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
Regulations | May 8, 2023
Supreme Court case likely to have huge impact on Clean Water Act
A case before the Supreme Court will likely determine how the Clean Water Act is interpreted and the ruling could open up new areas for development within or adjacent to wetlands.
Senior Living Design | May 8, 2023
Seattle senior living community aims to be world’s first to achieve Living Building Challenge designation
Aegis Living Lake Union in Seattle is the world’s first assisted living community designed to meet the rigorous Living Building Challenge certification. Completed in 2022, the Ankrom Moisan-designed, 70,000 sf-building is fully electrified. All commercial dryers, domestic hot water, and kitchen equipment are powered by electricity in lieu of gas, which reduces the facility’s carbon footprint.
Multifamily Housing | May 8, 2023
The average multifamily rent was $1,709 in April 2023, up for the second straight month
Despite economic headwinds, the multifamily housing market continues to demonstrate resilience, according to a new Yardi Matrix report.
University Buildings | May 5, 2023
New health sciences center at St. John’s University will feature geothermal heating, cooling
The recently topped off St. Vincent Health Sciences Center at St. John’s University in New York City will feature impressive green features including geothermal heating and cooling along with an array of rooftop solar panels. The geothermal field consists of 66 wells drilled 499 feet below ground which will help to heat and cool the 70,000 sf structure.
Office Buildings | May 4, 2023
In Southern California, a former industrial zone continues to revitalize with an award-winning office property
In Culver City, Calif., Del Amo Construction, a construction company based in Southern California, has completed the adaptive reuse of 3516 Schaefer St, a new office property. 3516 Schaefer is located in Culver City’s redeveloped Hayden Tract neighborhood, a former industrial zone that has become a technology and corporate hub.
Mass Timber | May 3, 2023
Gensler-designed mid-rise will be Houston’s first mass timber commercial office building
A Houston project plans to achieve two firsts: the city’s first mass timber commercial office project, and the state of Texas’s first commercial office building targeting net zero energy operational carbon upon completion next year. Framework @ Block 10 is owned and managed by Hicks Ventures, a Houston-based development company.
Market Data | May 2, 2023
Nonresidential construction spending up 0.7% in March 2023 versus previous month
National nonresidential construction spending increased by 0.7% in March, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published today by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $997.1 billion for the month.
Life of an Architect Podcast | May 2, 2023
Life of an Architect Podcast Ep. 124: Show Me the Money
I get asked a lot about how much money an architect makes. Without understanding a few parameters, that’s like trying to buy a car by the pound. I spend a fair amount of my time discussing the architectural marketplace, where we can find value, what’s the going salary rate based on skill set and experience, and how badly we need this spot or that spot filled.
Hotel Facilities | May 2, 2023
U.S. hotel construction up 9% in the first quarter of 2023, led by Marriott and Hilton
In the latest United States Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics (LE), analysts report that construction pipeline projects in the U.S. continue to increase, standing at 5,545 projects/658,207 rooms at the close of Q1 2023. Up 9% by both projects and rooms year-over-year (YOY); project totals at Q1 ‘23 are just 338 projects, or 5.7%, behind the all-time high of 5,883 projects recorded in Q2 2008.
Architects | May 1, 2023
HOK names Eli Hoisington and Susan Klumpp Williams as Co-CEOs
HOK has appointed Eli Hoisington, AIA, LEED AP, and Susan Klumpp Williams, AIA, LEED AP, as its new co-chief executive officers, succeeding Bill Hellmuth, FAIA, LEED AP, who passed away on April 6, shortly after his scheduled retirement.
