The People's Choice Award for the American Institute of Architects (AIA) I Look Up Film Challenge is ARCH 335: Rebuilding Medcamps, which was also the selection for the juried portion of the film challenge. Brad Deal, Robert Brooks and Michael Tolar submitted the short film, which garnered 46,339 votes. It explores the important work of the Design Build Studios of Louisiana Tech University to provide Medcamps of Louisiana, a non-profit organization that offers free summer camp to children with chronic illnesses and disabilities. The camps provide spaces for gathering, learning, and adventure.
The second place film, Timeless Innovation, received 40,701 votes. This film, submitted by Minji Kim, Seth F. Johnson, and Shawn Griffin, looks at the importance of General James Oglethorpe’s original design of Savannah, Ga., and how it is blending with modern elements. Savannah is considered the first planned city in the U.S. and largely retains the original town plan Oglethorpe developed.
Brandon Brown submitted the third place film, Renewal: The Sunset Park Material Recovery Facility. This film received 11,062 votes and focuses on the largest commingled recycling facility in the U.S. The Sims Municipal Recycling facility, designed by Selldorf Architects, not only employs sustainable design concepts, but it serves as an educational facility to groups interested in learning more about how recycling works.
The films placing four through 10 are listed below.
4. Scale – In Austin, Texas, affordability and accessibility are an essential component to a thriving entrepreneurial environment. By rethinking the office typology to better accommodate a start-up friendly landscape, architects are stimulating innovation.
5. A Home – Tells the story of how an ambitious project transformed the lives of the residents of East Harlem, by creating Harlem RBI, a multi-purpose building that includes Harlem RBI's offices, DREAM Charter School, a new community center, 89 affordable housing units, and a beautiful public park.
6. HOME – The Dr. Davis Senior Center in the Bayview neighborhood outside of San Francisco provides housing for low-income seniors, but more importantly provides a thriving community for its residents.
7. Precipitating Change – By integrating an air-to-water technology called 'Skysource', up to 300 gallons of water can be produced per day. The water is offered free to the public in the Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles, as well as to Community Healing Gardens.
8. Urban Frontier House – High Plains Architects had a vision to create a comfortable, affordable, and low maintenance house that is also almost entirely self-sustaining.
9. Intervention Whispers – The renovation of a series of adjacent modest historic structures in downtown San Antonio has had a large cultural community impact. Architects discuss their process and challenges, such as a lack of interior historical documentation, in this adaptive reuse.
10. ALBIZIA – An invasive tree specimen in the state of Hawaii that has caused damage to both the built and natural environment is now being repurposed as a building material to address housing for the homeless.
Related Stories
| Jan 20, 2011
Houston Dynamo soccer team plans new venue
Construction is scheduled to begin this month on a new 22,000-seat Major League Soccer stadium for the Houston Dynamo. The $60 million project is expected to be ready for the 2012 MLS season.
| Jan 20, 2011
Construction begins on second St. Louis community center
O’Fallon Park Recreation Complex in St. Louis, designed by local architecture/engineering firm KAI Design & Build, will feature an indoor aquatic park with interactive water play features, a lazy river, water slides, laps lanes, and an outdoor spray and multiuse pool.
| Jan 20, 2011
Community college to prepare next-gen Homeland Security personnel
The College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, Ill., began work on the Homeland Security Education Center, which will prepare future emergency personnel to tackle terrorist attacks and disasters. The $25 million, 61,100-sf building’s centerpiece will be an immersive interior street lab for urban response simulations.
| Jan 19, 2011
San Diego casino renovations upgrade gaming and entertainment
The Sycuan Casino in San Diego will get an update with a $27 million, 245,000-sf renovation. Hnedak Bobo Group, Memphis, Tenn., and Cleo Design, Las Vegas, drew design inspiration from the historic culture of the Sycuan tribe and the desert landscape, creating a more open space with better circulation. Renovation highlights include a new “waterless” water entry feature and new sports bar and grill, plus updates to gaming, poker, off-track-betting, retail, and bingo areas. The local office of San Francisco-based Swinerton Builders will provide construction services.
| Jan 10, 2011
Michael J. Alter, president of The Alter Group: ‘There’s a significant pent-up demand for projects’
Michael J. Alter, president of The Alter Group, a national corporate real estate development firm headquartered in Skokie, Ill., on the growth of urban centers, project financing, and what clients are saying about sustainability.
| Jan 7, 2011
BIM on Target
By using BIM for the design of its new San Clemente, Calif., store, big-box retailer Target has been able to model the entire structural steel package, including joists, in 3D, chopping the timeline for shop drawings from as much as 10 weeks down to an ‘unheard of’ three-and-a-half weeks.
| Jan 7, 2011
Mixed-Use on Steroids
Mixed-use development has been one of the few bright spots in real estate in the last few years. Successful mixed-use projects are almost always located in dense urban or suburban areas, usually close to public transportation. It’s a sign of the times that the residential component tends to be rental rather than for-sale.
| Jan 4, 2011
6 green building trends to watch in 2011
According to a report by New York-based JWT Intelligence, there are six key green building trends to watch in 2011, including: 3D printing, biomimicry, and more transparent and accurate green claims.
