The American Institute of Architects Select Ten Recipients for the 2016 Housing Awards

The jury recognized projects in four award categories: One/Two Family Custom Housing, One/Two Family Production Housing (none selected this year), Multifamily Housing and Special Housing. The descriptions below give a brief summary of the projects. You can learn more about these projects by clicking on the name of the project/firm name.

One/Two Family Custom Housing
The One and Two Family Custom Residences award recognizes outstanding designs for custom and remodeled homes for specific client(s).

Hog Pen Creek Retreat; Austin, Texas
Lake|Flato Architects

Situated at the confluence of Hog Pen Creek and Lake Austin, Hog Pen Creek Residence was envisioned by its owners as a place that evokes the playfulness of summer on the lake and emphasizes exterior living space. Towering heritage oak trees, a steeply sloping site and aggressive setbacks from the water created challenging site constraints thoughtfully answered by the home’s L-shaped footprint and orientation. A long exterior boardwalk connects a series of structures that stair step down the hillside, crossing a 75-foot lap pool and terminating at a screened pavilion by the water’s edge.

Independence Pass Residence; Aspen, CO
Bohlin Cywinski Jackson

At the edge of a nature preserve, the Independence Pass Residence has sweeping views across an alpine meadow to the Roaring Fork River and the Rocky Mountains. The house stretches between two knolls, forming a threshold to the views. A series of textured Vals quartzite walls extend into the landscape on either side, giving weight to the lower level. The upper volume is a glass and wood pavilion with a roof that floats on slender stainless steel columns. Its position on the site, linear shape and the use of glass, steel and quartzite gives great strength to this mountain home.

Island Residence; Honolulu
Bohlin Cywinski Jackson

Situated on the Ocean’s coastline at a corner of an ancient fishpond, this private residence reflects the culture of the Hawaiian Islands by embracing its lush surroundings. The clients sought a modern expression that drew inspiration from their Japanese heritage, without being overly imitative or contrived. This influence is often subtle, manifesting itself through an attention to detail, an affinity for craftsmanship, and a delight in natural materials. The house has diverse outdoor spaces and a highly transparent envelope with intimate views of the landscape, the coastal reef and the surf.

Newberg Residence; Newberg, OR
Cutler Anderson Architects

This single-family 1,440 square foot residence and 550 sf guest house was designed so the owners can connect with the wild creatures that come to water regularly. The design attempts to make the pond and residence a single entity via entry through the forest, over a bridge from the north end of the pond. To maximize the Pacific Northwest light and warmth, the home uses south-facing LoE272 glazing, radiant heating, with wood and steel construction which were locally-sourced.

Oak Ridge House; Jackson, MS
Duvall Decker Architects, P.A.

Home is not just a place of comfort and security, but also a process of locating ourselves in the world. There are times we seek to be enveloped, inside boundaries, and times we strive for risk. This house, located in Jackson, Mississippi, is designed as a scaffold for the experience of moving between these conditions, to inhabit and interpret each of them over time. It is shaped to draw the outdoors in, lure the family out, and provide an environmentally rich palette of spaces to accommodate the process of habitation.

Multifamily Living

The Multifamily Housing award recognizes outstanding apartment and condominium design. Both high- and low-density projects for public and private clients were considered. In addition to architectural design features, the jury assessed the integration of the building(s) into their context, including open and recreational space, transportation options and features that contribute to livable communities.

1180 Fourth Street; San Francisco
Mithun

1180 Fourth Street marks a gateway to San Francisco’s Mission Bay neighborhood. It houses 150 low income and formerly homeless households, plus 10,000 square feet of restaurants and retail. The project occupies a full city block with a multi-level courtyard accessing tenant services, daycare, community gardens and common spaces. A generous community room serves the larger neighborhood as well as the project. Amenities emphasize fitness, nutrition, education and community life. The project symbolizes San Francisco’s commitment to integrating dignified homes for the poorest citizens into the heart of the City.

Cloverdale749; Los Angeles
Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects

Cloverdale749’s integration with its surroundings is upheld by carefully considered deck, window, and walkway placements wherein LOHA established a veil of transformable layers to promote a hybridized relationship between private and public spheres. While the building is deliberately contextual, the white form also presents a visually striking contrast on a street otherwise occupied by neutral stucco neighbors so typical of Southern California apartment structures, injecting a liveliness and strong contemporary presence into the urban fabric. Incorporating passively sustainable elements in the exterior cladding helps reduce the solar heat load on the building and its energy expenditures for cooling.

Specialized Housing

The Special Housing award recognizes outstanding design of housing that meets the unique needs of other specialized housing types such as single room occupancy residences (SROs), independent living for the disabled, residential rehabilitation programs, domestic violence shelters, and other special housing.

Commonwealth Honors College, University of Massachusetts; Amherst, MA
William Rawn Associates, Architects, Inc.

The Commonwealth Honors College Community brings together all classes of students in a mix of unit types that provides 1,500 beds in seven new buildings. The buildings are organized around intimately scaled courtyards that step down the hillside, creating the sense of an academic village for the University of Massachusetts Honors Community. “The new residential community is a game changer to make ourselves the university of choice for the commonwealth of Massachusetts, attracting the best motivated high school students,” said Dean Daniel Gordon.

Homeless Veterans Transitional Housing, VA Campus; Los Angeles
LEO A DALY

As part of the Nation’s vanguard effort to house its homeless veterans, the design team of Leo A Daly took a historic structure on the VA’s West Los Angeles medical campus, a building that had been vacant for decades, and repurposed it, turning Building 209—a 1940’s-era clinic building—into an inviting new home for veterans. In the process, the building’s exterior, designated a historic landmark by the Secretary of the Interior, was fully restored, and the former mental hospital transformed into modern therapeutic housing for 65 formerly homeless veterans.

Whitetail Woods Regional Park Camper Cabins; Farmington, MN
HGA

Nestled into the hillside of a new regional park, three camper cabins riff on the idea of a tree house entered from a bridge at the crest of a hill. Built on concrete piers to minimize environmental impact, the 227-square-foot cabins with an 80-square-foot deck feature red cedar glulam chassis, cedar and pine framing, and red cedar cladding. Two full-size bunks, dining and sitting areas accommodate four individuals, with a sleeper sofa and folding seating accommodating up to two more. Floor-to-ceiling glass doors frame views of the forest.

The jury for the 2016 Housing Awards includes: Jamie Blosser, AIA (Chair), Atkin Olshin Schade Architects; Ariella Cohen, Editor-in-Chief, Next City; Kevin Harris, FAIA, Kevin Harris Architect, LLC; David Lee, FAIA, Stull and Lee, Inc. and Suman Sorg, FAIA, Sorg & Associates, P.C.

About The American Institute of Architects
Founded in 1857, the American Institute of Architects consistently works to create more valuable, healthy, secure, and sustainable buildings, neighborhoods, and communities. Through nearly 300 state and local chapters, the AIA advocates for public policies that promote economic vitality and public wellbeing. Members adhere to a code of ethics and conduct to ensure the highest professional standards. The AIA provides members with tools and resources to assist them in their careers and business as well as engaging civic and government leaders and the public to find solutions to pressing issues facing our communities, institutions, nation and world. Visit www.aia.org.

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