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
Contractors | Oct 4, 2022
Which comes first, the building or the cost estimate?
At the start of a project, don’t forget to establish financial parameters when you’re discussing the design and program. By establishing the costs up front, you can avoid the pitfalls that might derail your project and guarantee its lasting success.
Fire and Life Safety | Oct 4, 2022
Fire safety considerations for cantilevered buildings
Bold cantilevered designs are prevalent today, as developers and architects strive to maximize space, views, and natural light in buildings. Cantilevered structures, however, present a host of challenges for building teams, according to José R. Rivera, PE, Associate Principal and Director of Plumbing and Fire Protection with Lilker.
| Oct 4, 2022
Rental property owners want access to utility usage data for whole properties
As pressure from investors for ESG reporting mounts, owners of multifamily properties increasingly look to collect whole-building utility usage data.
| Oct 4, 2022
In dire need of affordable housing, Aspen, Colo. will get a development that provides 277 affordable homes
A few miles from downtown Aspen, Colo., a development will provide 277 new affordable homes for an area experiencing a dire affordable housing crisis.
Green | Oct 3, 2022
California regulators move to ban gas heaters for existing buildings
California regulators voted unanimously recently on a series of measures that include a ban on the sale of natural gas-powered heating and hot water systems beginning in 2030.
| Oct 3, 2022
The College of the Holy Cross completes a $110 million performing arts center
In Worcester, Mass., a one-hour drive from Boston, the College of the Holy Cross has completed its $110 million Prior Performing Arts Center.
Resiliency | Sep 30, 2022
Designing buildings for wildfire defensibility
Wold Architects and Engineers' Senior Planner Ryan Downs, AIA, talks about how to make structures and communities more fire-resistant.
| Sep 30, 2022
Manley Spangler Smith Architects partners with PBK in strategic merger
Manley Spangler Smith Architects (MSSA), a Georgia-based, full-service architectural firm specializing in educational and municipal facilities, announced today a significant development aimed at increasing its capabilities, expertise, and suite of services.
| Sep 30, 2022
Lab-grown bricks offer potential low-carbon building material
A team of students at the University of Waterloo in Canada have developed a process to grow bricks using bacteria.
| Sep 29, 2022
FitzGerald establishes Denver office
The new location bolsters FitzGerald’s nationwide reach and capitalizes on local expertise and boots-on-the-ground to serve new and existing clients seeking to do business in Denver and the Front Range, as well as the Southwest United States, California, and Texas.
