O PAC I T Y S E R I E S
04
O PAC I T Y S E R I E S
04
Opacity Initiative
Jurors
8
Deliberations 15
9
Cross Section 24
We practice increased use of sustainable materials and reduction of material use.
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© 2021, HDR, All rights reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
Letter from the Editor
ISBN: 978-1-7358025-0-3
INTRODUCTION
PROJECTS
Selected Works
31
Mentioned Works
95
Cited Works
131
31 NEXT
Afterword
140
Tribute to Dan Rew
142
Credits
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140
hdrinc.com
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
The idea of emmetropia came to me as I began that reflection process—emmetropia is the state of perfect vision in which the eye is relaxed, light enters the retina without defect or aberration. It means to see the world with the utmost clarity and precision. The titling, Emmetropia, is a response to the current pandemic environment: trapped at home, viewing the world’s events through our computer screens and tablets. For many architects, it means they are literally creating the world while apart from it.
While we experience our world through screens, we are considering the conditions of perfect vision and the idea of the visionary—how we view and experience places through photos filtered through computer screens offers new possibilities and limitations to our understanding of place, and also recognizes who is made visible through spatial production. Emmetropia is an acknowledgment of those possibilities and limitations, encouraging the reader to further question their role as designer—a visionary, a maker of visible places—in both pandemic and post-pandemic times. Many of the projects included in the following pages have been recognized for their forwardthinking principles that focus squarely on the future; with sustainability and resilience at the forefront, we can look forward to places and spaces that bring users closer to the environment and, once again, back to each other. We hope that this volume will be a source of reflection and consideration after a year of quarantine, a year of struggle and heartbreak and that it will prompt rethinking toward future design and architecture. We will look back on this year with clarity of vision. Hindsight is, after all, 20/20. njulie Rao, Editor A Opacity Journal 04
7 FOREW0RD
Reflecting back on a troubling year—worlds wounded by COVID-19, communities traumatized by systemic violence, and the rapid response of communities coming together in triage and protest—2020 has been both heartwrenching and, at times, frightening. But it is also a chance to reflect; when the seams begin to rip and wear, light begins to shine through.
O PA C I T Y I N I T I AT I V E
The Opacity Initiative is the “measure of our design conscience,” a way for HDR to revisit and understand our work from outside perspectives. It is a yearly design review in which outside experts from varied disciplines are invited to evaluate the firm’s work and offer their feedback. While most years jurors are invited to participate in-person in a specific city, the COVID-19 pandemic required us to pivot. Originally slated for a live jury in Los Angeles, California, all jurors for Opacity 2020 reviewed and discussed submitted projects virtually. Each day jurors came together on camera and exchanged ideas through rigorous debate and compassionate agreement. Los Angeles—a city of 100 cities, joined by diverse peoples and landscapes and freeways—was in the hearts and minds of the jury and HDR team as the three-day process concluded.
ALLISON GRACE WILLIAMS
Could you define design excellence and what it means to you? AGW: Design
CHAIRWOMAN
FAIA, NCARB, LEED AP, NOMA San Francisco, California, USA
In 2017, Williams founded AGWms_studio‚ where design consulting for clients, frequent lectures, occasional studio teaching, design competition and awards juries, pro bono activities, and making (art, building, and inventing) are the mainstay. She is an adjunct lecturer at Stanford University and twoterm Visiting Committee chair at Harvard’s, Graduate School of Design (GSD). Williams holds an M.Arch from UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design, a BA in the Practice of Art, also from UC Berkeley, and was a Loeb Fellow at Harvard GSD. In 2015, she was named Berkeley CED’s Distinguished Alumni in Architecture. In 2018, Williams was awarded the Norma Sklarek Award by the AIA California Council and recently joined the board of directors for Designing Justice + Designing Spaces.
As the jury chair, could you reflect on the jury process considering the challenging circumstances? AGW: It was my honor to chair
The overall level of quality in the work, across market sectors, reflects a continuously emerging culture of commitment to positive and relevant design outcomes. This is a huge accomplishment in a large firm format.
the jury in the 2020 Opacity Design Awards. HDR convened a stellar jury and conducted such a well organized, thoughtful, and rigorous process of design review, delivered seamlessly and remotely during the 2020 COVID-19 shutdown. I commend HDR for this internally driven program for design excellence.
I am looking forward to the next two years as the firm continues to excel and demand attention to the importance of design excellence.
9 JURORS
Architect Allison Grace Williams has amassed an international portfolio of largescale civic, cultural, and research works in 40 years of practice as a design leader with SOM, Perkins & Will, and AECOM. Notably, her work includes the August Wilson Center, the Health and Sciences Campus for Princess Abdulrahman University for Women, the U.S. Port of Entry at Calexico, and research laboratories for NASA Langley and NASA Ames.
excellence is beyond the beauty in the places, spaces and buildings we design. Excellence must include a resonance with culture, a narrative about the environment and technology, and a commitment to social equity and diversity, especially now. These layers of complexity, synthesis and reciprocity fertilize the design process, the outcomes and the value of what we do. I have always believed in this, yet more passionately now for the extraordinary impact this moment could have on the art and relevance of our profession.
RUSSELL FORTMEYER
You advocated for the installation project at the Milan Triennale, mentioning that you were able to see it in person. Considering that the theme of this journal is Emmetropia, which means “perfect vision,” could you speak about the role that seeing projects in-person can alter how you jury a project? LEED AP BD+C
RF: I
Associate Principal, Arup Los Angeles, California, USA
An engineer and journalist, Russell Fortmeyer leads the sustainability practice for Arup’s Los Angeles office. Since 2011, Fortmeyer has been a faculty member at the Southern California Institute of Architecture, where his classes focus on environmental systems, material ecologies, design for climate change, and more. From 2012 to 2018, he served on the board of the U.S. Green Building Council’s LA Chapter. He was the technical advisor to the City of Los Angeles for its Green New Deal climate action plan released in April 2019. His built projects include the Seattle Public Library, LEED Platinum Kaiser Permanente San Diego Medical Center, and the net zero energy-designed Beirut Embassy. In 2016, Fortmeyer was awarded a Bellagio Residency by the Rockefeller Foundation as part of a collaborative project on urban microclimates and air quality with the architect Doris Sung. Recently, he curated the US Pavilion exhibition, RECKONstruct, on materials lifecycle impacts for the 2019 Milan Triennale, Broken Nature. Fortmeyer holds a BS in Architectural Engineering from Kansas State University and MA in Architecture from the University of California at Los Angeles.
think the success of that project depended in large part on the context of the experience. Gallery installations are just that, they are meant to primarily be experiences and usually for only short periods of time. They are also notoriously hard to visually document since the immersive quality of the space cannot be captured in a single image. The Milan installation was effectively in a corner of a dark exhibition hall; the architectural intervention carved out an intimate space for viewing the exhibition film, acting as both advertisement of the installation, as well as the armature for the film screens. Although I prefer seeing architecture in person, I can appreciate most aspects of a building virtually because the study of architecture traditionally has largely been virtual— the plan, section, and elevation are all abstractions of architecture that we’ve normalized. We also scale that up into the larger systems of our cities, so we can understand relationships between buildings and cities even if we haven’t visited them.
How can scale play to an advantage or disadvantage when jurying projects? RF: Scale was a topic that came up time and again in our conversations.
I don’t know that scale is either an advantage or disadvantage, but it’s a critical aspect for a project and it has nothing to do with the size of a project. There were definitely small-sized projects where the scale did not work well, but I think in other cases it is architecture’s role to question the scale of a city or neighborhood and perhaps act as a transformative mechanism. For example, we need more housing in America and we’re not going to get there by building small houses on single lots, so finding ways to insert larger multi-family residential projects into neighborhoods requires architects to think through ways to appropriately scale a project.
LAWRENCE SCARPA
When evaluating submissions, what qualities did you look for in design and/ or program? Are these qualities typical across other juries you’ve served on or was there something unique about the Opacity process?
FAIA Principal, Brooks + Scarpa Architects Los Angeles, California, USA
Scarpa has taught and lectured at the university level for more than two decades at institutions including Harvard University, UCLA, SCI-arc, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Florida, University of Michigan, the University of Southern California and the University of California at Berkeley. He is a co-founder of: the A+D Museum, Los Angeles; the Affordable Housing Design Leadership Institute to help develop more sustainable and livable communities; and Livable Places, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing mixed-use housing and sustainable, livable communities.
look for the big idea; what are the design intentions and how are those expressed? Design can be very subjective, so in order to be successful you have to tell a visual story. Designers often leave that out; they don’t think about the story they’re telling about what they’re doing so it’s hard to understand intentions without that explanation. Diagrams are helpful to explore. I noticed there was not a lot of storytelling in the submissions. The projects that were better did a better job telling the story. Since many of the projects winning awards are unbuilt projects, in what ways can unbuilt projects push the boundaries of design and innovation? What drawbacks are there to submitting unbuilt work? LS: Unbuilt projects are aspirational;
they don’t have the layers of budget and client—all the things which whittle a building down. Unbuilt work has less scrutiny until the building starts getting built. Better buildings hold onto those aspirations. It’s why it is so important to be clear in design intentions because sometimes that’s all you have left when construction begins.
11 JURORS
Larry Scarpa is the recipient of the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum Award in Architecture and was also awarded the State of California and National American Institute of Architects Architecture Firm Award. Scarpa’s firm has received more than 50 major design awards, including 21 national AIA Awards and the Rudy Bruner Prize. He has received the Gold Medal from AIA Los Angeles, and Lifetime Achievement Awards from Interior Design magazine and the AIA California Council.
LS: I
What was unique or surprising to you about this online jury process?
INGALLIL WAHLROOSRITTER
IWR: It
FAIA Dean, Woodbury School of Architecture Los Angeles, California, USA
Ingalill Wahlroos-Ritter is an architect, educator, and Dean of the School of Architecture at Woodbury University. She has taught at Yale University, Cornell University, UCL Bartlett School of Architecture, and SCI-Arc over a 20-year teaching career, and produced more than 100 exhibitions. Ingalill has collaborated on multiple award-winning projects including Bloom with Do|Su Studio Architecture, the Portland Aerial Tramway with AGPS, the Centre Pompidou exhibition, Continuities of the Incomplete with Morphosis, and as project architect for the Corning Museum of Glass with Smith-Miller + Hawkinson. She was honored with the AIA California Council Educator Award in 2016, the AIA|LA Presidential Educator of the Year Award in 2018, and was recognized by DesignIntelligence in 2018 and 2019 as one of the nation’s Most Admired Educators in Architecture and Design. In 2019, Woodbury School of Architecture launched ‘Housing+’, a year-long program of lectures, exhibitions, and studio inquiries focused on homelessness and affordable, supportive, transit-oriented, social, multi-family, and prefabricated housing solutions. The initiative culminated in an invitation for Ingalill to present at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, for the 58th Session of the Commission for Social Development.
was a warm and welcoming jury and a joyful process. Despite the physical distance, the online environment provided a remarkably intimate virtual space where jury members felt empowered to speak freely and op enly. It may have been the time, or it may have been the space, but each jury member allowed themselves moments of vulnerability that I deeply appreciated. The jury reviewed each project with care and respect. Most impressively, they did not come to the table with a priori prejudices or assumptions and critiqued each project on its own terms. When that happens, you know that you are in a room full of professionals who approach each project as a unique opportunity for creative thinking: whether designing a project, or critiquing one. The jury seemed to settle on three criteria for excellence: sustainability, innovation, and social impact. Do you think these factors are global in their significance in design excellence; or any of them only now gaining more traction? Why? IWR: The global pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement,
civil unrest, and economic uncertainty were at the forefront of discussions. We immediately identified the criteria—social impact, sustainability and innovation—as a way to equitably measure design excellence. The criteria are universally applicable. It was exciting to the jury to see how HDR teams are addressing these issues in the wide array of projects we reviewed. While current events are clearly traumatic and devastating in so many ways, they also bring with them the recognition that this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to effect real and lasting change. Change comes with uncertainty, but it can also be exhilarating. Uncertainty provides us with opportunities for disruption, and excitingly, for speculation, innovation and reinvention. This means always considering the impact of our projects on the community and on the environment. It also means bringing new and desperatelyneeded voices into our profession that have for too long been excluded.
How do you think the necessity of holding the jury online might impact juries in the future? Do you think it will become more common because they are helpful, or do you think that this is just a temporary change due to the pandemic?
ALISSA WALKER
I’m going to go ahead and advocate for holding the jury online in perpetuity as it makes judging more accessible to people who may not have the privilege or ability to physically relocate or take time away from their work or living situations. AW:
Urbanism Editor, Curbed Los Angeles, California, USA
For her writing on design and urbanism, Walker has been named a USC Annenberg/ Getty Arts Journalism Fellow and Journalist of the Year by Streetsblog Los Angeles. In 2012, her project Good Ideas for Cities was selected for inclusion in the U.S. Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale. In 2015, she received the Design Advocate award from AIA Los Angeles. She is also the co-founder of design east of La Brea, a nonprofit that has received two National Endowment for the Arts grants supporting its LA design events. Walker lives in Los Angeles, where she is a co-host of LA Podcast, a contributor to the KCRW show Greater LA, and mom to the city’s two most enthusiastic public transit riders.
Just taking my personal situation into consideration, there was definitely a long period of time that I would not have been able to travel with my two young kids at home, but I would have gladly participated remotely. I think moving to online-only would almost certainly ensure a more equitable panel, not to mention the emissions savings. I did like having meals ordered for me from local restaurants, too, which created a festive and celebratory vibe, even at home! As a critic, I’m curious to know more about how you perhaps evaluated projects differently from those working as designers/architects/engineers. Do you think your perspective is different; and, if so, how? AW: As a journalist and critic, I’ve found myself
in this situation more frequently in recent years as I’ve participated on panels and in juries. I’m often trying to think about the project not just from the perspective of the “client,” but from the perspective of the people who are most impacted by the project’s design, development, and economic repercussions. Putting my “reporter hat” on means considering everything from the environmental cost of manufacturing techniques to the way that marginalized communities are represented.
13 JURORS
Alissa Walker connects people with where they live through writing, speaking, and walking. As the urbanism editor at Curbed, she authors the column “Word on the Street,” highlighting transit innovation, clever civic design, and game-changing policy affecting our cities.
TIMELINE
04.2021 Opacity Journal 04 Published
08.01.2020 Editorial Kick-off
07.31.2020 Finalists Reveal
Day 3 Day 2 Deliberation Day 1 07.28.2020
06.27.2020 120 Submissions Received
Jurors Selected
05.2020 33.3 MONOGRAPH IS PUBLISHED 04.27.2020 Call for Submissions‚ Opacity 2020
TOG E TH E R , APART
From 120 submissions to 18 honorees, jurors joined in from their homes, offices, and home-offices to discuss and debate. The following pages provide an overview of the review and decision process.
15 D E L I B E R AT I O N S
DAY 1 The first day of jury deliberations began with a review of the 120 unique projects from HDR teams around the world. From urban planning to industrial design, jurors carefully perused descriptions and images, deliberating quickly and, at times, heatedly. All 120 submissions are displayed on the following pages, organized by project type. H E A LT H C A R E
Fort Monmouth Medical Campus, Robert Woods Johnson/ Barnabus Health, Tinton Falls, NJ INOVA Center for Personalized Medicine, Fairfax, VA Institute for Behavioral Health, Harborview Hospital, UWMedicine, Seattle, WA King Faisal & Prince Mohammed Medical Cities, Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia King Saud Medical City, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Lenox Hill Hospital, New York, NY, Marina del Rey Hospital, Los Angeles, CA Mental Health and Addiction Hospital, Riyadh and Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Mercy Hospital Expansion, Coon Rapids, MN Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL National Guard Health Affairs Long-Term Care Hospital, Riyadh, Jeddah and Al-Ahsa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Neubau und Erweiterung Nord, Monchengladbach, Germany New Valley Hospital, Paramus, NJ Pediatric, VIP and Cardiac Hospital, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Prince AbdulAziz bin Musa’ed Hospital, Arar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Saint Francis Peace Garden, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
Abu Dhabi Animal Vet Clinic and Research Center, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Advocate Christ Medical Center Ambulance Garage, Oak Lawn, IL Advocate Lakeview Outpatient Center, Chicago, IL Al Ain Center of Medicine, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates Almoosa Rehabilitation and Long-term Care Hospital, Al Ahsa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Cedars Sinai Biomanufacturing Center, Los Angeles, CA Chicago Institute for Fetal Health, Chicago, IL Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates iKure Clinic in West Bengal, Baruipur, West Bengal, India Craig H. Neilsen Rehabilitation Hospital, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
Sheltering Arms Institute, Richmond, VA Shirley Ryan AbilityLab Burr Ridge Outpatient and DayRehab Center, Burr Ridge, IL Shirley Ryan AbilityLab Pediatric Outpatient and Day Rehab Center, Glenview, IL Siena Francis Emergency Shelter, Omaha, NE Stoler Center for Advanced Medicine, University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, MD Sunac Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, Qingdao, China The Mother Baby Center Brand, Minneapolis, St. Paul and Coon Rapids, MN The Ottawa Hospital New Campus, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Shadyside, Pittsburgh, PA Virginia Hospital Center Outpatient Pavilion, Arlington, VA Westmead Hospital Precinct Redevelopment, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
C I V I C & C U L T U R E
17 D E L I B E R AT I O N S
Baxter Arena, Omaha, NE Delbrook Community Recreation Centre, North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada District Wine Village, Oliver, British Columbia, Canada Event Boutique Cinemas, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Jewell Jazz Club, Omaha, NE Judy Varner Adoption and Education Center, Nebraska Humane Society, Omaha, NE Kaneko Atrium Addition, Omaha, NE Kaneko Collection Building, Omaha, NE Kingston Tennis Club Pavilion, Kingston, Ontario, Canada Lauritzen Gardens Horticulture Complex, Omaha, NE Omaha Discovery Center, Omaha, NE Second Chapter Winery, Oliver, British Columbia, Canada Strauss Performing Arts Center, Omaha, NE The 428, St. Paul, MN Volkhonka Mansion, Moscow, Russia West Wing, Lakeside Resort and Convention Centre, Penticton, British Columbia, Canada Woodlawn Community Bank, Chicago, IL Wyoming State Capitol and Herschler Building, Cheyenne, WY
(Cont.)
E D U C AT I O N
DAY 1
Bigelow Boulevard Development, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA Brendan Iribe Center for Computer Science and Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD Center for Performing & Cinematic Arts Klein College of Media and Communication, Philadelphia, PA Chesebro Academic Building Renovations, The Hun School, Princeton, NJ Food School & Academic Pavilion, Brescia University College, London, Ontario, Canada Gang Tou International British School, Gang Tou, China Houston Community Coleman Health Sciences Tower, Houston, TX John Deutsch Community Centre, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE Library Learning Commons, Community College of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA Northstar Addition, Omaha, NE Sam Houston State University Life Sciences Green, Huntsville, TX School of Public Health, University of Texas Health Science Center, Austin, TX Spero Academy, Minneapolis, MN University of Ottawa Learning Centre, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Wigton Heritage Center and Library Renovation, Omaha, NE C O R P O R AT E WORKPLACE
MG McGrath, Maplewood, MN [1917], Omaha, NE Bristol-Myers Squibb Module J, Lawrenceville, NJ Bristol-Myers Squibb Modules B, D & E, Lawrenceville, NJ BristolMyers Squibb Modules, M & N, Lawrenceville, NJ Huawei Bantian Campus, G-1 Building Renovation, Shenzhen, China Huawei C1 Exterior Façade Replacement, Shenzhen, China
C O R P O R AT E WORKPLACE (cont.)
Los Angeles Department of Water & Power Hoover Street Power Yard, Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles Department of Water & Power West LA Power Yard, Los Angeles, CA Orange County Sanitation District New Administration Building, Fountain Valley, CA Oriental Trading Company, Omaha, NE River’s Edge Building, Council Bluffs, IA Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Corporate Headquarters, Shanghai, China U R B A N & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
19 D E L I B E R AT I O N S
Bakehouse Quarter Mixed-Use Masterplan, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Capital Park, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Cuizhai South Urban Design & Guidelines, Jinan, China El Paso Park 10, El Paso, TX Health Corridor Master Plan, Coeur d’Alene, ID Mile High Stadium District Redevelopment, Denver, CO Santa Fe Drive Streetscape Design, Denver, CO Saving Main Street, Haxtun, CO Urban Stitch, New York, NY Utah’s Gateway Corridor, Cottonwood Heights, UT White Buddha Bridge Station Transit Oriented Development, Chengdu, Sichuan, China Woodlawn Crossing, Chicago, IL
(Cont.)
Biological Innovation, Technology Incubation and Research Center, Nanjing, China Centralized Research Services Facility, San Diego, CA CVL Iraq, Germ and Biological Research Lab, Baghdad, Iraq East Torrey Pines Science and Technology Center, East Torrey Pines, CA Innovation Center, West Hollywood, CA Jiangning Campus Laboratory Building, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China Systems Integration Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD USAMRIID Replacement Facility for Biocontainment Research, Fort Detrick, MD
SCIENCE
DAY 1
RESIDENTIAL & SOCIAL HOUSING
1st & Clark Integrated Health and Social Housing, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 3D Affordable Housing, Contour Crafting, Los Angeles, CA Dunham House: Combat Wounded Care Residence, Omaha, NE Salvation Army Heritage Place, Omaha, NE Taft Residence Lakehouse, Summerland, British Columbia, Canada
INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
aSPIRE HDR Levels of Excellence, Omaha, NE COVID-19 Re-Opening Wayfinding, Various Locations, USA Lounge Seating/Modified Table Base & Repurposed Gym Floor, Omaha, NE Steel and Wood Dining Table, Minneapolis, MN
DEFENSE
AIR 5428 Pilot Training System, RAAF Base East Sale, East Sale, Victoria, Australia Air Force Mobility Command Headquarters, Building 1600 Renovation, Scott Air Force Base, St. Clair County, IL Cyber Center of Excellence, Augusta, GA
120
TOTAL SUBMISSIONS
RESEARCH
Metaphor and Resistance: An Architectural Imperative, Princeton, NJ MUxMT, Chalk River, Ontario, Canada Teatro Della Terra Alienata, Milan, Italy
DAY 2 Day two of the jury found 37 projects advance for re-evaluation. While the first day was a difficult day of elimination, the second day was filled with debate and compromise.
21 D E L I B E R AT I O N S
1st & Clark Integrated Health and Social Housing, 3D Affordable Housing, Contour Crafting, Advocate Christ Medical Center Ambulance Garage, aSPIRE HDR Levels of Excellence, Bakehouse Quarter Mixed-Use Masterplan, Bigelow Boulevard Development, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Shadyside, Bristol-Myers Squibb Module J, Bristol-Myers Squibb Modules B, D & E, Bristol-Myers Squibb Modules M & N, Chesebro Academic Building Renovations, The Hun School, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, iKure Clinic in West Bengal
DAY 2
(Cont.)
East Torrey Pines Science and Technology Center, El Paso Park 10, Food School & Academic Pavilion, Brescia University College, Huawei C1 Exterior Façade Replacement, Jewell Jazz Club, John Deutsch Community Centre, Queen’s University, Lauritzen Gardens Horticulture Complex, Lenox Hill Hospital, Library Learning Commons, Community College of Philadelphia, Los Angeles Department of Water & Power Hoover Street Power Yard, Lounge Seating/Modified Table Base & Repurposed Gym Floor, MUxMT, Neubau und Erweiterung Nord, Northstar Addition, Omaha Discovery Center, River’s Edge Building, Saint Francis Peace Garden, Mayo Clinic, Saving Main Street, School of Public Health, University of Texas Health Science Center, Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Corporate Headquarters, Teatro Della Terra Alienata, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Shadyside, Urban Stitch, West Wing, Lakeside Resort and Convention Centre, Woodlawn Community Bank
37
SUBMISSIONS ADVANCE
DAY 3
Day three was spent making final decisions and organizing projects into award categories: Selected, Mentioned, and Cited. Afterward, a public Reveal of winners provided attendees with vital insight into the jurors’ decisions, processes, and discussions. The Reveal also included voices from HDR leadership.
23 D E L I B E R AT I O N S
1st & Clark Integrated Health and Social Housing, aSPIRE HDR Levels of Excellence, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, iKure Clinic in West Bengal, Jewell Jazz Club, John Deutsch Community Centre, Queen’s University, Lauritzen Gardens Horticulture Complex, Lenox Hill Hospital, Los Angeles Department of Water & Power Hoover Street Power Yard, Lounge Seating/Modified Table Base & Repurposed Gym Floor, MUxMT, Omaha Discovery Center‚ Saving Main Street, St. Francis Peace Garden, Mayo Clinic, Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Corporate Headquarters, Teatro Della Terra Alienata Urban Stitch, Woodlawn Community Bank
18
PROJECTS RECOGNIZED BY THE JURY
SIZE, SCOPE + PROJECT LOCATION
4,740 SF Winning projects range in size and scope, from 5.5 million square-feet to 5,000 square-feet. While the largest of the winning projects has been completed, the majority of recognized projects are unbuilt. 5.5 M SF
B U I LT U N B U I LT
United States (11)
United Arab Emirates (3) Australia (4)
120 SUBMISSIONS
Germany, Iraq, Italy, India, Russia (1)
18 RECOGNIZED
China, India, Italy, United Arab Emirates (1) Canada (3)
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (7)
China (9)
Canada (13)
25 CROSS-SEC TIO N
United States (79)
Breakdown of project locations, differentiated by submissions and honorees.
PROJECT TYPOLOGY + THEMES
Comparing the 120 submission project
18 RECOGNIZED
types to the 18 recognized projects,
Civic & Culture‚ Healthcare (4)
those projects selected approximated the breakdown of overall project typology for all submissions. Corporate Workplace, Industrial Design, Research, Urban & Community Development (2)
120 SUBMISSIONS Healthcare (37)
Civic & Culture (18) Education (16) Corporate & Workplace (13) Urban & Community Development (12)
Science (9) Residential & Social Housing (5) Industrial Design (4) Research, Defense (3)
Education, Residential & Social Housing (1)
sustain– ability social impact
INNOVATIVE [ T E C H N O L O G Y]
CONTEXTUALLY RESPONSIVE [ S I T E]
[ P R O G R A M] [ C U LT U R E] There are several critical layers in the front of our minds as we look at this work in these times. As we all operate from home, we are also battling the virus with an elevated focus on issues of the environment, social impact, and social justice.
CROSS-SEC TIO N
[ M AT E R I A L I T Y]
27
SELECTED WORKS These projects pulled it together in many different ways. The five jurors didn’t align on the same parts of the project that made it important; rather it was our own individual expertise influencing their certainty that each project truly succeeded. Therein lies design excellence. Allison Grace Williams
aSPIRE HDR Levels of Excellence Omaha
42
J ohn Deutsch Community Centre,
Queen’s University Toronto, Kingston
52
Omaha Discovery Center Omaha, New York
62
Saving Main Street Omaha
72
Urban Stitch Arlington, Los Angeles
82
Woodlawn Community Bank Chicago
32
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24
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SELECTED WORKS These projects pulled it together in many different ways. The five jurors didn’t align on the same parts of the project that made it important; rather it was our own individual expertise influencing their certainty that each project truly succeeded. Therein lies design excellence. Allison Grace Williams
aSPIRE HDR LEVELS OF EXCELLENCE L O C AT I O N
Omaha, Nebraska, USA CLIENT
HDR STUDIO
Omaha SERVICES
TEAM MEMBERS
Sarita Hollander Steve LaHood Lisa Miller Stefanie Mosteller Cindy Rieke Kyle Safranek Judy Webster Doug Wignall
Using stackable “plates,” the award grows vertically with each milestone. Once an employee hits the one-year mark, they receive the totem base, the first plate, and a cap. With each subsequent milestone, the employees will receive another plate. The physical and industrial design elements were carefully selected; the materials are durable, robust, and premium; its size is accommodating; its form is grounded and practical; and most importantly, its personalization is human. aSPIRE serves as a visual representation of an employee’s career and celebrates their tenure and growth, contributions, and relationships. Over the years, as the plates stack together in a coherent, unified design, it signifies the importance of an employee’s journey while accentuating endless possibilities.
33 SELECTED
Product Design
Jurors were immediately drawn to aSPIRE’s design, aesthetic, and its inherent meaning for HDR’s firm culture. The two-dimensionality of a paper award doesn’t reflect the firm’s dynamic environment, and aSPIRE—with its interlocking layers and diverse materials— represented growth and achievement in a dynamic object.
JURY FEEDBACK
Allison Grace Williams
An interlocking system with diverse materials and finishes creates a dynamic object.
35 SELECTED
This is one of those really wonderful surprises; just a delightfully intimate way to feel part of a large organization, and to have it become institutionalized through the conceptual clarity of the object itself. Frankly, the leadership within the organization understands how important it is to have these things in such a large firm, where you can come in and no one knows you’re there, no one knows who you are, no one knows how long you’ve been there or what your skill set is. No one knows that you won an award for whatever. Suddenly this very precious, really well-designed art object acts as the narrative for one’s journey at HDR.
Joints connect in a variety of shapes that correspond to career accomplishments.
37
SELECTED
39
SELECTED
41
SELECTED
JOHN DEUTSCH COMMUNITY CENTRE, QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY
Sitting at the entrance to Queen’s University, the John Deutsch University Centre is a well-loved student hub. It houses student clubs, a pub, meeting rooms, and a 100-room residence. While the jury was impressed with many of the building’s elements, they appreciated its overall lightness and intent. The new addition pulls visitors up and into the historic building, providing accessible access to each floor, a move that jurors appreciated for its simplicity. From the outside, the new addition features monumental fins, a nod to the Collegiate Gothic of surrounding university buildings. The fins also deflect southern and western light. This passively regulates heat gain, allowing the addition to use oversized fans and displacement cooling. The exterior picks up on the limestone found elsewhere on campus, but reinterprets it using standard, residential-scale units. Careful attention was paid to the resolution of the building’s massing at the scale of a single masonry unit. A particularly complex transition between planes is resolved through a set of rotated reverse corbels. Elsewhere, widened, raked joints create textural contrast to the CLT fins.
TEAM MEMBERS
Donald Chong, Susan Croswell, Paul Howard Harrison, Somayeh Mousazadeh, Justin Perdue, Jeffrey Salmon, Jeremy Van Dyke, Sebastian Wooff, Dathe Wong
L O C AT I O N
CLIENT
STUDIOS
SERVICES
Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Queen’s University
Toronto
Architecture
Kingston
Interiors
43 SELECTED
1 Accessible Ramp at Grade 2 Revitalized Ceilidh 3 Accessible Meeting Pods at Top and Bottom 4 Interconnected Common Zones
4
5 Central Elevators 5
6 Upper Floor Residence
6
2 3 1
Jurors appreciated the building’s “lift” that reveals on one side and conceals on the other..
37 45 SELECTED
JURY FEEDBACK
The assemblage and façade treatment—you slip under this brick façade. The building is both powerful on its own and also in its composition of others. Shows a lot of restraint and the right amount of richness and simplicity. A good balance of existing stuff is there, but a freshness on its own. This was a no-brainer as a Selected Work. Larry Scarpa
Retail Undergraduate Student Government Offices Student Services 1
Lounge and Study Space
2
1 Student-run Retail Space 2 Bleacher-style Seating at Entrance
3
4
3 Queen’s Pub 4 Existing Atrium
FIR ST FLOO R 47
E At-grade Restaurant
J Wallace Hall
B Mass Timber Auditorium
F Queen’s Journal Newspaper Office
K Existing Atrium
C Community Kitchen
G Meeting Rooms
L Dedicated Club Spaces
D The Brew, a Student-run Coffee Shop
H Retail
M Student Engagement Centre
I
N Student Government Offices
Queen’s Pub
F C A
B
G
D
I
H
J
E
I J
K
L
M
N
E A S T-W E S T S EC T I O N T H R O U G H H I S TO R I C B U I L D I N G
SELECTED
A Student-run Retail Space
2
1
1 1 Efficient Service Core 22 Alignment of Building Faces 33 Vertical Expression
4
44 Sustainable North-facing Windows
3
55 Mass Timber Auditorium 66 The Brew, a Student-run Coffee Shop 77 Wallace Hall 88 Existing Atrium 99 Student Engagement Centre
5 6
10 Relationship to Wallace Hall 1111 Views Towards University Avenue 12 12 Tiered Study and Meeting Atrium
9
13 13 Community Kitchen
8
14 Dedicated Club Spaces
Retail
7
SECO N D FLOO R
Undergraduate Student Government Offices Student Services Lounge and Study Space
12
Graduate Student Government Offices
10
11
13
14 7
THIR D FLOO R
49
SELECTED
51
SELECTED
OMAHA DISCOVERY CENTER
The Omaha Discovery Center is a learning environment that’s part workshop, part museum. It’s a place for hands-on experiences in engineering and science for middle school groups and children ages six and up. The desire to craft an interior space that is warm and humane is to suggest that science is friendly, familiar and approachable. The interior plywood walls are milled as “pegboard” for interactivity and modularity— the 4x8 sheets of plywood can be customized and made in this building using computer numerically controlled (CNC) machines. The building is thought of as a “container” like the classic Nebraska vernacular “machineshed,” where apertures in the aluminum exterior envelope adhere to optimal shading based on the façade’s orientation. The building geometry emerged out of an apparent landscape “grain” that organizes the building into two forms. On the west, towards Downtown Omaha, it “lifts” off the ground creating an elevated “canvas” and acts as a billboard to the city. The space under the cantilever then becomes a pedestrian space. The east form along the river anchors into the ground along the riverfront boardwalk. Vertical shading fins along the east provide glimpses into the interior, thus animating the façade experience.
TEAM MEMBERS
Marty Amsler, Mike Brotherson, Rebecca Cherney, Matthew J. Delaney, John Dineen, Tyson Fiscus, Michael Hamilton, Nicholas R. Hoesing, Randy Niehaus, Kelsey Pierce, Jacob Pulfer, Tyler Ray, Beth Redding, Wyatt Suddarth, Jeff Thompson, Elizabeth Von Lehe, Timothy Williams, James J. Wingert, Xin Zhao
53 SELECTED
L O C AT I O N
STUDIOS
SERVICES
Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Omaha
Architecture, Engineering, Environmental Science, Interiors‚
New York
Landscape Architecture, Lighting Design, Planning + Consulting,
CLIENT
Omaha Discovery Trust
Research, Urban Design + Planning
55
SELECTED
8
2
4
5
5 4
3
LEVEL 2
4
2
1 9 7 6
LEVEL 1
1 Entry Lobby 2 Flex Classroom 3 Makers Room
9
4 Exhibit Gallery 5 Exhibit Shop 6 Café 7 Kitchen 8 Administration 9 Mechanical Equipment LEVEL 3
0
30
60
120
57 SELECTED
SEC TIO N TH RO U GH LO B BY 0
8
16
32
JURY FEEDBACK
What I admire about this is the honest simplicity borrowing from vernacular grain buildings, maintaining the pure straightforwardness of it. In a funny way, it will become a container for some future discovery that’s going to happen in this building for which it was not built. The team has recreated this incredible vessel for experimentation, the stuff that can go on here is just amazing. This is one of those once-in-a-lifetime buildings you get to do. This building is going to have a life far beyond its original use. So that notion of resiliency, I believe, is something that becomes a responsibility too. Allison Grace Williams
S O U T H E L E VAT I O N
E A S T E L E VAT I O N
59 SELECTED
W E S T E L E VAT I O N
61
SELECTED
L O C AT I O N
CLIENT
STUDIO
Haxtun, Colorado, USA
Phillips County
Omaha
Economic Development
SAVING MAIN STREET
TEAM MEMBERS
William DeRoin Annette Himelick Michele Lee Adrian Silva Ian Thomas Tom Trenolone Timothy Williams
The design engages a full city block just west of Colorado Avenue between Fletcher (south) and Strohm (north). The main street structures that include the town hall anchoring the southeast corner and all structures facing Colorado Ave. were evaluated and will be maintained and/or returned to their original brick footprints. The single-story storefront and roof will be removed and in-filled to connect the medical center to the new town auditorium and lobby/event pre-function space. The industrial facilities including scrap yards will be relocated to the town’s perimeter and/or disassembled and recycled.
SERVICES
Architecture, Engineering, Graphic Design, Interiors, Landscape Architecture, Lighting Design, Planning + Consulting, Research, Sustainability + Resiliency, Urban Design + Planning
63 SELECTED
Cole Wycoff
Haxtun is located in northeast Colorado and has a population of 946 people. 100 of those people are employed by the Haxtun Hospital District‚ making it the community’s largest single employer. This planning strategy proposes that medical facilities and local buildings be combined to create a renewed mixed-use community. Existing main street structures are incororated to reduce redundancy and the pharmacy and café/dining associated with the hospital are returned to Haxtun’s main street.
JURY FEEDBACK
This plan integrates the people who live and work there, including a retirement community, and wraps around wellnessand health-focused improvement to the city’s Main Street. It’s a very typical little drag with wonderful buildings with a lot of character. The idea connects what’s going on Main Street, enlivens it, and makes it a pedestrian type of destination. But also going deeper back into blocks and creating things like gardens or a therapy pool. All these elements of this hospital and retirement facility will make it a place that people can walk to their destinations as they’re getting older, which I just think is a wonderful way to think about building a community for the people that are going to age in place. Alissa Walker
65
SELECTED
One major component of the town plan involved identifying obdurate existing structures— sheds and decaying small buildings that required removal. Other existing structures were integrated into the final plan to provide cohesiveness.
Strohm Street 23 18
Main Street
Loagan Avenue
22
19 21
20
Fletcher Street
U PPER FLOO R
67
Strohm Street
SELECTED
1 16
1
15 13 17
14 12
11
3
7
10
9 8
4 5
Main Street
Loagan Avenue
2
6
Fletcher Street
GRO U N D FLOOR
1 Visiting Doctor Housing
10 Community Hall
19 Skilled Nursing
2 Outpatient Clinics
11 Gathering Space
20 Rooftop Garden
3 Physical Therapy Studio
12 Café
21 Greenhouse
4 Pool
13 Kitchen
22 Community Education
5 Gym
14 Auditorium
23 Administration
6 Basketball Court
15 Lobby/Prefunction
7 Assisted Living
16 Emergency Department
8 Haxtun Market
17 Surgery
9 Pharmacy
18 Inpatient Ward
1 Unusable structures demolished
2 New structures rationalized from Main Street bay spacing
3 Program organized to maximize synergy among functions
4 Outdoor spaces and pathways added to reduce scale and invite access
5 Building forms molded to respond to vernacular and complement existing structures
6 Amenities added to support both program and community
69 SELECTED
71
SELECTED
URBAN STITCH
The pedestrian fabric of west Manhattan is torn apart at the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel at West 30th Street, called “a spaghetti of inaccessible connections” by the jury. Like many places throughout the city, pedestrians traverse a hostile, smog-filled, traffic-ridden streetscape as they attempt to safely navigate their commute. Called “transformational” by jurors, The Stitch integrates twin paths that extend the High Line at the “Plinth” and span eastward, stitching together events and fraying at times to allow for efficient movement. The bridge applies a tripartite sustainability design. The fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) cladding and glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) structural deck contain postconsumer plastics pulled directly from the Hudson River. Titanium dioxide-coated, 3D-printed steel mesh sculptures cleanse the air of nitrogen oxides released by passing vehicles. When it rains, the resulting nitrate-rich runoff is collected and used to fertilize plant life along the pedestrian bridges. Funicular arches create an efficient structural system, allowing for generous span lengths and sectional design liberties. By allowing the funicular arches to cross, split, merge, and support each other, designers created an interconnected structural system that provides vertical and lateral stability while limiting conflicts on the ground below.
L O C AT I O N
STUDIOS
New York, New York, USA
Arlington
CLIENT
Metals In Construction Magazine
Los Angeles
73 SELECTED
SERVICES
TEAM MEMBERS
Architecture, Engineering, Landscape
Hamed Aali, Kent Bonner, Tyler Dye, Michael Fitzpatrick,
Architecture, Sustainability + Resiliency,
Jack Knapp, Sally Lee, Ivan O’Garro, Tasiana Paolisso,
Urban Design + Planning
Miguel Rivera, Mariana Torres Cantu, Simon Trumble, Susan Walter, Hua Yang
THE PERCH
An elevated lookout point
and stage for performing arts
and film nested into the plaza at Manhattan West.
Empire Station
Empire Station 9th Avenue Exit
Manhattan West
Lincoln Tunnel Entrance
Five Manhattan West
The High Line
The Shed
75 SELECTED
Concept Model – Efficiency & Fluency
1
2
3
4
The Perch and stage below
Shinto Gate and
Plaza at Kaufman Hall
Connection to the High Line
9th Avenue lookout
above bus terminus
2
1
4
3
Interweaving paths and nodes for seating accommodate all types of commuters and flaneurs. 77 SELECTED
Reinforced Plastic Sheet
1
2
Positive Mold
Thermoforming
3
S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y R E C Y C L E D P L A S T I C
4
Negative Mold
JURY FEEDBACK
This project has a lot of potential for many different places that are facing similar problems. It has a sculptural and beautiful quality to it that felt very light. I think we should do this in every major city and just start collecting plastic waste to build these things. I think we need to use these to connect across freeways in cities. It seems we can just start deploying these anywhere we need to, to create these pedestrian connections that are sometimes extremely expensive, and don’t feel very nice to be around. It looks like these can be lit, and stretched with fabric, and molded into whatever we need them to be. So I think this is a wonderful peek at our pedestrian oriented future. Alissa Walker
1 Harvest Plastic from the Hudson River 2 Sort Usable Plastic 3 Process Plastic into FRP & GFRG 4 Create Bridge with Panels
Rib Trusses at 5‘ 0“ O.C.
FRP Panels with Rods
GFRP Decks Box Girders FRP Panels with Rods GFRP Decks
79
Column Pedestal Pier Cap
T Y P I C A L D E TA I L
Box Girders
SELECTED
Rib Trusses at 5‘ 0“ O.C.
80 SELECTED
Flexural Capacity Flexural Demand
F L E X U R A L D E M A N D V S . C A PA C I T Y
Perch Section
Connector Section
PERCH PLAN
PERCH CONNEC TOR SEC TION
81 SELECTED
PERCH SECTION
WOODLAWN COMMUNITY BANK
L O C AT I O N
Chicago, Illinois, USA CLIENT
Chicago Architecture Center STUDIO
SERVICES
Architecture
This project reenvisions this site as a community hub—the bank becomes a library, a place to meet neighbors or learn the newest technology for job advancement; the train station is more than a place to stand and wait, but rather a site for community events. A new type of library geared toward technology, learning, and gathering breathes life into the former bank building. A large stair with integrated seating for presentations leads up to the old banking hall reimagined as a large community reading room. The train platform is reimagined as a floating park and reading garden, a new gateway to Woodlawn.
TEAM MEMBERS
James Bayless, Joseph Cliggott, Tom Lee, Justin Pang, Andrea Blat Tatay, Ian Thomas
83 SELECTED
Chicago
This was one project that legitimately “snuck up” on the jurors; while originally being passed up by the group, they returned to it with unprecedented enthusiasm. As a proposal for the Chicago Architecture Biennial, the Chicago studio proposed a South Side transformation: In Chicago’s underserved but rebounding Woodlawn neighborhood, an abandoned bank building sits next to an aging Chicago Public Library branch and the CTA’s Green Line terminus station. With a boost from the future Obama Presidential Center, Woodlawn is experiencing new growth and will need new resources.
Cottage Grove Avenue
JURY FEEDBACK
Woodlawn
Demolished Green Line
This was my wild card that I loved. This is an underserved neighborhood and the building will have tremendous social impact, giving neighborhood access and training for technology. So this really is an innovation in terms of rethinking the role of the library in a community; it’s a shared space for learning. It really is a sanctuary for learning, a place for the community, but with some really innovative ideas. The train station itself could become a site for community events. The intention was to create a vibrant social hub and the project delivered. Ingalill Wahlroos-Ritter
85
SELECTED
PROGR AM THE LINE
THICKEN THE LINE
BRIDGE THE LINE
END THE LINE
E XISTING CONDITIONS/INDEPENDENT SYSTEMS
1 Bessie Coleman Branch Public Library 2 Abandoned Bank Building 3 Cottage Grove CTA Station
87 2
3
SELECTED
1
Chicago Loop
CTA Green Line
Future Obama Presidential Center
WOODL AWN
College Grove CTA Station
1
P L AT F O R M P L A N
1 CTA Green Line
6 Amphitheater + Stair
2 Reading Garden
7 Reading Room
3 Stair Tower
8 Community Room
4 Communal Patio
9 Conference Room
5 Coffee Bar
2
7
SELECTED
South Cottage Grove Avenue
8
9
9
9
89 6 5
4 3
East 63rd Street
90 SELECTED
SECTION PER SPECTIVE LOOKING WEST
91 SELECTED
Adaptive reuse extends from the building out onto the CTA station to create an elevated plaza‚ providing connections to the library‚ street‚ and transit.
MENTIONED WORKS Many of our most lively conversations took place within this category because while these projects were meritorious, there were areas where we couldn’t be unanimous in our assessment.
1 st & Clark Integrated Health & Social Housing Vancouver, Victoria
100
Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi New York
104
Lauritzen Gardens Horticulture Complex Omaha
108
Lenox Hill Hospital New York
112
L ounge Seating Modified Table Base and Repurposed Gym Floor Omaha
116
MUxMT Toronto, Ottawa, Kingston
120
St. Francis Peace Garden, Mayo Clinic Denver, Minneapolis
124
Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Corporate Headquarters Princeton, Shanghai
96
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69
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001
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401
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801
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211
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611
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4 2 1
MENTIONED WORKS Many of our most lively conversations took place within this category because while these projects were meritorious, there were areas where we couldn’t be unanimous in our assessment.
1ST & CLARK INTEGRATED HEALTH AND SOCIAL HOUSING The Integrated Health and Social Housing project combines affordable rental homes, short-term transitional housing, and a withdrawal management center with inpatient and outpatient care. The new center will include 90 affordable rental units and 20 short-term transitional housing spaces. Serving low-to moderateincome individuals, the development includes social enterprise space for local residents. The new withdrawal management centre will replace Vancouver Coastal Health’s current facility, hosting 51 inpatient beds, outpatient withdrawal management, sobering, and at-home withdrawal management. Jurors were impressed with the program, but more so with the design, citing the use of comforting tones and lively detailing to create a welcoming environment without sacrificing safety or privacy. Yet those details were often outbalanced by what jurors called “a heaviness of the block...fortress-like and overscaled that belies the welcoming intention of the program.”
L O C AT I O N
CLIENT
Vancouver, British Columbia,
BC Housing, Vancouver Coastal
Canada
Health, City of Vancouver
STUDIOS
SERVICES
TEAM MEMBERS
Vancouver
Architecture
Jim Aalders
Victoria
Stu Julien Johnson Liu Kelsey Nilsen Alex Raymundo Stephen Rowe
97 MENTIONED
6 5 4 3
2
1
FORM AND MASSING
1 Podium Levels
BC Housing/Residential
2 Clark Tower
VCH/Withdrawal Management Center
3 Clinic Drop-off
Transitional Housing
4 Courtyard
Social Enterprise
5 Residential Green Space
Parking + Logistics
6 McLean Tower
JURY FEEDBACK
That is an incredible program, but ultimately I think the design deserves commendation. This is a very, very difficult design, and I think it was beautifully pulled off. The design of the three housing blocks on the plinth, along with the garden that’s raised up and protected— is very much a gift for the residents to use. The fenestration in the light-colored blocks was very appealing and lively. The entrance has warm elements, orange-colored wood, we believe, that’s welcoming and with windows that provide some privacy, but still let light in. Ingalill Wahlroos-Ritter
99 MENTIONED
L O C AT I O N
CLIENT
Abu Dhabi,
The Cleveland Clinic,
United Arab Emirates
Mubadala Health
100 MENTIONED
The double-height “souk” is the main connection hub between hospital services.
STUDIO
SERVICES
New York
Architecture, Graphic Design, Engineering, Environmental Science, Interiors, Landscape Architecture, Lighting Design, Planning + Consulting, Product Design, Research, Sustainability + Resiliency, Urban Design + Planning
CLEVELAND CLINIC ABU DHABI
CCAD is the first hospital to physically express each health modality in an individualized cuboid form that expresses its respective function.
While the jurors were impressed with the “exquisite” resolution of the clinical programs, their conversations often turned to social equity. “Do the people who built this building have access to this level of healthcare?” asked one juror. The double-skin façade has played into not only allowing the notion of a transparent look, but has served to play as the ‘lung’ of the building which has enabled it to reduce the overall HVAC load by 33%.
TEAM MEMBERS
Jim Atkinson, Mohammed Ayoub, David Chargin, Vartan Chilingaryan, Jeff Fahs, Greg Hadsell, Jean Hansen, Brooke Horan, Steve LaHood, Yim Lim, Lily Livingston, Art McBreen, Mark Mendoza, Lloyd Rader, Paul Nagashima, Harold Nesland, Bruce Powers, Michael Street, Matt Suarez, Mark Taylor, Tom Todd, George Vangelatos, Wendy Wallace Brown, Jeff Zoll, Nick Zuniga
101 MENTIONED
Outpatient clinics are organized off a large multi-story gallery space—modeled after the Arab ‘souk’—that is the main circulation spine fostering community interaction. The oasis or ‘waha’ flanks the plaza and creates a place of respite that facilitates wayfinding and connects clinics to the diagnostic/treatment services. The diagnostics waiting area and interventional services platform in between the clinics and hospital forms an architectural interpretation of the desert canyon or ‘wadi’ with light streaming in from above. An extensive open space is filled with landscaping, shade structures, seating, and a walking path.
Inner Layer (Epicardium)
Air Gap (Pulmonarius)
Outer Layer (Epidermis)
JURY FEEDBACK
Having done a lot of work in the Middle East, what I admire about this building is that it is built with a level of precision, and it also is very Arabesque in an abstracted way. It avoided many of the traditional pitfalls: too many screens; too much of the shading component kind of swept under the rug through the use of screens. Here, it’s glass technology and I’m sure people absolutely appreciate that—although there are some things that probably have to do with illuminating the exterior of the building. But it has a level of porosity, a level of detail that’s actually accomplished and a level of abstract cultural reference. Larry Scarpa
103 MENTIONED
LAURITZEN GARDENS HORTICULTURE COMPLEX
The primary design goal for the new horticulture complex was to fit contextually within the back-gardens native prairie landscape, and to demonstrate the core values of the Lauritzen Gardens regarding education and conservation. The focal point will be a new center featuring an education greenhouse, collections greenhouse, public restrooms, and vending/refreshments, centered on a public plaza. In fitting with the natural prairie landscape, the design team looked to traditional prairie sod-houses embedded into the earth as inspiration. The insulating properties of the surrounding ground, as well as selected use of green roofs, provides protection to the greenhouse programs from Nebraska’s climate. Jurors appreciated the “teach by example” conservation method: For the production greenhouses, an earth tube system uses the earth’s stable temperature to both cool and heat the necessary fresh air entering the greenhouse bays. A water reclamation system is being utilized to capture runoff on the site and use for irrigation. All LED growing lights and green roofs also contribute to an efficient, and educational demonstration of green, passive design.
L O C AT I O N
CLIENT
Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Lauritzen Gardens
STUDIO
SERVICES
TEAM MEMBERS
Omaha
Architecture, Engineering, Interiors, Lighting Design,
William DeRoin, John Dineen, Trevor Hollins,
Planning + Consulting, Sustainability + Resiliency
Beth Redding, Sara Robbins, James J. Wingert
105 MENTIONED
PHASE 1
PHASE 2
Visitor’s Center
Production Greenhouse
13 12 3
4 5 10
8 2
6
11
9
1 7
2
1 Entry/Future Tram Drop-off
5 Focal Point Sculptures
9 Future Prairie Walk
2 Extension of Color Burst
6 Raised Tree Planters
3 Access to Herb Garden
7 Teaching Wetland/ Green Solution
10 Future Greenhouse Overlook
4 Amphitheater/Formal Bowl
8 Green Roof
11 Screen Wall/ Bermed Ridgeline
12 Future Greenhouse Expansion 13 Future Treetop Path
107
What I felt this project did was kind of teach by example, and it would teach people how to go home and make their own backyards into little sustainable and ecologically responsible spaces. You have a teaching garden that uses reclaimed materials, a watershed, and greenhouses, and everything is working together in a wonderful, symbiotic relationship. Some of the things that we really love were the references to façade houses that were typical on the plains back in the pioneer days. A lot of the buildings here are really building upon some of that technology that was implemented out of necessity back when these lands were used for the same thing. Alissa Walker
MENTIONED
JURY FEEDBACK
L O C AT I O N
CLIENT
New York, New York, USA
Northwell Health
Main/East (1913)
Uris (1972)
West (1913)
Wollman (1959)
Brownstones
Achman (1966)
Achelis (1894/1917)
Black Hall (1963)
STUDIO
SERVICES
TEAM MEMBERS
New York
Architecture
Mohammed Ayoub
Interiors
Chris Bormann
Planning + Consulting
Brian Kowalchuk
Landscape Architecture
Amy Mays Colin Rohlfing Nibu Samuel
LENOX HILL HOSPITAL
The new approach is vertically integrated in scale, from pedestrian and cyclist to vehicular access and streetscape; façade-wall to corner presence, to block to neighborhood to community to city. The project incorporates a residential component that would become a revenue source for the hospital, though jurors saw that element as less clear and required more explanation. The hospital opens the lower levels to the public and integrates the subway entrance to further intertwine with the urban fabric to create a community hub where people can stop by at the café, pharmacy or gym to give equal access to all who transition through, even from the subway. This true ‘lobby’ for the hospital is elevated to a more serene and private space called the sky lobby which has its own garden, providing another layer of hospitality for the patient, families, users and caregivers.
109 MENTIONED
This project explores a hospital concept for an Upper East Side Manhattan hospital that goes beyond the typical suburban configuration. The evolution of these often-lightless, heavilymassed typologies were re-examined in an urban context where the permeability of mass says as much about an institution as the care provided within.
E L E VAT E D I N PAT I E N T T O W E R
2 3 1
4 5
RE SIDENTIAL TOWER
1 Public Realm 2 Sky Garden 3 Move 4 Juice Bar 5 Transitional Neighborhood
JURY FEEDBACK
We particularly liked that the team studied a lot of different ways and what you ended up with was something that absolutely valued engaging with the street fabric, taking mega blocks and relieving the ground plane in a classic, almost Union-Square-transportationhub place. You create the most important thing, I think, in our urban places now: public, indoor open space. It kind of lifts up the skirt, invites the street in, invites the daylight in, plugs in the transportation and creates a tremendous urban room. Secondly, it takes the program and breaks down the mass by articulating it as separate parts of the program, shifting it, keeping things narrow so that again, you’re always given the benefit of daylight on all floors. I would like to know more about the arrangement between the hospital and the residential components, which to me seems like a really unique financial set-up between the hospital and their potential for income. Allison Grace Williams
EL E VAT ED G A R D EN - EN T R A N CE
PUBLIC REALM
Residential Tower Medical Center
111
MENTIONED
LOUNGE SEATING MODIFIED TABLE BASE & REPURPOSED GYM FLOOR
Designed and fabricated by the architect for an exhibit titled “Re-Purpose,” this lounge seat was fashioned by disassembling a state surplus office table and using gymnasium flooring removed from a local elementary school as seat and backrest surfaces. Custom steel straps define the anthropometric profile and interface the two materials. While simple in idea and form, the jury was satisfied with the way the object was resolved. Noting that 20% of the solid waste generated on an annual basis comes from construction and demolition, jurors considered diligently whether or not this object’s environmental impact was significant enough for recognition. After much conversation, the jury came to the conclusion that though the impact of this specific object is not significant, it represents a typology for closing the materials loop in design and construction.
L O C AT I O N
CLIENT
Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Kaneko
STUDIO
SERVICES
TEAM MEMBERS
Omaha
Product Design
Tyson Fiscus
Sustainability + Resiliency
Michael Hamilton Alejandro Marin
113 MENTIONED
JURY FEEDBACK
This is a great example of design ingenuity, and we felt like it was an exemplar of the circular economy, which is a kind of emerging approach to closing a supply chain and material supply loops. It doesn’t work like recycling a milk carton.
Russell Fortmeyer
114 MENTIONED
It has taken material from a previous usage in the floor and it’s reconceived in a way that kind of harmonizes the ergonomics of a seat and the material properties of the wood floor in a way that really elevates them. A lot of times in circular economy design projects, you see the residue of the previous use in a way that may not necessarily resolve itself aesthetically. And we felt like this bench really did that and just did it in a nice, elegant way. You can see this easily put into production.
115 MENTIONED
L O C AT I O N
CLIENT
Chalk River, Ontario, Canada
Canadian Nuclear Laboratories
MUxMT
With the gradual decommissioning of a 20thcentury era infrastructure of nuclear facilities, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) has adopted a resilient architectural outlook. CNL has undertaken four new flagship buildings for its new campus redevelopment, providing modern spaces. The mass timber structure in these buildings will support CNL’s transformation as a sustainable facility, with an arrangement of fixed and reconfigurable spaces that adopt flexibility and modular design principles, allowing the facilities to remain relevant. The project team is investigating different design options to have direct alignment with the Government of Canada’s policy direction on climate change and clean growth, while advanced wood/mass timber construction honors the region’s deep logging/lumber history, its economic well-being and its indigenous territorial roots. Jurors appreciated the buildings’ design details and remarked heavily on joinery, rectilinear elevation grids, and glazing. Criticism centered around what jurors called “fussiness” to the number of volumes that, at moments, outshined the detailing and materiality. Ultimately, when comparing the project to other submitted timber projects, the jury found MUxMT to exemplify the use of timber, as the design puts the material on display.
102,000 SF 400 Seats, 6 Stories
LEVEL 4-6
Typical “Loft” Offices
CORE
Elevators, Washrooms, Shafts
LEVEL 3
Conference Centre LEVEL 2
Lobby, Collaboration LEVEL 1
Wellness, Health
STUDIOS
SERVICES
TEAM MEMBERS
Toronto
Architecture
Donald Chong
Ottawa
Research
Susan Croswell
Kingston
Paul Howard Harrison Min Hoo Kim Jeremy Van Dyke Sebastian Wooff
117 MENTIONED
The structural bay dimensions are a by-product of the full integration and dialogue between the window manufacturers, mechanical engineers, the mass timber suppliers, as well as the owner and the internal deskspaces and workplace cultures.
W E S T E L E VAT I O N
S O U T H E L E VAT I O N
E A S T E L E VAT I O N
N O R T H E L E VAT I O N
119 MENTIONED
JURY FEEDBACK
It’s an example of a really fruitful partnership between client and architect. First of all, I think the team that put this forward has to be commended. This is beautifully and clearly presented. This was, I think, one of the clearest presentations. Each board sets out goals, clear narrative exemplified in drawings, diagrams, and renderings. I’ll just say it’s great to see that many timber buildings in [HDR’s] portfolio because there’s a lot of talk about timber and not much is getting done. But we felt this building really exemplified the use of timber as a material for the primary structure, and put it on display. And you would imagine that the building will be a great advertisement for people wanting to use timber technology. And that’s part of what the brief really wanted to do. Russell Fortmeyer
L O C AT I O N
CLIENT
Rochester, Minnesota, USA
Mayo Clinic
ST. FRANCIS PEACE GARDEN, MAYO CLINIC The original St. Francis Peace Garden was designed to honor the spirit of St. Francis, intended to be a refuge, a place of respite, reflection, and meditation for patients, families, staff, and visitors. More recently, the St. Francis Peace Garden has been partially dismantled, serving as a staging area for a new building. Designers had three main goals: restore the spirit of the St. Francis Peace Garden through the making of an ecology of healing; respond to the needs of respite, reflection, and meditation through a sensitive reintroduction of native plant communities; and communicate the ecological consciousness of St. Francis (the patron saint of ecology) through the attraction of birds and pollinators afforded by the reintroduction of designed native plant communities. Jurors were most drawn to the project’s simplicity: the meandering pathway and carefully-selected plantlife became the object of serenity. The sparseness sparked a discussion about the project’s larger vision and bigger aspirations that stem from the ecological level—how do each smaller design element (pollinator garden, path, species selection) that meets the three stated goals tie into a grander vision for the landscape?
1
2
3
4
1 Meander Path 5
2 Great Lawn 3 St. Francis Statue 4 Reflecting Pool 5 Long Bench
STUDIOS
SERVICES
TEAM MEMBERS
Denver
Landscape Architecture
Kent Freed, Anthony Mazzeo, Corey Mollet, Andrew Smith,
Minneapolis
Dan Strandell, Booker Tieszen, Amy Williams
8 7 9
1 Threshold
6 St. Francis Pool
2 Meander Path
7 St. Clare Meditation
3 Return Path
8 Grotto
4 Stone Runnel
9 Great Lawn
5 Prairie Rest
6
3 4
1
2
5
121 MENTIONED
JURY FEEDBACK
We really like this one for its simplicity. It was really exactly what it says, a peace garden. It’s just a meandering path. And in some ways pretty simple, but elegant. And you could almost imagine being there. It had a beautiful variety of plants. Then you start to see it come out in some of the other drawings where you could see the colors of the trees. Larry Scarpa
Prairie
Woodland
123 MENTIONED
Clockwise, top left to right: Journey; Meander; Clearing; Return
L O C AT I O N
CLIENT
Shanghai, China
Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co. Ltd.
SHANGHAI PHARMACEUTICALS CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS
This new scientific research center is located in the Jing’an District of Shanghai. The program consists of office space for the SINE (pharmaceutical) division for Shanghai Pharma, with seven research and development sections and departments located on nine floors. The facility also includes retail, food service, a fitness center, and other amenities located on the lower floors which will be open to the public.
The building is compact, connecting people through a vertical plaza or central sky lit atrium. Narrow floor plates flank the atrium to infuse the office space with daylight. It is spanned by sky bridges to physically and visually connect departments.
MENTIONED
Natural light informs the design. Shaping the building form including the placement of core functions provides equitable natural light to all occupants and adjacent parcels, which is important in this urban area. The building is angled to provide an entry court to the northeast and a semi-public garden to the southwest, adjacent to the business community. This maximizes the perimeter for optimum solar orientation and brings more light into the building.
124
STUDIOS
SERVICES
TEAM MEMBERS
Princeton
Architecture
Michael Andrewsky, Bin Hu, Sarah Irgang, Xundong Li,
Shanghai
Landscape Architecture
Ambica Malhotra, Brian McClean, Lynn Mignola, Tom Smith, Jeremy Wei, Damian Wentzel
125 MENTIONED
Brand Identity
Roof Garden
Skyline Views
1
2
3
4
JURY FEEDBACK
This is a project I commended for the daylighting strategy because shifting the building off access allowed it to really take advantage of daylight on the various orientations, and tie-in with that central atrium. Here, the atrium is not a design gimmick. It’s not just something for rendering. It has a performative aspect that really, I think, would make this an amazing place to work. Pharmaceutical companies focus on staff retention and attracting top talent, and I think this is the kind of building that would do that. Russell Fortmeyer
1
URBAN EDGE Building
siting based on surrounding urban context 2 ORIENTATION Building
form tuned for optimum solar orientation 3 DAYLIGHTING Atrium
allows for narrow, naturally daylit floorplate 4 VIEWS Rooftop garden has
views to Shanghai skyline
127 MENTIONED
1
2 11 3 10
4
9 6
7
5
8
1 Solar Tuned Building Form
7 Grey Water Reuse
2 Function Specific HVAC
8 Grey Water Storage
3 Stack Effect Ventilation
9 Efficient Building Depth
4 Natural Ventilation
10 High-Performance Glazing
5 Shaded Drop-off
11 Green Roof
6 Daylighting
CITED WORKS These projects piqued our curiosity. Small or large, they have achieved a level of investigation that deserves recognition.
132
iKure Clinic in West Bengal Kingston, Chicago, Toronto
134
Jewell Jazz Club Omaha
136
L os Angeles Department of Water & Power Hoover Street Power Yard Los Angeles
138
Teatro Della Terra Alienata Sydney, Kingston, Princeton
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23 1
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431
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631
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831
CITED WORKS These projects piqued our curiosity. Small or large, they have achieved a level of investigation that deserves recognition.
L O C AT I O N
CLIENT
Baruipur, West Bengal, India
iKure
IKURE CLINIC IN WEST BENGAL
HDR’s pro-bono Design 4 Others team was tasked with designing a new central clinic and headquarters for iKure. The client specializes in high-tech, low-cost healthcare delivery, and the team utilized a similar ethos when designing the facility. iKure’s work optimizes healthcare delivery using a sophisticated AI-driven model developed with IBM’s Big Data team. A similar algorithmic approach was taken for the building’s massing, resulting in a courtyard building reminiscent of the traditional villa style in West Bengal. The final form features myriad smaller lightwells ringing a single courtyard‚ creating a clear, efficient ring-road circulation. Porous brick towers designed with custom software have been placed at each aperture, which filter light both in and out of the building. Jurors admired the light-filled spaces and appreciated the project’s thoughtful, quiet presence. However, missing light studies were greatly desired; jurors hoped to see the variations of sun and shade over time as proof of concept.
JURY FEEDBACK
I think the project is quiet—a thoughtful design and a holistic healing space. And ultimately that is what matters. What the jury would have liked to have seen were images showing a little bit more of this human-centered effect: With the actual interior shots of the rooms, we saw some of the courtyard spaces, but what does the interior space look like and what are the light effects? The algorithm set up maximized shade, but it would be nice to see some of those variations that were looked at and how this one then maximized that shade over a time period. Ingalill Wahlroos-Ritter
STUDIOS
SERVICES
TEAM MEMBERS
Kingston
Architecture
Norman Fisher
Chicago
Megan Gallagher
Toronto
Jason-Emery Groën Paul Howard Harrison
P E R S P E C T I VA L S E C T I O N T H R O U G H E N T R Y L O B B Y
133 CITED
L O C AT I O N
CLIENT
Omaha, Nebraska, USA
McKenna Group Productions
THE JEWELL JAZZ CLUB
Paying homage to Omaha’s rich jazz history and its local music impresario Jimmy Jewell, The Jewell seeks to create an experiential environment while maintaining premium acoustics. This project was contested for several rounds of jurying; ultimately, the group settled on its merit of being a social space rather than a temple to music. The sculptural upstage wall anchors the room. Undulating peaks and valleys of walnut veneer plywood are formed in a jewel-cut geometric pattern, diffusing and scattering sound from the stage. Jurors were particularly attracted to this feature, noting its visual beauty and its acoustical impact, but were greatly disinterested in the furnishings and finishes of other features. Special attention was given to the acoustics of the room. A hotel ballroom located directly above the space presented many technical sound challenges. In collaboration with acousticians, the team was able to create an isolated barrier ceiling along with other acoustically superior isolation and amplified sound features.
JURY FEEDBACK
A jazz club, first and foremost, needs to be a place where you can really hear the music well. We very quickly isolated the beauty of this moment in this project: the gorgeous black and white fractured piece that’s made out of wood and is a chameleon to light. Allison Grace Williams
STUDIO
SERVICES
TEAM MEMBERS
Omaha
Architecture
Matthew DeBoer
Engineering
Trevor Hollins
Interiors
David Lempke
Lighting Design
Taylor Nielsen Andrew R. Wilson
135 CITED
L O C AT I O N
CLIENT
Los Angeles, California, USA
Los Angeles Water & Power Department
LOS ANGELES DEPARTMENT OF WATER & POWER HOOVER STREET POWER YARD
The Los Angeles Department of Water & Power commits to meet the ambitious goals set forth in LA’s Green New Deal with its utilities and its facilities. The new building on an EPA clean-up/brownfield site replaces a dilapidated street lighting facility‚ with an optimized utility yard including a mixed-use building housing management and crew workplace, community room, lockers and gym, materials warehouse, fleet maintenance and parking. Combining passive and active strategies (thermal mass, daylighting, hybrid natural and displacement air systems) significantly reduces the EUI. Conserving potable water is also key: greywater treatment and other water strategies reduce potable water use and provide for 100% of the landscape water use. Community benefits include a shared training/meeting room with an outdoor patio, additions of street trees, and massing to protect the nearby residential neighbors from the yard noise and fleet traffic. Jurors were not fully convinced of community contributions, noting that clients should be pushed further in thinking through the community benefits.
TEAM MEMBERS
Luel Baylon, Phil Beadle, Jason Brown, Catherine Canetti, David Chargin,
Aaron Olko, Sergio Colominas Ochoa De Retana, Joshua Ortiz,
Charles Christoplis, April Cottini, Harold Davis, Yining Deng,
Li Pan, Darren Pynn, Martin Ramirez, Gregory Ramseth, Amit Roy,
Kate Diamond, Jere Ferguson, Royston Gikonyo, Josh Greenfield,
Heather Santos, Susan Suhar, Sabah Partovi, David Stransky,
Diane Hamlin, Mark Harper, Amanda Hedstrom, Phillip Hohensee,
Adrian Suzuki, Timothy Swe, Tom Tan, Jay Tenison, Aubrey Thompson,
Maria Antony Katticaran, Naga Priya Koushik, Julian Lopez,
Matthew Tufts, Anne Ullestad, Jason Vera, Brian Voorhees,
Charlene Mendez, Corey Mollet, Gabriella Morris, Carlos Pinelo,
Bill Walters, Zhi Wei, Jeff Wurmlinger, Peter Yau, Oliver Goulart Young
STUDIO
SERVICES
Los Angeles
Architecture, Engineering, Interiors, Landscape Architecture, Lighting Design, Planning + Consulting, Sustainability + Resiliency
137 CITED
JURY FEEDBACK
It’s certainly been the most progressive public agency in the history of the city. And this project marks a departure for that organization in that it’s really from our view as a jury, we felt like it was transformative in the relationship of a public agency to a community. We responded to the net zero energy goals of the project the way that a lot of the sustainability strategies and systems align with the city’s Green New Deal plan, which warms my heart. I think where we felt like the project could push DWP further is thinking through the community role of the building. In our discussion around community and social impact, we were wondering, “Well, resilience for whom?” Russell Fortmeyer
L O C AT I O N
CLIENT
Milan, Italy
Milano Triennale
TEATRO DELLA TERRA ALIENATA
HDR participated in the XXII Triennale di Milano as Principal Partner supporting the architectural design of the Australian Pavilion led by the University of Technology Sydney. The “theatre of distraction” is an object that presents the technologies of Great Barrier Reef preservation currently operating at the reef; at the back it stages a 30-minute film that imagines a fictional future for the reef. The HDR team supported the curatorial team in the ideation and realization of the artifact, contributing to the development of the concept, ensuring adherence to programme and budget, and coordinating the construction of the components. The Australian Pavilion consolidates two years of research and pedagogical projects. In 2018, the Australian government decided to partially outsource the preservation of the reef to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, a charity supported by major mining and insurance companies, banks, and airlines. Currently, reef preservation is monitored and manicured to maintain the “natural spectacle.” Jurors were not initially interested in the Teatro, as they felt that the project imagery and documentation were uncompelling. Juror Russell Fortmeyer noted that he had been able to visit the pavilion and made a successful case for the installation, noting its tight budget, small scale, and effective impact.
JURY FEEDBACK
We discussed this project a lot because the documentation didn’t necessarily tell the full story and the richness of this very tiny pavilion. HDR’s role in this was not the film necessarily, but with the installation. It’s a very small space. And this divider made the most of it in a very artful way with very simple materials, timber construction and very elegant screen. The simplicity of the project and the documentation in the submission belie how hard it is to do small scale installation work on very tight budgets, with very tight timeframes. Russell Fortmeyer
STUDIOS
SERVICES
TEAM MEMBERS
Sydney
Interiors
Stefano Cottini
Kingston
Research
Jason-Emery Groën
Princeton
Sustainability + Resiliency
Brian Kowalchuk Susanne Pini
SYST E M A XO N OM E T R IC OS ST RU C T U R E
139 CITED
AFTERWORD
HDR has made great progress transforming our long-established, expertise-focused service practice into a culture that embraces the power of design excellence. Opacity, HDR’s internal design awards program with its outside jury of recognized design thought leaders, is both an investment in and proof of our collective evolution toward becoming a truly great global design practice. Like our sister studios who had previously hosted Opacity juries in Minneapolis, Chicago and Arlington, the Los Angeles Studio was looking forward to a weeklong celebration of design. We were excited to display all the submitted projects and hold an openhouse with the jurors, our best clients, and collaborators—all culminating with a live webcast announcing the selected projects for Opacity 2020. All of that changed with COVID-19. Clinging to the hope that we might still be able to host an in-person jury, we invited an LA-based jury so that only our new Jury Chair, Allison Williams, FAIA, would need to travel. It was during the time that we were selecting jurors when the impacts of the pandemic were compounded by the compelling Black Lives Matter protests mourning George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and all the lives impacted by systemic racism. Acknowledging our own responsibility to be inclusive and diverse, we knew our jury should embrace those tenets. Luckily, choosing great jurors from the richly diverse talent pool in Los Angeles was easy. I am very pleased that this was our first jury with more women than men and confident that our commitment to inclusion enriched the design dialogue.
Unfortunately, by early summer it became clear that no one would be gathering in person during these strange times, so with a quick pivot, Opacity 2020 became virtual. All of our jurors expressed regret not being able to meet in-person because the jury experience is often the beginning of life-long friendships— yet by the end of deliberations‚ each agreed that the virtual deliberation was thorough, fair, insightful, and surprisingly efficient. It helped that we hosted a virtual dinner party by delivering dinners and wine to the jurors’ homes to recapture some of the camaraderie lost to social isolation. The virtual setting also allowed more of HDR’s design leaders across the world to anonymously listen in through the now-ubiquitous magic of Zoom, giving them front-row seats at the deliberation process. The final Reveal discussion—broadcast to all of HDR’s studios— was a call for design excellence based on bold ideas, inextricably interwoven with beautiful experiences for all users and regenerative design that respects the planet. Juror Larry Scarpa, FAIA, reminded us all that the chosen projects only reflect the opinion of five individuals on a given day based on the information in front of them. He encouraged all of us who didn’t get selected to refine and resubmit—to never give up on telling compelling design stories. My personal hope is that the LA Studio can recapture some of the joy of the design dialogue that we missed, given this weird and unforgettable year, by inviting all of the Angelino jurors to an in-person conversation to kick off Opacity 2021 submittals. We will party together someday soon! Kate Diamond, FAIA, Design Director
141 AF TERWORD
IN MEMORY OF
DAN REW
I first met Dan through his wife Pam when we were all newly-minted architects working in Philadelphia. Even back then, over 30 years ago, it was obvious that Dan was different. He already had that calm, quiet, selfassurance—unusual in someone just starting out. And, he had already filled dozens of sketchbooks with his simple and elegant line drawings, accompanied by indecipherable scribble. I think he knew, and Pam certainly knew, that he would become an exceptional designer. Maybe he already was. Of course, Dan will be remembered for his architecture—always deceivingly simple, honest, and of its place. His fellow designers remember his ability to uncover the essential idea—starting with sketches and then models. He loved the model shop! He was always seeking ways to pare the design back to its foundational idea; he wasn’t a fan of excess. In some ways, I think this also describes the way he lived his life.
Dan’s days were focused on the things that he loved most: his work and his family, and of course, books, running, good food, and Italy. He was deeply committed to each! He was also truly interested in young designers’ ideas, a dedicated and loyal mentor. He was serious, but he was also fun, with a wry sense of humor. People liked working with him. Although Dan was always polite, calm, and gentle, he knew what he wanted. He just made it happen quietly, and with kindness. Other designers in Princeton remember how he inspired his entire studio to run with him— including people who had never run before. Dan welcomed everyone, even though he was an accomplished runner. Those who ran with him‚ talk about how they would finally catch up to him, thinking that finally they had bested him, when suddenly he would kick it up to a new level, leaving them gasping for breath. He always seemed to have an extra gear. Ellen Randall, AIA, Professional Associate
143 TRIBUTE
CREDITS GUEST EDITOR
O PAC I T Y 2 0 2 0
Anjulie Rao
Anjulie is a Chicago-based journalist and editor of Chicago Architect magazine. As a writer, she focuses on livable built environments, equitable design, architecture criticism, and radical urbanism. With an academic background in art history, she enjoys intersections between art, infrastructure, and political narratives. She completed her Masters in New Arts Journalism from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2014 and her bylines can be found in Chicago Architect, Metropolis, American Craft, Chicago magazine, Artsy, Curbed Chicago, and LUXE magazine, among others.
F E AT U R E D PHOTOGR APHERS
Paula Brammier Corie Dechant Kate Diamond Jason-Emery Groën Paige Haskett Danette Hunter Brian Kowalchuk Tyler Olson Vartan Petrosyan Kim Ramaekers Anjulie Rao Encarnita Rivera Dan Schwalm Adrian Silva Katie Sosnowchik Thomas Trenolone Doug Wignall Cole Wycoff Mary Zgoda Dave Burke Dan Schwalm
ITN 5414
The Opacity Initiative is the “measure of our design conscience,” a way for us to revisit and understand our work from outside perspectives. In 2020, we connected virtually with five outside critics who reviewed and critiqued a portfolio of work from our offices around the globe. This book traces that Opacity event and the work the jurors recognized.
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