Sunday, April 13, 2014

Call for Entries: 2014 AIA-SWO Design Awards


The American Institute of Architects–Southwestern Oregon Chapter is excited to announce the 2014 Design Awards Program. The purpose of the program is to celebrate achievements in design excellence by member firms, to generate greater public interest in architecture, and to honor the architects, clients, and consultants who work together to enhance our built environment. 

It’s been five long years since AIA-SWO last produced a Design Awards program.(1) The reasons why include the sheer effort required to organize a successful program, as well as the debilitating impacts of the “Great Recession” upon AIA-SWO member firms. Kudos to the AIA-SWO board and the AIA-SWO Design Excellence Committee for committing to producing what I am certain will be a true showcase for the best work of our most talented member firms. 

As listed above, the intent to enter and fee payment deadline is Tuesday, April 22, 2014 at 5:00 PM. The deadline for actual submissions is Tuesday, May 13, 2014 at 4:00 PM (either by mail or hand-delivered to the AIA-SWO office). 

Award Categories 
The AIA-SWO organizers will give the jury members the right to grant the number and type of awards of their choice. The jury will consider the virtues of each project individually, regardless of type or size, and will bestow awards for projects in any or all of the following four categories: 
  • Honor Awards for built projects that show outstanding achievement in architectural design.
  • Merit Awards for built projects with noteworthy achievement in architectural design.
  • Citation Awards for built and un-built projects with specifically notable design elements.
  • Student Awards for design projects submitted by students enrolled in a professional degree program in architecture or interior architecture. Winning projects will receive a student citation. 
Eligibility
Only AIA-SWO member firms, AIA-SWO member architects, or AIA-SWO Associate members are eligible to participate in the 2014 AIA-SWO Design Awards program.(2) Members can submit architecture, planning, urban design, or interior design projects located anywhere in the United States but they must have been completed between October 1, 2009 and May 22, 2014.

AIA-SWO encourages any student currently registered in a professional degree program in Architecture or Interior Architecture to submit his or her best design studio projects for consideration. 

Interested? Click the following link for a complete rundown of submission instructions, entry fees, and the necessary entry forms:

http://www.aiaswo.org/2014-aia-swo-design-awards/

2014 Design Awards Jury 
The Design Awards committee has assembled an outstanding jury of four accomplished professionals: 


Carol ColettaVP, Community and National Initiatives, Knight Foundation 
Carol Coletta is an expert on the development of cities. She was director of ArtPlace, a unique public-private collaboration to accelerate creative placemaking in communities across the United States. ArtPlace brings together leading private foundations, the National Endowment for the Arts, other federal agencies and major banks. For seven years, Coletta was president and CEO of CEOs for Cities, a national network of urban leaders. Previously, she served as executive director of the Mayors’ Institute on City Design, and also ran a Memphis-based public affairs consulting firm, Coletta & Company, focused on civic issues. In 2003, Coletta was named a Knight Fellow in Community Building at the University of Miami School of Architecture. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Memphis with majors in journalism and public issues management and has completed graduate work in future studies at the University of Houston Clear Lake and in design at the Institute of Design in Chicago.  


Laura Hafermann, AIA, LEED AP, Salt Studio, Seattle, WA 
Based in Seattle and now the principal of Salt Studio, Laura Hafermann, AIA, LEED AP, was also a founding partner in Patano+Hafermann Architects with offices in Seattle and Coeur d'Alene. The Seattle AIA recognized Patano+Hafermann as a Regionally Emerging Firm in 2011. Among its accomplishments, the firm can boast a COTE Top Ten What Makes it Green Award, an AIA Citation, and Dwell Magazine's #12 Favorite House. Prior to cofounding Patano+Hafermann Architects, Laura worked at the Miller/Hull Partnership in Seattle. She attended Whitman College and received her master's in architecture from the University of Oregon, where she was also a founding member of the HOPES Ecological Design Conference. 


Dennis McFadden, FAIA, Los Angeles, CA 
Dennis McFadden’s work of the last 27 years has focused primarily on public institutions. As a design partner with the Los Angeles firm CO Architects (previously Anshen+Allen, Los Angeles), he was responsible for the design of 12 projects on five different University of California campuses as well as numerous other public and private university, college, and healthcare projects. Additionally, his experience includes designing hospitals, courthouses, high schools, and multi-family housing. Dennis’ work has been widely published and recognized with over 30 design awards, including 10 local, state, and national AIA Awards. 


David Tryba, FAIA, Tryba ArchitectsDenver, CO 
David is the Founder of Tryba Architects, a Denver-based architecture, urban design and planning firm with a national reputation for design excellence. David possesses a deep understanding of the West, its culture and history and landscape. He has completed projects across North America including commissions in Colorado, Washington, New York, California, Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Utah, Arizona, Massachusetts, Mississippi, and Mexico. David received his Bachelor of Environmental Design and Master of Architecture from the University of Colorado. In 2005, the University of Colorado conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from CU for his significant contribution to the transformation and rebuilding of Denver’s urban form. David served as AIA Denver Chapter President in 2007 and was named AIA Colorado’s 2013 Architect of the Year. 

The jurors will evaluate all entrants on Thursday, May 22, 2014 between 9:00 AM to 2:00. Their deliberations will be closed to the public. 

2014 Design Excellence Lecture 
In an effort to share its most prestigious awards program with the broader community, AIA-SWO will reveal the winners of the 2014 AIA-SWO Design Awards immediately following the 2014 Design Excellence Speakers Series presentation. Awards juror Carol Coletta will deliver a public lecture for the Design Excellence Program beginning at 5:30pm. This one-hour presentation, which will be free and open to the public (RSVP at rsvp@dxoregon.org), will be followed by the Design Awards dinner and awards presentation. 

Here’s the program schedule: 

AIA Design Excellence Program - Public Lecture May 22, 2014 @ 5:30 pm 
The Hult Center for the Performing Arts 
5:00 pm - doors open 
5:30 - 6:30 pm - presentation 
6:30 - 7:00 pm - light reception 

AIA Design Awards - Dinner Event May 22, 2014 @ 7:00 pm 
The Hult Center for the Performing Arts  
6:30 pm - doors open 
7:00 pm - dinner/presentation 
9:00 pm - good night 

The chapter announced the call for entries this past week on its Thursdays at Three e-newsletter, so this blog post shouldn’t be news to most AIA-SWO and Associate AIA-SWO members. My goal is to entice non-AIA members in our chapter area to consider joining the Institute. Members benefit from a range of expertise through a peer network of more than 83,000 colleagues, excellent continuing education opportunities, and the work of leaders raising the visibility of architects in our community. The AIA also benefits members by pursuing legislative agendas aimed at promoting and defending our profession. This is best accomplished by working together and presenting a single, united voice. The AIA is dedicated to fostering a culture that appreciates architecture and values what we do as design professionals. 

So, if you’re not currently a member of AIA-Southwestern Oregon but would like to submit your best projects to the 2014 Design Awards program, now is the time to join. With the prestige an AIA award confers, your work will be regarded as setting a standard for excellence, informing public expectations for architectural practice, its breadth, and its value. 

(1)      Sadly, one of the members of our 2009 Design Awards jury, Robert Hull, FAIA, passed away just last week at the age of 68 due to complications from a stroke. A founding partner of the outstanding Seattle firm The Miller Hull Partnership, he was a truly thoughtful juror. I appreciated and was honored by the opportunity to interact with Bob before, during, and after the jury deliberations. He leaves behind a remarkable legacy, one which all architects familiar with his work are grateful for. 

(2)  Note: An AIA firm is defined as one wherein the majority of financial ownership is held by registered architects, all of whom are AIA members. (AIA Bylaws 2.122, Use of Membership Title by Firm). 

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