BSA Honor Awards for Design Excellence — 2004
This is the annual BSA awards program in which all project types designed anywhere in the world by Massachusetts architects are eligible and all project types designed in Massachusetts by architects elsewhere in the world are also eligible.
» View Projects (scroll down) or click the firm name to the right
» Jurors' Comments
» Jurors
HONOR AWARDS FOR DESIGN EXCELLENCE
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Traction Power Substation (Boston)
for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
designed by Ellenzweig Associates (Cambridge MA)…Walsh Construction Co. of Illinois (general contractor, Boston); Weidlinger Associates (structural engineer, Cambridge MA); SAR Engineering (MEP & fire protection engineer, Quincy MA); Bryant Associates (civil engineer, Boston); Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Quade & Douglas (geotechnical engineer/vent shaft consultant, Boston); R.W. Beck/HNTB (traction power electrical engineer, Framingham/Burlington MA)
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photo by Peter Vanderwarker
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This is a classic infrastructure facility designed to house electrical machinery, heavy switchgear and a tunnel ventilation shaft serving Boston’s subway system – and the site is in the middle of one of Boston’s most significant tourist centers (Quincy Market)…This was a very difficult challenge handled extremely well; the new facility stands on its own and fits beautifully into the neighborhood…There is an economy of design here that results in a project sensitively done…The architect has used screening to lighten the exterior of the building and has succeeded in general in breaking down the scale of the building to make it a welcome newcomer to the neighborhood…It is immensely satisfying to find public buildings handled to seriously, so elegantly and so simply – this is a very thoughtful design.
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University Residence Hall
(Waltham MA)
for Brandeis University
designed by Kyu Sung Woo Architects (Cambridge MA)…Reed/Hilderbrand (landscape architect, Watertown MA); William A. Berry & Son (CM, Danvers MA); Lim Consultants (structural engineer, Cambridge MA); Vanderweil Engineers (MEP engineer, Boston); McPhail Associates (geotechnical engineer, Cambridge MA); Vanasse Hangen Brustlin (civil engineer, Watertown MA); Daedalus Projects (cost consultant, Boston); Steven R. McHugh, Architect (construction specifier, Newmarket NH)
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photo by Roland Halbe
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This is a residence hall for 220 undergraduate students at a private university in a Boston suburb…The architect seems to have thought through this project extremely carefully – the design is simple and appealing, the building sits nicely on the site and engages the landscape actively…The scale is just right, the plan is just right, there is a nice variety of rooms and public spaces in this dormitory…We were struck by the effective movement of the form and the use of materials…This is another project that has clearly benefited from an intentional economy of design.
University Science Center Expansion (Cambridge MA)
for Harvard University
designed by Leers Weinzapfel Associates (Boston)…Stephen Stimson Associates (landscape architect, Falmouth MA); Linbeck (CM, Lexington MA); Arup (MEP/structural/audio-visual engineer, Cambridge MA); Hanscomb Faithful and Gould (cost consultant, Boston); Cavanaugh Tocci Associates (acoustical engineer, Sudbury MA); Kessler McGuinness and Associates (accessibility consultants, Newtonville MA); Berg/Howland Associates (lighting designer, Cambridge MA)
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photo by Peter Aaron / Esto Photographics
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This is an expansion of a modern landmark at Harvard designed by Sert in 1970…The addition includes three rooftop additions…This is very thoughtful work characterized by a successful design rhythm and by interiors that seem to take full advantage of the opportunity for natural lighting…This is a sophisticated design intervention that enlivens the existing buildings significantly.
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Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture
(Pocantico Hills NY)
for Stone Barns Restoration Corp.
designed by Machado and Silvetti Associates (Boston)…Turner Construction Co. (CM, Milford CT); Richard Burck Associates (landscape architects, Somerville MA); Arup (MEP/acoustics/audio-visual/structural engineer, Cambridge MA); Divney Tung Schwalbe (civil engineer, New York City)
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photo by Michael Moran
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This is the renovation and adaptive reuse of a collection of farm buildings converted into a learning facility and cultural center designed to demonstrate, teach and promote sustainable community-based food production…The architect has taken a beautiful structure and enriched it with subtle design interventions…The wonderful old elements/details of the original building are allowed to shine through and the project is further strengthened by the creation of gardens around the building…The intimate delicacy of this restoration is wonderful.
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World Trade Center West (Boston)
for Pembroke Real Estate (a Fidelity Investments Company, Boston)
designed by Kallmann McKinnell & Wood (Boston)…Turner Construction Co. (contractor/CM, Boston); Shooshanian Engineering Associates (MEP engineer, Boston); Weidlinger Associates (structural engineer, Cambridge MA); Parsons Brinckerhoff (civil engineer, Boston); Elizabeth Banks Associates (landscape architect, London); Pressley Associates (landscape architect of record, Cambridge MA); Halvorson Design Partnership (streetscape landscape architect, Boston); Ripman Lighting Consultants (lighting designer, Belmont MA)
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photo by Robert Benson
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This is a new office building on the South Boston waterfront…The design is elegantly simple and timeless – base, column, capital!…The detailing is superb throughout…The building meets the ground through thoughtful, intentional design…The wind sails and roof trellises are particularly beautiful…Most impressive is the urban passageway, the pedestrian-oriented/scaled/detailed street-level design marked by friendly nautical references.
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Cutler Majestic Theatre (Boston)
for Emerson College
designed byElkus/Manfredi Architects (Boston)…Lee Kennedy Co. (GC, Boston); LeMessurier Consultants (structural engineer, Cambridge MA); Cosentini Associates (MEP engineer, Cambridge MA); Auerbach Pollock Friedlander (theater consultant, New York City/San Francisco); Evergreene Painting Studios (interior restoration consultant, New York City); Kirkegaard Associates (acoustics consultant, Chicago); Norton S. Remmer Consulting Engineers (fire and safety consultant, Worcester MA); Ripman Lighting Consultants (lighting designer, Belmont MA); Lyn Hovey Studio (stained glass restoration consultant, Boston)
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photo by Bruce T. Martin
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This is a comprehensive interior renovation, systems upgrade and historic renovation of a performing arts facility in Boston’s Theater District…This seems to be a significant piece of a sophisticated client’s decision to relocate its facilities to downtown Boston and thus to revitalize an historic part of the city…The restoration/renovation is a phenomenal effort done extremely well; the architect has restored life to what was a prominent urban area and given an historic building an exquisite new lease on life…This is a dynamic, uplifting project.
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Tufte Performance and Production Center (Boston)
for Emerson College
designed by Elkus/Manfredi Architects (Boston)… Lee Kennedy Co. (GC, Boston); Cosentini Associates (MEP engineer, Cambridge MA); LeMessurier Consultants (structural engineer, Cambridge MA); Haley & Aldrich (geotechnical engineer, Boston); Bryant Associates (civil engineer, Boston); Auerbach Pollock Friedlander (theater consultant, New York City/San Francisco); Kirkegaard Associates (acoustics consultant, Chicago); Lerch Bates Associates (vertical transportation consultant, Hingham MA); Norton S. Remmer Consulting Engineers (fire and life safety consultant, Worcester MA); Daedalus Projects (cost consultant, Boston); Hillman DiBernardo (lighting consultant, New York City)
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photo by Peter Vanderwarker
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This is a performing arts and broadcasting facility in downtown Boston designed for an unused and visibly inaccessible site; the architect has evolved an innovative solution to an incredibly difficult problem…With two or three simple moves, the architect devised an imaginative solution that has created a beacon for this part of town…The facility also appears to have wonderful interior spaces…The admirable restraint exercised by the architect is mirrored by a beautiful presentation characterized by good storytelling.
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Carl and Ruth Shapiro Campus Center
(Waltham MA)
for Brandeis University
designed by Charles Rose Architects (Somerville MA)…William A. Berry & Son (contractor, Danvers MA); Arup (MEP/structural engineer, Cambridge MA); Stephen Stimson Associates (landscape architect, Falmouth MA); Judith Nitsch Engineering (civil engineer, Boston); Acentech (acoustics/audio-visual consultant, Cambridge MA); Light This (lighting consultant, Boston); Alan P. Symonds (theater consultant, Needham MA); Haynes-Roberts (interior design consultant, New York City)
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photo by Chuck Choi
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This is a new campus center at a private university in a Boston suburb…This is a truly complete design – the movement through the site is just right…There is a complexity to the design that gives it a memorable quality yet is comprehensible without being busy – it is an intriguing design…The use of materials is particularly notable…This is a masterful composition.
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AWARDS FOR DESIGN
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Private Residence (Gradyville PA)
for Stephen and Judy Patrizio
designed by Brian Healy Architects (Boston)…L.J. Paolella Construction (GC, Brookhaven PA)
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photo by Paul Warchol
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This is a single-family home in a large, heavily wooded site in a southeastern Pennsylvania community…The home is sited quietly and perfectly in the landscape: the sloped roof opens the building to the landscape…The composition of horizontal and vertical elements is very attractive; there is an exciting joining of pieces…The lines are clean and crisp – this is a simple, modern, elegant design expertly done…The portfolio presentation was as exquisite as the house design.
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Medical Education and Biomedical Research Facility (Iowa City IA)
for the University of Iowa
designed by Payette Associates (Boston) in association with Baldwin White Architects (Des Moines)…Knutson Construction Co. (CM, Iowa City); Alvine & Associates (M/E engineer, Omaha); Charles Saul Engineering (structural engineer, Des Moines); Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (landscape architect, Cambridge MA)
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photo by Jeff Goldberg / Esto Photographics
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This facility is the first phase of a masterplan for the health sciences campus at this university…The site plan is terrific and successfully creates two campuses…The building plan is simple and just right…A strong element at the entry celebrates the use intended for the building and also contributes to the building’s openness to the rest of the campus, an openness also characterized by the building’s transparency at night…The interiors are warm and enjoy a nice balance of light and shadow…There is an effective mix of scales and of materials…There is a rich spatial quality to this design and it helps create a celebratory public face.
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Regional Middle School (Dover MA)
for Dover Sherborn Regional School District
designed by Finegold Alexander + Associates (Boston)…Peabody Construction (contractor, Braintree MA); Tishman Construction Co. (CM, Boston); Boston Building Consultants (structural engineer, Boston); Marc Mazzarelli Associates (landscape architect, Boston); Hanscomb Faithful & Gould (cost consultant, Boston); Judith Nitsch Engineering (civil engineer, Boston); Shooshanian Engineering (MEP engineer, Boston); Mark T. Wilhelm AIA, Architect (specifications consultant, Marblehead MA); Lucas Stefura Interiors (interior designer, Boston); Merrimack Education Center (education planner, Chelmsford MA); EdVance Technology Design (technology consultant, Chelmsford MA)
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photo by Chris Johnson
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This is a new middle school in a semi-rural residential community…The plan and section are thoughtful and simple…The architect has paid close attention to the design of the public space and has created soft interiors…The design allows for the introduction of excellent exterior materials…The architect seemed to know precisely what to fight for in this project, which resulted in a well-done, restrained facility design that will age quite well.
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South Boston Maritime Park (Boston)
for the Massachusetts Port Authority
designed by Machado and Silvetti Associates (Boston)…Halvorson Design Partnership (landscape architect/lead park designer, Boston); Earth Tech (civil/structural engineer, Concord MA); Flanders + Associates (interpretive graphic designer, Boston); Ellen Driscoll (public artist, Cambridge MA) in collaboration with Make Architectural Metalworking (Boston); Carlos Dorrien (public artist, Wellesley MA); Architectural Engineers (MEP/fire protection engineer, Boston); GEI Consultants (geotechnical and environmental engineer, Winchester MA); Ripman Lighting Consultants (lighting designer, Belmont MA); Irrigation Consulting (irrigation engineering, Pepperell MA); Keville Enterprises (resident engineer, Boston)
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photo by Stephen Lee
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This urban park is part of a larger initiative to redevelop this neighborhood and to connect the South Boston community to the working waterfront…This project is rich with extremely nice and very warm details including delightfully carved stone and warm benches at the base of the building…The designers have provided all the details with a genuinely human scale and with a warmth and intimacy that make this a fine-grained and very successful public space…The success of this project must have emerged from a terrific collaboration of the architect, artists, landscape architects, community groups and others.
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Jurors’ Comments
This year we had the opportunity to review 146 submissions. Among these were a significant number of college and university facilities, biotech facilities, and a significant number of adaptive reuse projects and also a few commendable efforts to redevelop brownfields. We were surprised, however, to have received very few single-family homes, multi-family residences, corporate interior work, interiors of any kind, and very few cultural institutions.
While most of the portfolios submitted presented a fairly clear story, we wish to reiterate what we know has been stated by earlier juries in this program: when the guidelines call for an ‘outline’ it is wise to provide that rather than seemingly endless narrative that few juries will have time to read; when submitting a restoration or rehabilitation project, do not fail to include adequate ‘before’ images to help the jury understand the work you have done and do not fail to explain in the outline precisely what you in fact did on such projects; do not fail to include images of the neighborhood/landscape/context in which your project resides – without context, judgment about design appropriateness is virtually impossible; and, finally, we urge you to keep in mind that the written guidelines for this program – as for all BSA design awards programs – are carefully drafted and revised annually and should be regarded seriously as efforts to aid those preparing portfolio submissions for these programs.
As we reviewed all of these projects, many questions came to mind about our profession and the current state of design not only in Boston but nationally. Among the questions we asked ourselves were these: Why are there still so many poor examples of the way in which buildings hit the ground – why don’t all of us pay more attention to this critical design issue? Why does there seem to be so little innovation in the use of materials? Why is public-school architecture seemingly so uninspired everywhere? Why do we as architects pay so little attention to the design of ceilings? Why as architects do we seem to find it so difficult to devote our design skills to the creation of interiors that are as well-done as exteriors?
Even with questions such as these in mind, we were struck this year by the extremely high level of competence of the work we had the pleasure to review. The traditional image of Boston and/or New England architecture has somehow ‘stodgy’ or conservative was not borne out by the work we had the opportunity to examine this year. On the contrary, the work submitted confirmed not only the capacity of Boston-area architects to produce high-quality modern/contemporary work but also seemed to be a testimony to the thoughtfulness of the clients who commissioned the work.
We have elected to honor 12 projects this year that we believe represent the best of all of the high-level work we had the opportunity to review. Serving as jurors in programs such as this is always an education and we hope our work has been of value to all those participated in this program. We wish to express our appreciation to the BSA and all its members and allies for this opportunity.
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The Jurors
Jim Childress FAIA
(Centerbrook Architects, Centerbrook CT)
George Miller FAIA
(Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, New York City)
Kate Schwennsen FAIA
(Iowa State University Department of Architecture)
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