The AIA Mississippi 2012 Convention was held in Destin, Florida, from July 6 through July 9, 2012.
The highest award a firm can receive is the Honor Award, followed by the Merit and Citation Awards. A seventh award, the Sambo Mockbee Membership Award, is an award voted upon by the AIA Membership and presented at the convention.
The School of Architecture was well represented. Congratulations to all the award winners.
(GCCDS) This photograph shows the educational and creative activities the design firm programmed to engage students in the process of transforming the site from remnant-neglected land to a neighborhood asset. The students stenciled native wildlife and antipollution slogans they created onto the bridge crossing over the bayou and neighborhood storm drains.
Citation Award
Gulf Coast Community Design Studio
Bayou Auguste Neighborhood Wetland Park
Biloxi Housing Authority
• The design work and implementation brought back the complexity of the bayou.
• Brought back the echo tones from the former canal
• The project restructures the land to bring back the richness of the environment
• Bayou needs to evolve and grow and needs to be evaluated again in a few years
• Landscape set pieces are distinct from the more formal grasses of the neighborhood giving it a civic presence
• This project celebrates community involvement, civic collaboration, and educational opportunities.
• The Bayou project demonstrated an alternative model to how we develop the land – should be applauded
(Shannon Sheridan) Renovations to Harned Hall, MSU, Top Floor Gallery and Conference
Merit Award
Eley Guild Hardy Architects
Renovations to Harned Hall
Mississippi State University
• Every space and detail of every space is carefully considered – not episodic
• Transformation of space from banal institutional darkness with light and material / color at every step
• The design work, in concert with a careful restoration, transforms the spaces into a greater sense of the whole and into beautifully designed spaces – spaces with character and quality
• Introduction of new stair is a major positive addition
• In addition to careful attention to the technology of restoration there is a clear design hand at work with an overall plan
• Excellent examples of this are the new stairway and the opening of the fourth floor attic to develop and enhance the conference and gallery spaces
• The Jury appreciates the skill on display to transform an impoverished set of spaces into a dignified educational environment worthy of students and faculty alike
- (Allison Anderson) 443 Main Street rewrites density in a small coastal town with a return to live/work office space and a consistent street edge. The building form references the original 1891 building on site, which was salvaged for reuse. Reconditioning the brownfield site through gas tank removal and phytoremediation contributed to the LEED-Gold (pending) Certification.
Merit Award
unabridged Architecture PLLC
443 Main Street
Owner: unabridged Architecture
• Holds site well
• Very urban office project
• Turns corner at street and relates it well to planning program of building site.
• Well ordered plan
• Demonstrates understanding of its full context
• Recognition of distant vision with the tower providing a view to the Gulf
• Beautifully detailed
• Recognition of energy
• Planning for expansion is seen as a smart move for the future
(Tom Joynt Photography) The Chapel at St. Dominic’s in early evening.
Merit Award
Barlow Eddy Jenkins, P.A.
The Chapel at St. Dominic’s
St. Dominic Hospital, Jackson, MS
• Figural in plan with spatial definition to exterior
• Iconic presence
• Iconic place making on street side and plugged into space defining courtyard on the opposite side.
• Strong interpretation of historical references – makes a good urban statement
• The building occupies and holds the corner of the site and at the same time one edge of the chapel occupies the entry space and defines the scale of that space
• The Jury debated the project and all agreed it is a significant work…..Very well done in terms of spatial sequence
• Significant moments of lighting and color that complement the integrity of the space
• Interstitial spaces takes away any sense of the prosaic from the worship space
• Stained glass windows are beautifully designed and detailed
(Mark Howell) Exterior view of the Oak Ridge House from the southwest showing the zinc clad entry door and aluminum plate framed corner window.
Honor Award
Duvall Decker Architects, P.A.
Oak Ridge House
Owners: Roy and Anne Marie Decker
• The design really develops a sense of external/internal spaces at the entrance into house …..with a carport not garage, the plan included the carport as an exterior space
• Exterior is composed of two courtyard spaces—one more public, defined by the major public spaces and the private wing, and the other, more private, by the carport and the private wing
• Beautiful detailing with varied material palette speaks to permanency. This house will age gracefully
• Very exuberant materially
• The corner kitchen window and kitchen mediate public/private zones of house
• Two main volumes of home are clearly articulated exterior and interior
• Pool is the edge of courtyard…..as well as spatially central to the total composition
• Rich and complex
• Mastery of control and restraint
(Mark Howell) View of the south face of the Jobie L. Martin Classroom Building at Hinds Community College with Hawkins field beyond.
Honor Award
Duvall Decker Architects, P.A.
Jobie L. Martin Classroom Building
Hinds Community College
State of Mississippi
• Beautifully resolved plan
• Shows what can happen with subtle articulation of plan. The program is not exaggerated
• Highly energy efficient without looking like it is a machine
• Demonstrates careful organization programmatically and responsive to environmental concerns
• Plan has been transformed to two radically different elevations that are in complete harmony
• Absolute recognition of Western exposure
• The Elevation compositions relate to the East/West orientation
• Nice lapping of public/semi-private spaces
• Relates to energy issues as well as program
• Restraint in material palette that support the simple forms
• Subtle animation from plan to detail
• Architecture is #1. Work at highest level
SAMBO MOCKBEE MEMBERSHIP AWARD
Duvall Decker Architects, P.A.
Jobie L. Martin Classroom Building
Hinds Community College
State of Mississippi