2019 - 2020 Award Recipients

Perkins and Will
Conceptual Design – Projects not Built
Haley Nelson
Revolution: Changing the Urban Paradigm
The revolution of this net zero urban office building is a bold embodiment of how we will work in the future.

To achieve the goals of developers, architects and clients, the building design focuses on four key components:
•    Efficiency: Above all else, revolutionizing the office building requires that it be efficient in design, structure and systems. It needs to be simple, functional, and durable, re-think existing technologies and methodologies already present within the construction and real estate communities. 
•    Sustainability: The new paradigm must combine strategies to reduce energy load while maximizing efficiency in the future workplace, which will be less energy-intensive while also promoting health and wellbeing to the human condition. The building's performance will be measured and designed for flexibility and adaptability to new technologies and purpose within its local community.
•    Resiliency: With an ever-changing environment, the building is naturally adaptable, providing safety to its occupants during catastrophic shocks and stressors and providing shelter, comfort, and respite to the surrounding community.  The urban nature of the high-rise office tower allows it to be net zero carbon, net zero water, net zero waste, and net zero energy.  
•    Desirability:  Creating the office of the future requires that the building be desirable so that occupants and visitors respond positively to the aesthetics in the urban experience, the lobby and public space experience, the workplace experience, and ultimately user comfort. 
Overall, the building aspires to be 100% recyclable. The base building will be constructed using carbon dioxide sequestering concrete and all structural columns, beams, and floors will use laminated timber. Through both active and passive solar design, over the course of 20 years, the building is anticipated to save $3,450,000 on electricity alone. In addition, the building will also save millions, functioning as a net zero waste and net zero water building, and will benefit the environment, the building’s occupants, and the surrounding community.

HVS Design
Environments Designed to Entertain
Contact - Laura Kelley
The Porch
The Porch is a lively, casual dining restaurant that takes recognizable elements of the past and reinvents them in a way that is fresh and new.

• Porch Kitchen & Bar is an energized, casual dining restaurant with a refined Americana aesthetic, relating back to the comforts of true southern hospitality.
• Our team developed the name of the restaurant from the cultural significance the iconic American porch holds – acting as the neighborhood’s living room, a place to pass the time, and a place that connects individuals to the community.
• The design is derived from taking recognizable elements of the past and reinventing them in a way that is fresh and new. Our team took cues from the nostalgic moments of musicians playing bluegrass music casually on front porches with neighbors and friends of all ages.
• Charcoal backgrounds paired with crisp, white text makes up the bold, eye-catching signage. Pops of crimson and warm cognac bring a rich, old world feel to the palette. Warm reclaimed woods, chambray, the signature diagonal hatched pattern, and linen can be found throughout the space. The patterns, textures, and shapes play off one another like battling instruments to create a captivating dining experience. 
• During the renovation, the bar was moved to a perimeter wall, allowing for multiple groupings to occur elsewhere. With the layout now transformed, the multiple seating options allow for all types of gatherings to happen – from traditional restaurant seating and large parties to a more intimate bar lounge.
• Providing a connection to the outdoors was vital in creating an authentic brand story. As a result, street perimeter windows were exchanged for a large open expanse of operable windows that allow diners to engage with the bustling downtown atmosphere. Guests now have the best of both worlds, an intimate setting and access to the outdoors – offering a unique dining experience each time they visit.
• The combined welcoming atmosphere, rustic refined aesthetic, and warm collected finishes creates a space that feels like home, that locals and travelers want to stop by and be a part of.

Chambers
Environments Designed to Promote Health and Wellness
Contact - Megan Hochman
Oxford Athletic Club
The design team re-imagined this butler-style building with interior enhancements that elevate members' health, wellness, socialization, and lifestyle

Type:  Private health and wellness club
Scope:  36,500 SF renovation
Cost:  Approx. $4.78 million
Objective: The design team paid careful attention to function and adjacency while incorporating design elements and materials that reflect motion, as well as modern solutions to fulfill the high-performance needs of today’s fast-paced, health-conscious lifestyles. The design features complement cutting edge programs and technologies that focus on 'total body' wellness, such as the Re-axing Studio, where neuromuscular training helps improve brain function. For added convenience, the new Market Cafe elevates the casual, on-the-go dining experience with unique features (i.e. self-serve taps), and the WiFi Lounge provides an area to plug-in and connect—a necessity in today’s lifestyle.

•    Fitness:  State of the art studios including durable materials and supporting aesthetics for each fitness venue including boxing, re-axing, pilates, spinning, and yoga
•    Experience:  Golf Simulator and putting green offer indoor training and unique venue for virtual activities.  New bold youth and children rooms offer programs to young members and convenience to parents enjoying the facility.
•    Indulge:  The redesigned Market Café and Dining venues source local produce and products, offering healthy choices to members.
•    Business:  The addition of a dedicated WiFi Lounge, meeting room, and event space offer members the convenience to work outside the office

Challenges:  With a butler style building, all the ceiling equipment including HVAC, sprinkler, lighting, sensors, AV, etc. and ceiling materials were suspended and exposed posing unique design solutions.  Existing structural columns throughout the renovation were also creatively hidden within millwork and finishes.

Perkins and Will
Out of the Box
Contact - Haley Nelson
Morrison & Foerster LLP, Washington, DC Office
This law office is an innovative and professional environment that reflects the forward-thinking reputations of both the firm and their clients.

•  Innovative and professional environment that reflects the forward-thinking reputations of both the law firm and their clients. 

• Epitomize the firm’s brand in a sleek and timeless style that promotes collaboration, collegiality, and employee well-being.

• Top four floors of a new high-rise building in downtown Washington, DC.

• A client-facing conference center occupies the top two floors.

• A clean and timeless Scandinavian-inspired reception space with the use of large format porcelain wall slabs, light white oak flooring and reception desk, classic furniture and subtle rounded elements.

• A balance of warm and cool tones with a combination of textures from wood, tile, area rugs, and exposed concrete columns.

• The reception area offers a variety of seating options including a raised plinth and a custom built-in upholstered bench and custom planter below the stairs. 

• The conference center floors are connected with an open-riser wood stair with wood handrails to invite guests and employees to walk up the stairs to the café space above.

• A two-story feature wall behind the stair is clad in a rippled metal panel that evokes the feeling of water. 

• The café is located on a prominent corner of the building that offers an abundance of natural light and creates an attractive space to gather, socialize, and collaborate. 

• Biophilic elements of plants, the use of natural wood, rippled metal panels evoking water, and organic patterns on decorative exterior screens can reduce stress and increase focus.  

• The two-story stair is an active design strategy that is located on the window with an abundance of natural light to encourage movement. 

• Designed to meet AIA 2030 Commitment with a 60% Lighting Power Reduction.

• Materials selected for the project were vetted for the limitation of potentially harmful chemicals and substances and to increase recycled content. 

• Paints, coatings, and sealants were specified to reduce VOC-emissions in the space.

Snaidero DC Metro
Environments Designed for Personal/Private Living
Contact - Shawna Dillon
Industrial Chic
Exploring dichotomies between materials promotes interest and breathes personality into this kitchen, validating it as an integral part of the home.

• The impetus for the project was to elevate the existing quality of the cabinetry & appliances to increase the lifespan of the kitchen with the main focus on increasing efficiency and improving the way the clients functioned in the space. 

• We took careful note of the essentials & designed the layout and cabinetry so that everything could have a home on one side of the kitchen. The opposite wall now serves as auxiliary storage and secondary prep space. 

• We selected a hand painted terra-cotta tile on the back splash to honor the wife’s Portuguese heritage & designed open shelving to provide a space to display items of interest, reflecting the homeowner’s personality. 

• I needed to visually expand the space & make thoughtful solutions to the cabinet details to increase efficiency.  Details include: removing soffits to increase height, specifying a cabinet style with a built-in handle to minimize visual noise, and upgrading storage solutions with deep drawers and internal pull-outs to increase function.

• I raised the wall cabinets to align with the hood, increasing the height of the backsplash area, which opened up the horizon level.  Large bulky appliances were removed and replaced with built-in appliances to streamline the space.

• The clients were keen on how they wanted the space to function & were detailed about the proximity of storage to the task.  We had to consider storage relationships prior to finalizing the design, much like putting a puzzle together, so the client could mentally walk through the kitchen and make sure storage and efficiency was just as they wanted it.  

• Soffits were removed to add drama and emphasize verticality. Extending to the ceiling brings the eye upward, visually expanding the space. The additional height conceals once-a-year items and frees up valuable real estate for things you need more frequently.

• A swing faucet allows the faucet to turn and provide water for the coffee station without moving around the island

HVS Design
Environments Designed for Public Living
Contact - Laura Kelley
The Blake Hotel
The Blake uses timeless elements to combine all that is alive and thriving in New Haven and capture the city's character and charm within its walls.

• The brief for this hotel was to immerse ourselves in the culture, history, and aesthetics of our surroundings in New Haven to develop a fresh and stylish lifestyle hotel that is unique and memorable.
• The Blake fills a unique niche within New Haven. Its clever design allows flexibility for both short and long term stays. New Haven had not seen a new hotel for years prior to the Blake, let alone a hotel with spacious living areas and stylized kitchenettes that lend themselves to feel like a European pied-a-terre.
• The design called to be classic with timeless elements that embody the rich and diverse culture and history of the area, while creating an effortlessly fashion forward, yet approachable and intimate, atmospheric vibe.
• The ground floor of the Blake is a study in connectivity, just like a city, one space often connects and becomes a part of another. The team drew from the city’s palette, using rich textures and colors to create a welcoming vibe. The lines are detailed yet simple, leaning on textures and tactile elements to create varying depths and interest.
• The lobby design features period details with vintage beams, brick facades, and ironmongery. The materials selected provide for a very rich, yet tactile experience, connecting the Blake to its community. Deep, rich "off" colors on fabrics and hand-selected leathers add depth and character throughout the hotel. The overall ethos has a soothing and luxurious compilation of color and texture, which makes it feel elevated, yet comfortable.
• The design of the 108 guest flats embraces a minimal aesthetic that offers an overall approachable yet sophisticated vibe. Crisp white walls act as a backdrop to the classic design of the room, showcasing a rust-colored velvet sofa and dramatic upholstered headboard. A collection of wood finishes juxtaposed with mixed-metal accents, mimics the eclectic feel throughout the public space.

Nghi Le
Marymount University
Conceptual Design – Student Work
Contact Nghi Le
Future without Violence Women & Children’s Shelter

The design of the shelter is inspired by the cocoon, which is uninviting on the outside, while providing a safe and nourishing environment inside.

The shelter provides for homeless women, domestic violence survivors, sexual assault victims, and their children food and housing for up to 2 years, counseling and legal services, vocational training, and other longterm solutions that prepare them for a new, independent stage of life.

The building has a vertical intimacy gradient. Public spaces like offices, training rooms, counseling rooms are located on level 1. Level 2 consists of semi-private spaces that are frequently used by residents and a central courtyard. Level 3 and 4 are private areas that are accessible only to residents and 24/7 support staff. 

The building has multiple security offices, equipped with two-way glass windows that have decorative graphic, so residents can stay safe without feeling like they are being watched. All entrances require ID check. Rooftop and balcony are highly secure outdoor spaces which can’t be physically or visually invaded by outsiders and/or abusers.

The shelter uses patterns of bioliphic design to support healing and promote well-being. Indoor planters and skylight allow connection with nature through visual, haptic and olfactory stimuli. The open courtyard in biomorphic form mimics the wrapping protective effect of a cocoon.

The shelter has different types of apartment and communal spaces to accommodate special needs of different resident groups (single women, mothers, children); giving them a sense of control, self-worth and confidence.

Residents acquire a sense of community and emotional support by sharing apartments, cooking and dining together, and gathering in communal spaces. Tables and chairs are arranged along the walkway above the central courtyard to  encourage informal interaction.

The central courtyard reduces energy used for lighting, heating, cooling, and ventilation. Rooftop garden reduces heat and collects stormwater which is stored in water tanks. Solar collector system is also equipped to produce clean energy.

DCS Design
Environments Designed for Work
Contact Marlene Wong
IFPRI Headquarters
Create an International, Class A Headquarters reflective of world-renowned organization's life-saving mission and brand through design elements.

Design Goals:
•Translate the organization’s mission and brand into tangible design elements.
•Create connection between consolidating offices (3), diverse work groups, and various spaces.
•Move organization from closed, heads-down culture to open and connected.  
•Increase space and standard efficiencies.
Challenges:
•Building shape contains hard angles and saw-teeth corners. 
•Noise control and disruption in areas of connection.
•Change Management:  Creating excitement for new work culture.
•Design budget = $58/SF.
Design Achievements:
•Softened the sharp angles by creating a curved, fluid plan in order to connect all individual areas; to create movement and space continuity; to increase efficiency; and, to address critical programming requirements.
•Curved plan inspired soft organic curves of the architecture, supporting IFPRI’s prominent brand.  
•Communicated brand through colors replicating sun, earth, planting and harvest; carpet & finish selections incorporating organic textures & colors; warm tones symbolic of Autumn; and access to natural daylight and outdoor views. 
•Created large conference center with breakout spaces created & a VIP Green Room for high-profile guest lecturers, i.e. Hillary Clinton.
•Large, multi-functional lunchroom designed without doors, visually flows into space around it.
•Team created an inner & outer circulation loop: all public spaces designed on inner loop, and all private work areas positioned on the outer loop; thus separating public traffic from paths of travel in private area, activity and noise is highly controlled.
•Team hosted events (happy hours, etc.) throughout the design-process to share planning, design (incl. 3D animation) with staff to create excitement.
•Lower cost materials (vinyl floor to mimic wood, wood veneering, drywall, p-lam) and vibrant paint colors were used to meet the conservative budget.
Award-winning? Yes! The design evokes the organization's mission to fight poverty & hunger throughout the world.