The celebration recognizes top buildings by local design professionals.
The Rochester chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA Rochester) held its 2024 Design Awards Celebration on June 13 at the Historic German House.
Seven firms garnered eight awards as selected by a jury of peers from AIA Cincinnati.
The architecture firm in.site: architecture was awarded the highest achievable award given by a local chapter, and one that is rarely given out as part of the AIA Rochester Design Awards. The Autism Nature Trail (ANT) was awarded this year’s Grand Honor Award. It
began as a napkin sketch at the request of three women who would go on to become the ANT Aunts. Their goal was to visualize the possibilities of a trail designed to serve those on the spectrum. That vision has been turned into an engaging one-mile-long trail at Letchworth State Park with stations that help orient visitors - especially special-needs visitors - on a sensory journey to explore nature at their own pace. The stations provide opportunities to be alone or with others with clear signposts and repeated motifs and materials. The Trailhead Pavilion is the beginning and ending point - a modern yet familiar “gable” to shelter, stage, plan and prepare groups or individuals. Upon return, visitors pass through the Celebration Station portion where they can deposit their pocketed finds and leave their marks in chalk.
A Design Award was also presented to in.site: architecture's buildingOUT project located in Long Island, NY. Per the architects, “A growing family made room for modern living in a historic home by identifying key needs…and then kicked those out.” Over the centuries, two structurally distinct additions to the original 1688 house resulted in segmentation, leaving three quarters of the home rarely used. The home sits on ten acres, with ten outbuildings that once served traditional functions. To make space for interconnected living inside the house, several program elements were evicted that now live, scattered, in the white-washed brick structures. The landscape knitted these dispersed functions together. Lushly-planted dry creekbeds became the organizing design armature, capturing stormwater that once caused flooding. De-paving, paths, footbridges, patios and gardens link destinations, facilitating indoor-outdoor living.
MRB Group with William Rawn Associates received a Design Award for the RIT Student Hall for Exploration and Development (SHED). The SHED, together with the renovated Wallace Library, creates a unique learning ecosystem – a creative hub with a focus on hands-on learning. Located along the “quarter mile” at the center of RIT's campus, the SHED and Wallace Library create an active destination for students and faculty from all disciplines at an important campus gateway and crossroads. The SHED spotlights RIT students’ creative collaboration, revealing maker and project team spaces on three floors, dance studios, rehearsal rooms, a glass-box theater, and numerous spaces for informal group study.
Clute Park Redevelopment by Stantec Architecture, Arbor Midtown by Hanlon Architects, and the Neighborhood of Play by CJS Architects received Merit Awards.
A Citation Award was given to Edge Architecture for their Lincoln Library renovation project.
The Community Impact Award, which recognizes a project whose completion resulted in a notable positive impact on its surrounding community, was awarded to PLAN Architectural Studio, PC for their project: 24 Jones Avenue – Housing for Alcohol and Substance Use Rehabilitation.
All of the top projects by local architects submitted for the year can be viewed on AIA Rochester’s Design Awards webpage and on a traveling banner display system, which will be on view in public venues throughout the area beginning this summer.
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