AIA Eugene 2019 Construction Craft Awards

2019 AIA Eugene Construction Craft Awards Banquet, May 8, 2019 (photo by Dylan Tibbetts)

It was a full house this past Wednesday evening in the University of Oregon’s Ford Alumni Center’s Lee Barlow Giustina Ballroom as AIA Eugene honored the nominees for and recipients of the 2019 Construction Craft Awards. The event was my profession’s opportunity to honor fine craftsmanship and recognize those considered by the jury to be deserving of special recognition. It was a wonderful evening that celebrated the best of the best.

The purpose of this long-running awards program, started in 1953 and last held in 2015, is to give special recognition to those individuals in the building industry who have mastered the ideals of their craft on a particular project or over the course of their careers. AIA Eugene honors the most deserving of these individuals with the presentation of a Construction Craft Award. The overarching purpose is to ensure the time-honored ideals of craftsmanship are sustained and passed along. The program’s success is dependent upon nominations of those individuals AIA Eugene members believe exemplify the highest standards of craftsmanship. 

The following is the list of the eighteen nominees for the 2019 Construction Craft Awards: 

• Alice McCann - Product Representative, Armstrong World Industries 
• Charlotte Curtis - Commercial Plans Examiner, City of Eugene
• Doug Edwards - Finished Woodworker, LJ Pearson
• Erica Ann Bush - Natural Plasterer, Day One Design LLC
• Evin Avila - Construction Superintendent, Ordell Construction
• Gordon Rea - Construction Superintendent, McKenzie Commercial Contractors, Inc.
• Jon McCoy - Construction Superintendent, Chambers Construction
• Jonathan Chandler - Metal Fabrication, Jonathan Chandler Metal Works
• Keith Perkins - Sheet Metal Worker, Smith Sheet Metal
• Kelly Huber - Metal Fabrication, Urban Lumber Company
• Leanne Tollerud -Cabinet Maker, Advance Cabinet Designs
• Obadiah “Ob” Buley - Ceiling Grid & Tile Installer, Haas Contracting, Inc.
• Robin Olofson - Cabinet Maker, Yankee Built
• Steve Baker - Sheet Metal Worker, Smith Sheet Metal
• Terry Green - General Manager, Rubensteins Contract Carpet
• Tim Jacobs - Construction Superintendent, Chambers Construction
• Tim Stephens - General Contractor/Carpenter, Frontier Builders
• Wilbur Burge - Construction Superintendent, 2G Construction

The 2019 Construction Craft Award nominees (photo by Dylan Tibbetts)

The awards jury—comprised of representatives from the design and construction industries, including past award winners—met for 3½ hours to consider the nominations. The deliberations involved reviews of 74 letters of reference and recommendations, and photographs of in-process and completed projects documenting the craft each nominee has brought to the projects he or she has worked on. The jury weighed each nomination on its own merit for the work presented and the endorsements included in each packet.

While being nominated for this award program is a great acknowledgement in itself, in the end the jury agreed to confer six individuals with a 2019 Construction Craft Award. Accompanied by the jury’s commendation for each, the following are the deserving recipients:

Steve Baker

Sheet Metal Worker, Smith Sheet Metal 
As a lead journeyman/foreman for Smith Sheet Metal for over 25 years, Steve’s high level of skill and extensive knowledge of the sheet metal industry exemplifies what it means to be a crafts person at the top of their trade. He is highly skilled and experienced with many panel systems including a wide variety of metal roofing and siding products as well as modern rain screen cladding systems. He has proven himself to be extremely valuable in his ability to design and install complex sheet metal flashing assemblies, performing work that few others can with such skill. His attention to detail is unmatched.

Erica Ann Bush

Natural Plasterer, Day One Design LLC

With a background in architecture, and as an experienced contractor with a concern for the environment, Erica always comes through in providing high quality construction services in the green and natural building realm, and has consistently shown herself as competent, hard-working, and inventive. Erica is professional, knowledgeable, and always eager to explore ideas and ways of pushing the limits of natural construction. Her use of natural plaster in creative applications brings a high level of artistic craft and sustainability to her projects.

Charlotte Curtis

Commercial Plans Examiner, City of Eugene

During Charlotte’s 28 years of service to our shared community as a commercial plans examiner, she has reviewed a multitude of building permit applications, provided straightforward counsel when asked about the intricacies of the building code, coordinated project consultations with stakeholders, and guided first time permit applicants as well as seasoned design professionals and contractors through the City of Eugene’s building permit process with equanimity, confidence, and grace. She performed plan reviews for well-known and locally treasured buildings including Matt Knight Arena, Eugene Public Library, Knight Campus for Accelerated Scientific Innovation, Lillis Business Center, Hayward Field, and Ninkasi Brewing. Charlotte brings her smile and enthusiasm to every project she touches, and in doing so she has helped make the City of Eugene a friendlier place to design and build in.

Jon McCoy

Construction Superintendent, Chambers Construction 
Working with Chambers Construction for almost 30 years Jon has completed a long list of projects varying in size, scope, construction type, challenges, and complexity. He is friendly and welcoming to everyone on the project site, whether the owner, architect, plumber’s helper, or steel erector. His approachable manner allows him to know at any time what everyone is working on and when tasks should be completed, allowing for great communication and coordination between trades. He inspires others around him, is a true leader, a superb craftsman, and a trusted team player.

Robin Olofson

Cabinet Maker, Yankee Built

Whether residential or commercial construction, Robin brings skill, versatility, and ingenuity to everything he works on. Robin’s willingness to participate in the design process from the outset has been fundamental to achieve the level of creativity and customization that architects and clients alike are aiming for when it comes to the project’s custom built casework. His in-person involvement and attention to detail, from the first set of finish samples to the careful installation of casework components, has been essential to the success of many of his projects.

Gordon Rea

Construction Superintendent, McKenzie Commercial Contractors, Inc. 
Over a decades-long career that is not yet complete, Gordon has presented himself on one project after another as a picture of humanity. Whether new construction or complicated remodel work, Gordon approaches each assignment with great care, understanding of the scope and goals, and the thorough planning needed to complete each project, often in continually occupied buildings. He is respectful to the building occupants, and maintains open lines of communications with all involved. And he does it with a positive can-do attitude, and a great pride in accomplishing the work on time, under budget, and of high quality.

(L to R) My Robertson/Sherwood/Architects colleague Andy Drake, me, and 2019 Construction Craft Award recipient Gordon Rea.

Architect and designer Justin Allen delivered the evening’s keynote address. Justin is the Stott Visiting Professor in the University of Oregon’s School of Architecture & Environment. Though American, he now works in Berlin, Germany in partnership with Saskia Kaufmann and their firm AllenKaufman Studio.

Justin proved to be a most appropriate and thoughtful speaker for the Craft Awards program. He acquired his dedication to craft while working during his teens in his father’s tool and die manufacturing shop. The experience instilled in him an appreciation for precision and attention to detail. Following university, he worked with Steven Holl Architects in New York before moving to Berlin, where a longstanding tradition of artisanal craftsmanship is engrained in the culture. He and Saskia Kaufmann established their office with the goal of embracing art and fabrication in the context of architecture and design, and committing to the collaborative aspect of creating projects, objects, and subjects through a process of inspiration, imagination, and refinement.

For Justin, the inclusion of both masculine and feminine perspectives is key to the evolution of craft in architecture and interior design. I found his emphasis on this point somewhat curious, as it seems the application of and appreciation for craft should be irrespective of gender. That said, the fact Justin is compelled to underscore the necessity of collaborations between male and female architects, designers, and craftspeople suggests we still have a ways to go before the design and construction industries will provide truly equitable opportunities for all.  

Justin Allen (photo by Dylan Tibbetts)

Justin quipped that while AIA Eugene architects enthusiastically fete the Construction Craft Award honorees, does the absence of a reciprocal awards program produced by construction craftspeople say something about what they think of architects? Joking aside, there’s no doubt in my mind the Construction Craft Awards program is one of our professional organization’s most important traditions. It’s essential we take the time to recognize the skilled, talented, and deserving individuals who make us and our projects look good.  

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I talked to several of the nominees and award recipients before and after the awards ceremony, and to a person all felt truly honored to be there. More than anything else, I found hearing this especially gratifying because it points to how meaningful the Construction Craft Awards program is to our collaborators in the construction trades. The 2019 edition was a great success due to the efforts of the organizing committee, the jury, and most significantly all of the award recipients and nominees. Congratulations to all involved!