2009 AIA Greenville Design Awards Recipients

Every other year, the Greenville section of the American Institute of Architects recognizes a diverse group of building projects for excellence in architectural design during their Biennial Design Awards Program. The organization, first chartered as the Greenville Council of Architects in 1956, celebrates the best of Greenville’s newest architecture, acknowledges the special contributions to the built environment by licensed architects, and informs the public of the value of architectural practice. The award-winning architecture reflects a varied mix of projects that are honored for their creative, innovative and environmentally sensitive design solutions.

The most recent Design Awards were presented to the architects, building owners and contractors at an awards ceremony on December 4, 2009 at Zen Greenville in Greenville’s historic West End. The seven award-winning projects demonstrate the depth and scope of AIA members’ design excellence. The two Honor and five Merit Award recipients were chosen from 27 submissions that each represent much of the finest work produced by AIA Greenville architects in the past few years.

“This year’s winning projects represent design excellence by Greenville architects and their efforts to continually enhance the quality of life in our region”, noted Brad Benjamin, AIA, this year’s AIA Greenville president.

The design awards jury was led by Daniel Bennett, FAIA, Dean of the College of Architecture, Design & Construction at Auburn University. According to Bennett, Greenville AIA’s submissions are some of the best submissions he’s reviewed in his many years as juror of architecture awards throughout the country – even as compared to many he’s done in major metropolitan areas. Other distinguished jurors included David Hinson, Head of the School of Architecture at Auburn University; and Michael Gamble, Associate Professor of Architecture in the College of Architecture at the Georgia Institute of Technology and a partner in the firm G + G Architects in Atlanta, Georgia.

WINNERS:

Honor Award
Neal Prince Architects and SmithGroup
CU-ICAR Management Tower and Parking Garage
Greenville, South Carolina

The design program called for an office tower and parking garage that would bring to life the client’s vision for this automotive research campus by:

1. Creating an identifiable ‘town center’ for the neighborhood of the campus
2. Providing a place for informal, daily interaction between researchers
3. Expressing the technology emphasis of the research
4. Supporting the sustainable objectives of the campus
5. Celebrating the automobile as a cultural icon

The project features tinted glass walls and metal scrims on two sides, showcasing the parked cars in a subtle, layered manner. The interstitial gap between the glass and the concrete structure provides space to hang banners, artwork, or an automobile, while the exposed wall structure metaphorically expresses the idea of technology and the interconnectivity of automotive research.

Honor Award
DesignStrategies, LLC
BMW Information Technology Research Center
Greenville, South Carolina

The BMW Information Technology Research Center (ITRC) was the first structure built on the 200 acre Clemson University International Center for Automobile Research (ICAR) campus in Greenville, SC. The design of the facility fits with the International Style chosen for the campus, due to the desire to recruit companies from around the world. The 80,000 square foot, four story structure provides an open, vibrant, and light filled work environment. Light wells throughout the building visually connect the floors and allow natural light to permeate all levels of the building.

Merit Award
McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture
Hubbell Lighting, Inc.
Greenville, South Carolina

The client’s new headquarters building exemplifies the marriage of form and function as a symbol of environmental stewardship, advanced design technology, and best lighting practices. The team met complex and evolving program requirements, a compressed timetable for project completion, and an aggressive budget allowance through a consolidation of 17 independently operating brands located across the country. The facility serves as an exceptional laboratory and office environment, an employee recruitment tool, a best-in-class customer training facility and an energy-efficient building that optimizes life-cycle costs on materials and systems. Designed using Building Information Modeling software, the structure aptly reflects the progressive company’s values and leadership position within the lighting industry.

Merit Award
Craig Gaulden Davis and Stubbs Muldrow Herin Architects, Inc.
Mt. Pleasant Academy
Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina

The site of the existing school had many desirable qualities – adjacencies to a residential neighborhood near an old fishing village and the city ballfields, as well as a location on the marsh with a view of a nearby lighthouse. The biggest challenge was placing the new 600-student school on a site with only 202’ of road frontage and meeting all the Department of Transportation requirements for car stacking and separation of drives. The result is a linear, two-story school that mimics the lowcountry municipal architecture and an interior reflecting the imagery of the old fishing village – boats, sails, water, birds and port holes.

Merit Award
DesignStrategies, LLC
Patewood Memorial Hospital
Greenville, South Carolina

Patewood Memorial Hospital is the most recent addition to Greenville (SC) Hospital System’s Patewood Medical Campus. The facility is axially aligned with the existing, adjacent Ambulatory Care Center and Medical Office Buildings and is physically connected by an underground tunnel providing staff and patient movement. The Architect designed the facility as a two story diagnostic and treatment building with a “green” roof, and a four level patient room tower. A circular tower, containing vertical circulation and waiting areas, connects the two components. The sweeping curve of the bed tower creates a memorable view from the adjacent interstate.

Merit Award – Small Projects Catagory
Freeman & Major Architects
Zen Greenville
Greenville, South Carolina

An old chemical warehouse now houses a sleek, contemporary space for people. The once dark building is now a light-filled, flexible event venue. The design combines the original raw building materials with sleek, minimalist style. A floating, vaulted ceiling defines a new lobby, flanked by frameless glass doors leading to the main event spaces. A wide range of light sources and intensities enhance alternate space utilization. Large new window openings bring in natural light. Shoji-screen inspired sliding panels obscure flexible storage areas while allowing daylight in. A strategy of reuse and repurposing materials fits the project’s earth friendly philosophy.

Merit Award – Small Projects Catagory
Johnston Design Group, LLC
The Cliffs at Mountain Park Green Showcase Home
Greenville, South Carolina

This sustainable showcase home connects with the land by featuring access to the outdoors, integration with the landscape, natural ventilation and lighting, and the use of local materials. Green design strategies specifically developed by the architect for this developer of mountain communities are featured throughout the home, including solar thermal energy technology and an emphasis on locally available, responsibly-harvested and produced, renewable green building materials and construction methods. The green design standard extends into the landscape with an emphasis on tree preservation, restoration of native plant communities, enhancement of wildlife habitat, and responsible care of rain water resources.