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AIA Wisconsin 2008
WisconsinArchitect
2008 Awards Program
AIA
WISCONSIN
DESIGN AWARDS 2008
AIA
Wisconsin, the state society of The
Design Awards jury were: Ronnette Riley, FAIA, New York;
American Institute of Architects, recognized ten building
Kenneth Luker, AIA, North Carolina; and Paul Mankins, FAIA,
projects for excellence in architectural design as part of its 2008
Iowa. The co-chairs of AIA Wisconsin’s 52nd annual Design
Design Awards program.
Awards program were Katherine Schnuck, AIA, Whitefish Bay, and Mark Kruser, AIA, Middleton.
This year’s award-winning architecture reflects a diverse mix of projects, including a waterfront museum, an entertainment
The annual Design Awards program represents the highest
destination, private residences, a housing development, a
recognition given for excellence in architectural design by AIA
university research facility, an interpretive museum exhibit,
Wisconsin. Honor Awards recognize overall design excellence.
a place of worship in the Northwoods and a commercial
Merit Awards recognize excellence in particular aspects of
office building. These projects are honored for their creative,
architectural design.
innovative and environmentally sensitive design solutions. The common thread among all ten projects is that they were
The 2008 AIA Wisconsin Design Awards were presented to the
designed by architect members of AIA Wisconsin. A jury of
architects, building owners and general contractors at a special
nationally distinguished architects from outside Wisconsin
awards ceremony at the Monona Terrace Community and
selected the award-winning projects. Members of the 2008
Convention Center in Madison.
AIA Wisconsin Design Awards 2008
Discovery World at Pier Wisconsin Honor Award Architect: HGA Architects and Engineers Owner: Discovery World at Pier Wisconsin The Endeavors Group, LLC Contractor: Gilbane Building Company Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Photography: Jim Shields and Chris Winters
This new museum overlooks the Lake Michigan waterfront in downtown Milwaukee. Discovery World houses a children’s technology and discovery museum as well as a museum devoted to the Great Lakes, featuring an aquarium and exhibits on maritime history and water resources. The project also includes facilities for a tall-masted schooner and extensive new docks for public waterfront access. The design for the project uses a strategy that connects with existing gardens to create a “Great Lawn,” which brings the city to the water’s edge at a new maritime harbor and amphitheater and covers a parking structure. The long and linear building mimics the low horizontal proportions of the lakefront and is lifted up on a transparent glass base, which is deeply recessed below a cantilevered second floor. Interior spaces provide waterfront views and allow the dynamic exhibits to dominate. The round glass “Pilot House” offers stunning views of both the lake and the city. Jury Comment “This is a very clear and a very crisp building. It is attractive because of its simplicity, cohesiveness and effective design imagery. The project gained a lot of strength because it did not attempt to compete with its neighbors.”
Wisconsin Architect 2009
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AIA Wisconsin Design Awards 2008
Downtown Bar
Honor Award Architect: Johnsen Schmaling Architects Owner: Megan McCormick Contractor: KBS Construction Inc. Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin Overlooking the river, this bar is located in a small space carved out of an unexceptional commercial development on the southern edge of downtown Milwaukee. In an effort to counteract the sterility of the building’s finishes, the architect designed an interior space with a high level of tactility, visual complexity and drama. A deeply textured wood slat wall, echoing the undulation of heavy stage curtains, leads from the building lobby into the bar area before it wraps overhead and cradles the mezzanine, where it transforms into a screen for intimate upper level seating. The rhythmic design of the wood slats, reinforced by a series of thin structural steel columns supporting the mezzanine, forms the backdrop for a continuous ribbon of back-lit custom-fabricated cellular plastic panels that weave through the two-story space. Spatially, the light ribbon normalizes the skewed geometry of the room and ties together the programmatic elements on both levels. In addition, it consolidates and veils the bar’s entire technical infrastructure. The ribbon’s deep red color washes the entire space with a sensuous incandescence.
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Photography: Doug Edmunds Studios
Jury Comment “There is an element of ‘wow!’ to everything about this project. It has all the pieces to create a really spectacular space with ambiance and atmosphere.”
Wisconsin Architect 2008
AIA Wisconsin Design Awards 2008
Urban Infill 02
Honor Award Architect: Johnsen Schmaling Architects Owner: Marty Radocha Contractor: T.R. Martin Builders LLC Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Photography: Doug Edmunds Studios
This project is the second of a series of affordable prototypical production homes designed for small urban infill lots in Milwaukee’s central city. Located in a neighborhood that has seen its share of economic disinvestment and continues to suffer from three decades of urban decay, this three-bedroom 1,600-squarefoot model home was designed within a limited budget. It consists of two interlocking building blocks, a compact two-story wood cube and a single-story concrete block bar. The cube component is designed to maximize the use of standard-sized building materials so the plan can be adapted easily for different lot dimensions and program sizes. The concrete bar component of the home shelters the private functions on the main level, including the master suite. A set of delicate steel brackets ties the two volumes together and spatially defines the semi-private, south-facing roof terrace accessible from the upper level, maximizing the amount of outdoor space on this tight urban parcel. This infill housing project demonstrates how the fabric of a neighborhood can be mended one modestly priced home at a time. Jury Comment “In spite of a very modest budget, it attained very high levels of design. The ability to look through the entire house while maintaining a level of privacy is great. This project reflects a series of very smart decisions.”
Wisconsin Architect 2009
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AIA Wisconsin Design Awards 2008
Park Terrace Row Houses and Bluff Homes
Honor Award Architect: Vetter Denk Architecture Owner: Park Terrace LLC Contractor: Altius Building Company Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin This project offers a variety of housing and builds upon the vibrancy of a blossoming neighborhood just north of downtown Milwaukee. The 37-unit condominium development includes a combination of affordable row houses along with upscale single family bluff homes to create the diversity and urban pattern appropriate for the neighborhood. Occupying a high point in the city, the 1.5 acre site offers commanding views of the downtown skyline. In response to the steep bluff, an auto alley serves both the row houses and the homes with efficient internal vehicular circulation, freeing the street edges for pedestrian use. The design of the development offers a variety of housing, from entry level housing to customized luxury homes. Unique construction methods, innovative use of materials and prefabricated components increased the quality and value of the housing while reducing on-site waste and construction time. The design solution demonstrates how difficult program, budget, site and context constraints can be innovatively integrated to achieve a successful project. Jury Comment “This project is comprehensively well developed, with exquisite interior spaces. It has a sense of scale and a cadence about it that would make it a nice place to live.�
Photography: Vetter Denk and Kenn Busch
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Wisconsin Architect 2008
AIA Wisconsin Design Awards 2008
Simon Hall | Indiana University
Merit Award Architect: Flad Architects Owner: Indiana University Contractor: F.A. Wilhelm Construction Company, Inc. Location: Bloomington, Indiana This new multidisciplinary research facility complements the distinctive limestone buildings and gothic architecture of the Indiana University campus in Bloomington. The six-story building provides researchers with centralized state-of-the-art resources such as laboratories, technical support areas and analytical instrument facilities to support promising research initiatives for the diagnosis and treatment of disease. As part of the design solution, a large portion of the research facility is located underground, preserving an existing grove of trees and creating a grassy green roof above 26,000 square feet of vibration sensitive instrument labs. The limestone construction reflects great craftsmanship; and the building is adorned with symbols of the research activities taking place inside. Jury Comment “This project has a lot of bravado. The architect designed something very traditional, but with a twist and a sense of inventiveness at the same time. This building is clean and simple. It is a strong project that sits well on a college campus. The exterior stone work symbols are a charming detail. This is a very beautiful long-term contribution to the campus. In fifty years, it will have aged Photography: Flad & Associates very well in a graceful way.�
Wisconsin Architect 2009
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AIA Wisconsin Design Awards 2008
Ferrous House
Merit Award Architect: Johnsen Schmaling Architects Contractor: Jorndt Fahey Remodeling, LLC Location: Spring Prairie, Wisconsin
Jury Comment “The architect was able to manipulate the plan modestly, but still completely change the house. It is a fabulous project the way the spaces are cleverly compartmentalized and celebrated. There is a simple clarity to the project. It is very contemporary and modern; and, yet, it doesn’t look like it will become dated”
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Photography: Doug Edmunds Studios
The results of this residential project demonstrate how the bones of an aging suburban ranch home can be transformed into the framework for a contemporary dwelling. The home, which had fallen into serious disrepair, was entirely gutted and stripped of its roof. The limited construction budget required the reuse of the existing foundation, main perimeter walls and plumbing cores. The main level of the house is wrapped on three sides with a suspended curtain of weathering steel panels. In the back, the steel wrapper extends beyond the building’s perimeter, where it shelters the sides of a linear southfacing patio. Storage boxes, containing built-in closet systems and living room cabinetry, penetrate the steel curtain and cantilever over the edge of the building, adding square footage without altering the original footprint of the house. The slightly tilted roof plane is supported by exposed metal and wood trusses, which add height to the living spaces and allow northern light into the house through a translucent Nanogelfilled glass band.
Wisconsin Architect 2008
AIA Wisconsin Design Awards 2008
Cantaliever House
Merit Award Architect: La Dallman Architects Inc. Contractor: Ruvin Brothers Location: Fox Point, Wisconsin This post-tensioned concrete and weathering steel-clad residence is located in Fox Point along one of the deep ravines that shed water into Lake Michigan. The design solution offers a nuanced iteration of the “glass house” typology of the modern dwelling that is quiet to its neighborhood, deferential to the colors and texture of the forest and open to the dramatic landscape beyond. The house offers a relatively opaque public edge, which shields the interior and helps to anchor the house to the site. The primary living spaces are carved out of the first floor mass and enclosed in volumes of glass, offering wide views into the landscape. A second floor slab of post-tensioned concrete allows for a progressively cantilevered massing, with expansive long-span living spaces and a delicate window wall free of obstructions. Jury Comment “This is an extremely well done and noble project. It is a beautiful home that is well detailed. This project responds well to the typography.”
Photography: La Dallman Architects, Inc.
Wisconsin Architect 2009
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AIA Wisconsin Design Awards 2008
Great Lakes Future Exhibit
Merit Award Architect: La Dallman Architects Inc. Owner: Discovery World at Pier Wisconsin Contractor: Tri-North Builders Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin This permanent interpretive exhibit at Discovery World at Pier Wisconsin in Milwaukee weaves together historic, scientific and topographic information related to weather patterns, animal life, marshland and water movement, which play integral roles in the future of the Great Lakes. The exhibit design explores the intersection of man-made and natural systems, illuminating the relationship between earth and sky and emphasizing their ecosystems. The project combines high-tech and primitive technologies, requiring integration of highly technical life support systems for aquatic and amphibious life, digital imagery, interactive displays, cartography, fossils and live-fed atmospheric data. Visitors become fully immersed in the exhibit.
Jury Comment “A high level of rigor and thought went into the design of this project. The detailing is exquisite. The architect captured the full body of the exhibit space. The canopy is very elaborate and fresh. The children that this was designed for will love it and thrive on it.�
Photography: La Dallman Architects, Inc.
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Wisconsin Architect 2008
AIA Wisconsin Design Awards 2008
Holy Family Woodruff New Church
Merit Award Architect: Plunkett Raysich Architects, LLP Owner: Holy Family Parish Contractor: The Bentley Company – Construction Services Location: Woodruff, Wisconsin
Photography: Tricia Shay Photography
This church captures the essence of the “Northwoods” by using a design approach that carefully integrates site, building and interior space to achieve a harmonious connection between the serene natural environment and a sanctuary for worshippers. The project creates an arc of gathering areas that link an expandable worship space, small chapels, fellowship hall and church offices to the site’s 30 acres of pine forest. The design maximizes passive heating along its southern edge and tucks additional program space into the hill. In this lower level, views and daylight provide a connection to the outdoors for religious education, meeting rooms and a youth room. The project provides worship space flexibility by integrating the 200-seat day chapel and forward third of the fellowship hall into the volume of the main nave. Windows provide an abundance of natural daylighting. Jury Comment “It’s exciting to see such a high quality ecclesiastical project. The composition and the clarity of this project, as well as the siting, are beautiful. It is a handsome project overall. We can imagine worshiping in this space. This type of project is about worship; and it has great balance.”
Wisconsin Architect 2009
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AIA Wisconsin Design Awards 2008
161 First
Merit Award Architect: Vetter Denk Architecture Owner: 161 First LLC Contractor: Beyer Construction Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin This four-story commercial office building, with street level retail space, occupies a prominent corner in the 5th ward, a revitalized neighborhood south of downtown in Milwaukee. The offices of the architecture firm occupy the upper floor. The simple and flexible building design provides abundant natural daylighting, private south-facing outdoor space and natural ventilation through operable windows. The exterior is composed of naturally colored hand troweled cementitious stucco, natural wood veneered phenolic panels and an anodized aluminum glazing system. It also features outdoor balcony space on each floor plus a rooftop deck. The project represents a successful venture for architects as developer of their own office building, while adding value to a budding urban area.
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Photography: Vetter Denk Archtiects
Jury Comment “Even without a large budget, it is a crisp and very nicely done contextual project. Just the little bit of material change in the way the windows are represented with the wood panel creates interest. There is a very modest set of moves in terms of materials that gives this building a richness it would not have otherwise. It’s a good solid building that is thoughtfully done.”
Wisconsin Architect 2008
AIA Wisconsin Golden Award
Wisconsin Architect Joseph H. Flad, FAIA Honored Madison architect Joseph H. Flad, FAIA, (1922 - 2004) received the 2008 “Golden Award” from AIA Wisconsin, the state society of The American Institute of Architects. The Golden Award is the highest honor that the state architects society can confer upon a member architect. Flad is being recognized posthumously for his dedicated service and significant contributions to the profession and practice of architecture during his distinguished career. Taking on many key leadership roles, he advanced the profession of architecture, inspired his fellow practitioners and demonstrated a genuine commitment to the well-being of his community. Joseph Flad is the twenty-first Wisconsin architect to be honored by AIA Wisconsin with the Golden Award. Representatives of the Flad family will accept the 2008 Golden Award on his behalf at a special awards luncheon on April 30 at the Monona Terrace Community & Convention Center in Madison. The event was being held in conjunction with the 2008 AIA Wisconsin Convention & Expo. The first Golden Award was presented in 1986. “The legacy left by Joe Flad continues to underscore the valuable role that Wisconsin architects play in improving our built environment and enhancing the quality of life in our local communities,” said Lee Connellee, AIA, an architect in Appleton and the president of AIA Wisconsin. “The Golden Award honors his proactive leadership that for more than three decades helped guide and advance our profession at the local, state and national levels. We have all benefited from his many contributions and volunteer service on behalf of the architects and citizens of Wisconsin.” A life-long resident of Madison, Flad received a business degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1946, graduated from architecture school at Iowa State University in 1950 and became a registered architect in the state of Wisconsin in 1952. Throughout his career, he practiced at the firm founded by his father; and he became a partner of John J. Flad & Associates in 1954. His strong work ethic and leadership was instrumental in growing the firm into the largest architectural practice in Wisconsin by the mid-1960s. As president, Joseph Flad provided the firm with an innovative combination of leadership and marketing skills that elevated Flad & Associates to national stature in the 1970s. Examples of the firm’s projects during this period of time include the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), Wisconsin Telephone Company headquarters, Sentry Insurance headquarters, the Vilas Communications and Center for Health Services buildings on the UW-Madison campus, and Wisconsin Wisconsin Architect 2009
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Electric Power Company headquarters in Milwaukee. When he retired as president and chief executive officer in 1985, Joe Flad had set the foundation for the firm that continues to thrive today as an award-winning architectural firm with offices around the country. In addition to growing a successful architectural practice, Flad also is remembered for his exceptional service to the profession of architecture in key leadership roles for The American Institute of Architects at the local, state and national level over the course of his professional life. Flad’s commitment to serving the profession of architecture began early in his career. In the mid-1950s, he was an officer of what was then called the Western Section of the Wisconsin Chapter of the AIA, serving as president of the local section in 1956. In 1958 and 1959, Joe Flad served as the president of the statewide Wisconsin Chapter of the AIA. Under his leadership, many of the operating procedures of the organization, which is now known as AIA Wisconsin, were refined to better respond to the professional needs of its growing membership and state legislation was approved to strengthen the responsibilities of architects in protecting public health, safety and welfare. As chair of the state chapter’s education committee, he was a strong advocate for establishing a School of Architecture in Wisconsin, which became a reality in 1969 at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. In 1967, Flad was appointed to the national AIA Board of Directors, representing architects in Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. During his service at the national level, he helped to guide the development of important AIA policies related to project delivery and standards of professional practice. In recognition of his “notable contributions to the advancement of the profession of architecture,” Joseph Flad was elevated to the College of Fellows of The American Institute of Architects in 1969, which is an honor reserved for only a small percentage of AIA members nationwide. Flad also inspired other architects by his commitment to public service. For example, he served on the Mayor’s Committee on Redeveloping Downtown Madison, which produced a comprehensive study of downtown redevelopment, and as a member of the Governor’s Task Force for Reorganizing State Agencies, which developed recommendations for streamlining the state’s building program process with meaningful architectural result. In addition, he actively participated in several fraternal, civic and religious organizations in Madison, including the West Side Businessman’s Association, Mendota Gridiron Club and Edgewood High School Athletic Association, and served as a member of the board of directors for M & I Bank and the Knights of Columbus. “Architects who believe they’re too busy to participate in their professional organization and the civic life of their communities should take a closer look at the career and contributions of Joe Flad,” according to Connellee. “Thanks to his vision and leadership, we are a stronger profession and a better state today.”
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AIA
Wisconsin congratulates this year’s award
winners for their significant contributions to the profession and our built environment. Advancing the profession of architecture requires an uncompromising commitment to excellence. The execution of a well-designed building requires the collaboration, inspiration and enthusiastic support of the architect, owner and contractor. AIA Wisconsin is a 1,500-member professional society representing architects in private practice, business, industry, government and education. It is the voice of the architectural profession dedicated to serving its members, advancing their value and improving the quality of the built environment. Good design makes a difference. For over 150 years, members of The American Institute of Architects have worked with each other and their communities to create more valuable, healthy, secure and sustainable buildings and cityscapes. AIA members have access to the right people, knowledge and tools to create better design—and help clients and communities make their visions real. For more information on working with an architect, please contact AIA Wisconsin.
AIA Wisconsin
321 S. Hamilton St. Madison, WI 53703-4000 (608) 257-8477 Phone Web: www.aiaw.org
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Wisconsin Architect 2008