The American Institute of Architects Los Angeles (AIA|LA) chapter recently announced the winners of its 2017 Design Awards, which recognizes practices and projects across the region in categories celebrating overall design, status as rising talent, and quality of environmental sustainability. The three award categories—Design Award; Next LA; and COTE—paint a picture of the diverse and multi-faceted character of Los Angeles’s architecture scene, with winners representing a broad spectrum of practice.
Design Awards
MMA’s Crest Apartments utilizes a liberated and diversified ground floor to enrich the supportive housing project. (courtesy MMA)
AIA|LA’s Design Awards highlighted two projects in particular with top honors: The New United States Courthouse by SOM and the Crest Apartments by Michael Maltzan Architecture (MMA). Since opening in late 2016, the new courthouse has become one of the region’s premier public buildings. The iconic cube-shaped structure utilizes a 28-foot cantilever over the ground floor areas to create an open, public plaza and garden designed by Mia Lehrer + Associates.
MMA’s Crest Apartments, on the other hand, is a very different sort of project. The 64-unit affordable housing project utilizes minimal ground floor structure and exuberant plantings and paving strategies to create flexible recreation spaces that double as car parking when not in use. The project was developed with Skid Row Housing Trust to benefit veterans who have previously experienced homelessness.
The following projects were awarded “merit” and “citation” designations by the AIA|LA Design Awards jury:
Merits Awards
Road to Awe, Dan Brunn Architecture
West Hollywood, CA
Hyundai Capital Convention Hall, Gensler
Seoul, South Korea
Oak Pass Main House, Walker Workshop
Beverly Hills, CA
House Noir, Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects
Malibu, CA
Citation Awards
Helmut Lang Flagship Store, Standard
Los Angeles, CA
Southern Utah Museum of Art, Brooks+Scarpa
Cedar City, Utah
South Los Angeles Pool Renovation, Lehrer Architects LA
South Los Angeles, CA
Sunset La Cienega Residences, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP + Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects
West Hollywood, CA
prototypes | A True Starter Home, Teachers Architects LA
South Los Angeles, CA
The Salkin House, Bestor Architecture
Los Angeles, CA
Corner Pocket House, Edward Ogosta Architecture
Manhattan Beach, CA
Ayzenberg Group, Corsini Stark Architects
Pasadena, CA
Platform, Abramson Teiger Architects
Culver City, CA
Desert Palisades Guardhouse, Studio AR&D Architects
Palm Springs, CA
The Evelyn and Mo Ostin Music Center at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, Kevin Daly Architects
Los Angeles, CA
Rice University Moody Center for the Arts, Michael Maltzan Architecture
Houston, TX
Saddle Peak Residence, Sant Architects
Topanga, CA
Mar Vista House Addition and Renovation, Sharif, Lynch: Architecture
Los Angeles, CA
2017 AIA|LA Design Awards jurors were Gabriela Carrillo, co-founder, Taller | Mauricio Rocha + Gabriela Carrillo; Lance Evans, associate principal and senior vice president, HKS Architects; and Neil M. Denari, professor, Department of Architecture and Urban Design at UCLA.
AIA|LA Next LA
TWA’s concept for a new billboard locates the object on the ground and utilizes the structure to anchor a public plaza.
(courtesy TWA)
The AIA|LA Next LA awards honor yet-to-be-built projects that are in the design and planning stage. This year’s winning project—The West Hollywood Bell Tower—is designed by Tom Wiscombe Architecture. The project aims to redefine the vernacular billboard as a spatial, digital installation framed by a public park. The proposal was generated as part of a design competition orchestrated by the City of West Hollywood to guide the design of future billboards.
The following projects were awarded “merit” and “citation” designations by the AIA|LA Next LA awards jury:
Merit Award
Los Angeles Residence, Baumgartner + Uriu
Los Angeles, CA
Citations Award
St Georges Church, PARALX
Beirut, Lebanon
A4H Office Building, PATTERNS
Glendale, CA
Varna Library, XTEN Architecture
Varna, Bulgaria
Sberbank Technopark, Eric Owen Moss Architects
Moscow, Russia
Silver Lake Duplex, Warren Techentin Architecture
Los Angeles, CA
Twin Villa, Patrick TIGHE Architecture & John V Mutlow Architects
Beijing, China
Second House, Freeland Buck
Los Angeles, CA
Jurors for AIA|LA Next LA awards were: Mark Foster Gage, Principal, Mark Foster Gage Architects; Alvin Huang, design principal, Synthesis Design + Architecture; and Julia Koerner, Director, JK Design GmbH.
COTE Award
The Mesa Court Towers at University of California,
Irvine achieved a LEED Platinum rating.(Courtesy Bruce Damonte)
AIA|LA’s Committee on the Environment focuses on highlighting projects that “demonstrate achievement in the implementation of sustainability features” and is awarded by a panel of experts who focus on performance, systems integration, and sustainability research. For 2017, the committee awarded four projects with top honors, including the Mesa Court Towers at University of California, Irvine designed by Mithun. The project features a LEED Platinum sustainability rating, exterior circulation, and an emphasis on day-lit spaces. Other winners in the category include: the J. Craig Venter Institute La Jolla by ZGF Architects; the New United States Courthouse by SOM; and The SIX Veterans Housing by Brooks+Scarpa.
Citations Award
UCLA Hitch Suites & Commons Building, Steinberg
Los Angeles, CA
Kaiser Permanente, Kraemer Radiation Oncology Center, Yazdani Studio of Cannon Design
Anaheim, CA
The jurors for the 2017 AIA|LA COTE Awards were: Ezequiel Farca, creative director, Ezequiel Farca + Cristina Grappin; Dan Heinfeld, president, LPA; and Ben Loescher, founding principal, Loescher Meachem Architects.
Other Awards
At its award ceremony last week, the organization also presented its 2017 Presidential Honoree awards, which included honors for architects Design, bitches, builders MATT Construction, and Mike Alvidrez of the Skid Row Housing Trust, among others. Those awards include:
Emerging Practice Award: Catherine Johnson, AIA; Rebecca Rudolph, AIA | Design, bitches
Design Advocate, Builder Award: Steve Matt, Affiliate AIA|LA, Co-Founder, MATT Construction; and the late Paul Matt, Co-Founder, MATT Construction
Community Contribution Award: Southern California Chapter, National Organization of Minority Architects (SoCalNOMA)
25-Year Award: Grand Central Market Restoration
Design Advocate, Developer Award: Mike Alvidrez, Chief Executive Officer, Skid Row Housing Trust
Building Team Award: Wilshire Grand Building Team
Honorary AIA|LA Award: Tibby Rothman, Marketing Strategist, AIA|LA | journalist, writer, creative
Educator Award: Dr. Douglas E. Noble, FAIA, Ph.D; Discipline Head, Building Science, Director of the Master of Building Science, University of Southern California, School of Architecture
Gold Medal: Lawrence Scarpa, FAIA; Design Principal, Brooks + Scarpa
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