AIA Institute Honor Award Winners Named

Washington, D.C., January 12, 2007--The American Institute of Architects (AIA) announced today the 2007 recipients of the AIA Institute Honor Awards, the profession’s highest recognition of works that exemplify excellence in architecture, interior architecture, and urban design. Selected from nearly 700 total submissions, 29 recipients will be honored in May at the AIA 2007 National Convention and Design Exposition in San Antonio. Eleven worthy projects were selected as the 2007 Institute Honor Awards for Architecture recipients. Schools and educational facilities made a remarkably strong showing, receiving 8 of the 11 awards. Jury members include: Jury Chair Richard Logan, AIA, Gensler; Elizabeth (Zibby) Ericson, FAIA Shepley Bulfinch Richardson & Abbott; Philip Freelon, FAIA, The Freelon Group; Thomas W. Kundig, FAIA, Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects; Nicole Ludacka, Assoc. AIA, The Architectural Offices; Kristal Peters, Howard University; Henry Siegel, FAIA, Siegel & Strain Architects; Victor Trahan III, FAIA, Trahan Architects; Jane Werner, Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. “Experiencing such a broad spectrum of outstanding work from the nation’s architectural community was a special privilege for all. The exterior aspects, the quality of the interior spaces, site considerations, environmental issues, and social relevance were all factors in distinguishing the final selections,” said Jury Chair, Richard A. Logan, AIA. “If anything, this year’s collection of projects demonstrates that bold, sculptural expressions of form can be as captivating as ever, yet rational, elegant solutions to structural, programmatic, community and environmental issues can be equally compelling. The range of winning projects demonstrates both the power and diversity of great architecture.” Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Berlin, Germany Eisenman Architects This five-acre memorial sits along the East Berlin side of the former Berlin Wall and is now filled with a grid of 2,711 concrete pillars, or stelae, each 95 centimeters wide and 2.375 meters long and varying from zero to four meters high. Spencertown House, Spencertown, New York Thomas Phifer and Partners This private residence is situated on a rolling meadow and commands dramatic views of an agricultural valley and the distant Catskills in rural upstate New York. The home’s primary organizational element is a six-foot-high concrete wall that retains the earth on the uphill side and defines a large entry court in the middle. Canada’s National Ballet School: Project Grand Jeté, Stage 1: The Jarvis Street Campus, Toronto, Canada Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects/Goldsmith Borgal & Company Limited Architects in Joint Venture This ballet school is the only institution in North America to offer on one site an integral program of professional dance training, advanced academic education, and residential living. Meinel Optical Science Research Building, Tucson, Arizona richärd + bauer architecture This 47,000-square-foot research lab is both an expansion and renovation of the university’s optical department and contains teaching and research labs, classrooms, interaction areas, and offices. Within the simple volume, daylight is introduced by a series of apertures, interacting and modulating the spaces within. World Birding Center Headquarters, Mission, Texas Lake|Flato Architects The Lower Rio Grande Valley is one of the richest bird habitats in the world. On the major migratory pathway for most North American species, the area has become a primary destination for birding enthusiasts. University of Michigan, Biomedical Science Research Building, Ann Arbor, Michigan Polshek Partnership Architects, LLP This 435,000-square-foot building provides 250 biomolecular research labs for the university’s 1,000 users. The building forms a connection between the main campus and the medical school.

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