture and Business Administration, M. Arch. and M.B.A. Candidate (2010): Erik is one of the student founders and presently the elected Director of the DesignBridge, a student-run design-build organization. He has outstanding leadership abilities and excels in both the Architecture and Business Graduate Programs. In addition to Erik's service and academic achievements, his design studio work is outstanding. Professor Earl Moursund comments on Erik’s performance: “Thoughtful, inventive, searching; jumping over the obvious to explore possibilities, dramatic consequences, really plunged into the nature of each of the project components, with most interesting results…”

• Daniele Cohen B.Arch. candidate (2011): Daniele is a member of the Robert D. Clark Honors College and holds a 3.67 GPA. His ARCH 383 Professor, Dee Etzwiller, comments in her review of his studio work: “You are a strong student who is passionate about architecture. You worked very hard on your design, developing it on all scales up to the end. Your design process is smooth and thoughtful. You have a strong design sense and keen interest in form, materials, structures, etc.” He is the newly elected Outreach Director for New Projects by the student-run DesignBridge Organization. The Outreach Director works with a team of students “incubating” projects, grant writing and finding professional sponsors who can mentor, provide materials and equipment, and recruits design/build firms to offer summer internships. It is unusual that a second-year undergraduate gains the confidence of so many students. In his short time at Oregon, Daniele has demonstrated great potential as a designer, scholar, and as a caring, contributing member of the community.
  

Congratulations Erik and Daniele!

AIA150 Committee Chair Eric Gunderson presents the AIA150 scholarships to Daniele Cohen and Erik Churchill

Craftsmanship Awards
We too often fail to publicly acknowledge the men and women in the construction industry that have demonstrated truly superior craftsmanship and execution of the buildings we design. The biennial AIA-SWO Craftsmanship Awards program is an excellent vehicle for demonstrating our appreciation for their efforts, without which our projects cannot succeed. For the September 2008 AIA-SWO chapter meeting, we were privileged to recognize nine worthy nominees:

• Shadowbrook General Contracting
• Gary Engle, Master Carpenter
• Tofflemoyer Masonry
• John Wright, Vik Construction
• Mark Bruer
• Jim Sutherland, J.B. Electric
• Nick Russo, Renaissance Remodel & Restoration
• Pat Shields, Shieldworks
• Essex Construction

The following individuals were further singled out as the recipients of 2008 AIA-SWO Craftsmanship Awards for the outstanding displays of skill evident in their completed projects:

• Nick Russo, Renaissance Remodel & Restoration
• Pat Shields, Shieldworks
• John Wright, Vik Construction

AIA-SWO President Jody Heady, AIA presents John Wright of Vik Construction with his 2008 Craftsmanship Award

Congratulations are due to all of the Craftsmanship Award nominees. More importantly, we thank them for the care, focus, and attention that are evident in their work, for doing their best to help realize the vision of our architectural dreams.

People’s Choice Awards
The AIA-SWO People’s Choice Awards is our annual public outreach event held at the Eugene Celebration. The purpose is to present the recent work of architects and landscape architects, and to encourage the public to critically engage the built environment. The emphasis is not on winning but on sharing and honoring all the work undertaken to make buildings and landscapes important and meaningful in our daily lives. Here is the list of the winners, who are also featured in the Wednesday, September 24, 2008 edition of the Eugene Register-Guard. Congratulations to this year's People's Choice selections!

• Commercial Landscape 1st Place: Paradise Springs Wedding & Events Garden - Schirmer & Associates

• Commercial Landscape 2nd Place: Sequential Biofuel Retail Fueling Station - Habitats Inc.

• Multi-Family Housing 1st Place: The Watershed - Solarc Architecture & Engineering

• Multi-Family Housing 2nd Place: Crescent Village East - Rowell Brokaw Architects

• Public/Institutional 1st Place: David’s House Traumatic Brain Injury Residence - 2Form Architecture

• Public/Institutional 2nd Place: A New Synagogue for Temple Beth Israel - TBG Architects & Planners

• Residential Landscape 1st Place: Deep Shade to Dappled Light - Stangeland & Associates

• Residential Landscape 2nd Place: Terraces at the Pavilion - Schlesinger & Associates

La Perla Pizzeria Napoletana - Nir Pearlson, Architect

• Commercial 1st Place: La Perla Pizzeria Napoletana - Nir Pearlson

• Commercial 2nd Place: Planet Improvement Center – Bring Recycling - TBG Architects & Planners

• Residential 1 st Place: McKenzie River Residence - Nir Pearlson

• Residential 2nd Place: Rogers Residence - Willard C. Dixon

The winner of out ballot raffle and the recipient of a $250 gift certificate to The Green Store is Esther Foss of Eugene. Congratulations Esther!

Colleague's Choice Results
The “Colleague’s Choice” vote is an ancillary event to the People’s Choice program and meant to be a fun way for our AIA-SWO and ASLA members to weigh in on the question of which of their peers’ projects were most worthy of recognition. In addition, the AIA-SWO and ASLA voters were encouraged to provide their comments about the projects. Accompanying the list below of the colleagues’ choices is a sampling of their comments:

• Commercial Landscape: SeQuential Biofuel Retail Fueling Station
  Transforms a utilitarian, functional building into something more meaningful.
  The green roof appears to work! It is prominent because of the shed roof form.
  When I drive by I admire how good the roof looks
  Good demonstration piece for the public

• Multi-Family Housing: The Royal
  Well styled urban building both inside and out
  Project’s scope and mixed-use in downtown setting is attractive
  Underserved need, well-designed space, simplicity of plan; though a little trendy
  Because it really changes Springfield
  
  

• Public/Institutional: West Eugene Wetlands Environmental Education Center
  Ambitious project goals
  Synthesized
  Right on!
  Nice integration into the site. Good use of a vegetated roof.
  Transparent and open.
  Clearly well-thought out. Beautiful board!
  
  
• Residential Landscape: Brannock Garden
  Multiple layers with depth; opening the backyard to the front.
  Not ordinary in its approach to elements, such as fire pit, retaining wall, etc.
  Beautiful water feature, strong art component.
  Clean, efficient use of materials; built forms complement/integrate w/natural components.
  Elegant incorporation of built and natural landscapes.
  Art, simplicity, materiality.

• Commercial Architecture: La Perla
  Great use of materials and color; daring and appropriate
  Great new identity and memorable image
  Fresh, simple, bold
  Excellent creation of an open dining area w/focus on the pizza oven!
  Visually energetic, draws you in from the street yet is connected & part of the streetscape
  
  
• Single-Family Residential: McKenzie River Residence
  Beautifully tucked into the landscape
  A modern gem
  Ordered, minimal, rich materials
  A beautiful house on an awesome site
  Compact but appears very spacious
  Simplicity of form, honesty and articulation of materials
  
  

All AIA-SWO and ASLA members who submitted their Colleague’s Choice ballots were instantly eligible for a raffle prize drawing. The prize – a $150 gift certificate to The Green Store – was awarded to Lindsay Smith of Satre Associates. Congratulations Lindsay!

People’s Choice Exhibit Schedule
The boards of the winning 2008 entries will be on display at the Midtown Arts Center (1590 Willamette Street in Eugene) during the month of October. Following that, all of the 2008 People’s Choice boards will be moved to the Corvallis Public Library, where they will be viewable through November.

Register-Guard Special Insert
As mentioned above, look for the special Register-Guard insert inside the Wednesday, September 24th edition of the paper. Also, you will be able to find an expanded, full-color online version of the insert at the Register-Guard’s web site at http://adserver1.harvestadsdepot.com/reggrdeugene/ss/085248/.

Acknowledgements
I would be remiss if I did not thank the members of the Craftsmanship Awards and People’s Choice Awards committees for generously offering their time and energies toward the success of both programs. We couldn’t have done it without them:

• Craftsmanship Award Committee Members
  Jody Heady
  Jean Duffett
  Scott Stolarczyk
  
• People’s Choice Committee Members
  Kurt Albrecht
  Janna Alley
  Sara Bergsund
  Jenna Fribley
  Shawn Jenkins
  Anita Van Asperdt
  Barbara Harris
  Matt Koehler
  Lana Sadler
  Paul Dustrud
  . . . plus all the AIA-SWO and ASLA members who staffed the exhibit (thank you!)