The American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Housing and Custom Residential Knowledge Community, in conjunction with the Office of the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), recognized four recipients of the 2014 AIA/HUD Secretary Awards.
The categories of the program include Excellence in Affordable Housing Design, Creating Community Connection Award, Community-Informed Design Award and Housing Accessibility - Alan J. Rothman Award. These awards demonstrate that design matters, and the recipient projects offer examples of important developments in the housing industry.
“This year’s recipients are shining examples of how the latest innovations in design, materials and building techniques are not just for high-end housing but can also offer lower income families exceptional homes they can actually afford,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.
The jury for the 2014 AIA/HUD Secretary Awards included Nancy Ludwig, FAIA, (Chair), ICON architecture, inc.; David Barista, Building Design+Construction; Louise Braverman, FAIA, Louise Braverman Architect; Keith Fudge, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Paul Joice; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Jean Rehkeamp Larson, AIA, Rehkamp Larson Architects, Inc.
Category One: Excellence in Affordable Housing Design Award
28th Street Apartments, Los Angeles
Koning Eizenberg Architects
This project restored a 1926 YMCA building, designed by noted African American architect Paul R. Williams and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and added a new five-story building at the rear of the existing structure.
The original building and addition house two nonprofit organizations; one offers neighborhood youth training and employment programs and the other provides 49 units of affordable housing for youth leaving foster care, the mentally ill, and the chronically homeless.
Support services are offered on-site, and residents have access to a roof garden, laundry, and lounge.
Category Two: Creating Community Connection Award
Kelly Cullen Community, San Francisco
Gelfand Partners Architects; Knapp Architects
San Francisco’s historic Central YMCA (1909), a nine-story Classical building located in the city’s Tenderloin neighborhood, has been transformed into supportive housing for the homeless and a health center for residents of supportive housing and the homeless.
The adaptive use project created 174 micro-units of permanent housing and preserved the original sky-lit second-floor lobby, auditorium, full-size gymnasium, offices, and meeting rooms.
A new radiant heating system, energy efficient lighting and ventilation, and the use of healthy materials support sustainability and resident well-being.
Category Three: Community-Informed Design Award
Kings Beach Housing Now, Kings Beach, Calif.
Domus Development; YHLA Architects
This project provides affordable workforce housing for low-income workers and families who previously lived in dilapidated, substandard housing in the Lake Tahoe Basin.
Consisting of nine buildings located on five scattered sites, Kings Beach Housing Now provides 77 LEED Silver apartments that reduce negative impacts on the environment, reuse infill land, and preserve Lake Tahoe’s beautiful open spaces. In addition, an advanced biofiltration system naturally filters 100% of on-site storm water, which prevents sediments and pollutants from negatively impacting the lake.
Category Four: Housing Accessibility | Alan J. Rothman Award
Sierra Bonita Housing, West Hollywood, Calif.
Patrick Tighe Architecture
The design challenge of this project, the first all-affordable mixed-use development in West Hollywood and the first designed and completed according to the city’s new Green Building Ordinance, was to fit the desired 42 accessible units on a 13,000-sf site and within a 50-foot height limit.
The design used minimal exterior setbacks and reversed the typical unit layout, locating the bedrooms along the interior building courtyard and the living areas on the street side, to capitalize on views and natural light.
Passive solar strategies generate power for all of the building’s common areas, and a second system of rooftop solar panels provides hot water for the entire building.
Related Stories
Warehouses | Oct 19, 2023
JLL report outlines 'tremendous potential' for multi-story warehouses
A new category of buildings, multi-story warehouses, is beginning to take hold in the U.S. and their potential is strong. A handful of such facilities, also called “urban logistics buildings” have been built over the past five years, notes a new report by JLL.
Building Materials | Oct 19, 2023
New white papers offer best choices in drywall, flooring, and insulation for embodied carbon and health impacts
“Embodied Carbon and Material Health in Insulation” and “Embodied Carbon and Material Health in Gypsum Drywall and Flooring,” by architecture and design firm Perkins&Will in partnership with the Healthy Building Network, advise on how to select the best low-carbon products with the least impact on human health.
Contractors | Oct 19, 2023
Crane Index indicates slowing private-sector construction
Private-sector construction in major North American cities is slowing, according to the latest RLB Crane Index. The number of tower cranes in use declined 10% since the first quarter of 2023. The index, compiled by consulting firm Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB), found that only two of 14 cities—Boston and Toronto—saw increased crane counts.
Office Buildings | Oct 19, 2023
Proportion of workforce based at home drops to lowest level since pandemic began
The proportion of the U.S. workforce working remotely has dropped considerably since the start of the Covid 19 pandemic, but office vacancy rates continue to rise. Fewer than 26% of households have someone who worked remotely at least one day a week, down sharply from 39% in early 2021, according to the latest Census Bureau Household Pulse Surveys.
Luxury Residential | Oct 18, 2023
One Chicago wins 2023 International Architecture Award
One Chicago, a two-tower luxury residential and mixed-use complex completed last year, has won the 2023 International Architecture Award. The project was led by JDL Development and designed in partnership between architecture firms Goettsch Partners and Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture.
Giants 400 | Oct 17, 2023
Top 130 Sports Facility Architecture Firms for 2023
Populous, Gensler, HOK, and HKS head BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest sports facility architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Office Buildings | Oct 16, 2023
The impact of office-to-residential conversion on downtown areas
Gensler's Duanne Render looks at the incentives that could bring more office-to-residential conversions to life.
Giants 400 | Oct 11, 2023
Top 100 Industrial Sector Architecture Firms for 2023
Ware Malcomb, Arcadis, Stantec, and Gresham Smith top the ranking of the nation's largest industrial facility sector architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Products and Materials | Oct 10, 2023
‘Works with WELL’ product licensing program launched by International WELL Building Institute
The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) recently launched the Works with WELL product licensing program. Works with Well certification allows manufacturers to demonstrate that their products align with WELL strategies.
Mass Timber | Oct 10, 2023
New York City launches Mass Timber Studio to spur more wood construction
New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) recently launched New York City Mass Timber Studio, “a technical assistance program to support active mass timber development projects in the early phases of project planning and design.”
