Orange Branch Library, Delaware, Ohio, designed by Dewberry/MKC Associates, Elgin, Illinois. Photo provided by PR Chicago.
Dewberry/MKC Inc., Elgin, IL, took top honors, the Don Erickson Presidential Award, at the Association of Licensed Architects 13th Annual Design Awards, which recently recognized projects in six states for design and construction achievement. A total of 21 presidential, gold, silver, and merit awards were presented in categories that included commercial, institutional, residential, renovation, religious and interior.
Dewberry/MKC’s winning entry, a 33,000 square-foot branch library, was conceived to reflect a sense of place and a strong local community identity. The vernacular architecture and the landscape inspired the dramatic angular roof forms and the rich materials palette of stone, wood, metal and glass. In selecting the entry, judges lauded the project for its craftsmanship and integration of sustainability.
“We especially liked the award-winning firms’ imagination, careful planning and creative use of materials and space,” said Joanne Sullivan, ALA Executive Director.
Projects ranged from a living vertical green wall to renovation of a 1929 hospital into apartments for those in need to a LEED gold-certified engine plant.
Gold Award winners included INVISION Architecture, Des Moines, IA for Northeast Iowa Community College Industrial Technologies Building, Peosta, IA and Morgante Wilson Architects, Evanston, IL for Green Wall.
Silver Award winners were INVISION Architecture, Des Moines for INVISION, Des Moines, IA; Dewberry, Inc., Elgin, IL, for Tolleson Police and Court Center, Tolleson, AZ; PSA-Dewberry, Elgin, IL for CougarPlex, East Peoria, IL; Hirsch Associates, Chicago, IL for Roche Bobois, Chicago, IL and FGH Architects, Northbrook, IL for Farmhouse Retooled, Harbert, MI.
Architects, contractors, owners/developers and guests attended the award presentation, which was emceed by Geoffrey Baer, WTTW Emmy winning producer recognized for numerous programs on Chicago architecture.
Entries were evaluated by a panel of judges, including: Ellen Bailey Dickson, ALA principal of Bailey Edward; Peter Exley, FAIA, founder of ArchitectureIsFun; Donald J. Hackle, FAIA, CEO of Loebl Schlossman & Hackl; Juan Gabriel Moreno, ALA, AIA President of JGMA; and David Sain, LEED AP, Architect and Educator.
The Presidential Award is named for the founder and first president of ALA, Don Erickson (1929 – 2006), who formed the association in 1998, and was a student and protégé of Frank Lloyd Wright.
The ALA Awards reception was sponsored by Andersen Windows, Chicago Plastering Institute, IMAGINiT Technologies, Marvin Windows and Doors, M.G. Welbel & Associations and Willis A & E Group. [See below for slide show link]
2011 ALA Design Award Winners
PRESIDENTIAL AWARD
Category: Institutional
Orange Branch Library, Delaware, OH
Dewberry/MKC Associates, Elgin, IL
GOLD AWARD
Category: Institutional
Northeast Iowa Community College, Peosta, IA
INVISION Architecture, Des Moines, IA
Category: Renovation
Green Wall, Chicago, IL
Morgante Wilson Architects, Inc., Evanston, IL
SILVER AWARD
Category: Commercial
INVISION, Des Moines, IA
INVISION Architecture, Des Moines, IA
Category: Institutional
Tolleson Police and Court Center, Tolleson, AZ
Dewberry/HDA Architects, Elgin, IL
Category: Institutional
CougarPlex, East Peoria, IL
PSA-Dewberry, LaGrange, IL
Category: Interior
Roche-Bobois, Chicago, IL
Hirsch Associates LLC, Chicago, IL
Category: Residential I
Farmhouse Retooled, Harbert, MI
FGH Architects, Northbrook, IL
MERIT AWARD
Category: Commercial
Phoenix Engine Plant Manufacturing and Office Building, Trenton, MI
Harley Ellis Devereaux, Chicago, IL
Category: Institutional
New Buffalo Township Memorial Park, New Buffalo, MI
McCollum Architects, Union Pier, MI
Category: Institutional
Donald V. Fites Engineering Innovation Center, Valparaiso, IN
Design Organization, Inc., Chicago, IL
Category: Institutional
United Neighborhood Organization Veteran’s Memorial School Complex, Chicago, I
Urban Works, Ltd., Chicago, IL
Category: Interior
Red Frog Events, Chicago, IL
Torchia Associates, Inc., Chicago, IL
Category: Religious
St. John Lutheran Church Welcome Center, Milwaukee, WI
Korb Tredo Architects, Milwaukee, WI
Category: Renovation
Waisman Center for Investigating Healthy Minds, Madison, WI
Korb Tredo Architects, Milwaukee, WI
Category: Renovation
University Technology Park at IIT- Incubator South, Chicago, IL
LCM Architects, Chicago, IL
Category: Renovation
University of Chicago Cobb Gate Accessibility, Chicago, IL
LCM Architects, Chicago, IL
Category: Residential
Corrigan Residence, Stoughton, WI
GMK Architecture, Madison, WI
Category: Residential
833 N. Hermitage, Chicago, IL
Hanna Architects, Chicago, IL
Category: Residential
Mercy Housing at the Johnston Center, Milwaukee, WI
Korb Tredo Architects, Milwaukee, WI
About the Association of Licensed Architects
ALA (Association of Licensed Architects), Barrington, IL, is a national organization of architects and related professionals with a membership of nearly 1,500. Its mission is to advance the architectural profession by supporting and improving its role in the built environment through contributions to the general health, safety and welfare of the general public. ALA supports continuing education and the advancement of the art and science of architecture. For more information, visit www.alatoday.org.
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