Awards to be given on September 28 at Designight 2023, AIA Chicago’s signature award program, at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Chicago’s Millennium Park
For Immediate Release
Media contact: Dan O’Connell, dan@danoconnellmedia.com, (617) 480 6585
AIA Chicago Digital Media Kit
(August 16, 2023) CHICAGO – AIA Chicago, the second largest local chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the collective voice of over 4,000 licensed architects, emerging professionals, architecture students, and allied professionals, today announced the finalists for the 2023 Design Excellence Awards, Decarbonization Award and Roberta Feldman Architecture for Social Justice Award. The award recipients will be announced at Designight 2023 AIA Chicago’s held at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Chicago’s Millennium Park on Thursday, September 28, 2023.
“It is exciting to see such a wide array of building typologies represented in these awards,” said AIA Chicago’s Executive Director Jen Masengarb. “Chicago firms are leading key projects across the country, reaffirming the city’s role as the birthplace of architectural innovation”
AIA Chicago’s Design Excellence Awards honor the outstanding work of AIA Chicago members and their firms, reinforce the value of great architecture, and highlight members’ contributions in designing equitable and sustainable places and spaces. The 2023 Design Excellence Awards (DEA) Jury Chair (non-voting) is Eleanor Esser Gorski, AIA, CEO & President, Chicago Architecture Center. The 2023 DEA jurors for Architecture XS and S; Interior Architecture S and M are: Julie Eizenberg, FAIA, KoningEizenberg, Santa Monica, CA; Natasha Espada, AIA, Studio Enee, Needham, MA; Rod Kruse, FAIA, BNIM, Des Moines, IA; Tom Kundig, FAIA, Olson Kundig, Seattle, WA; Jean Rehkamp Larson, AIA, Rehkamp Larson Architects, Minneapolis, MN; Molly Blakley, AIA, Jury Alternate, DLR Group, Denver, CO. The 2023 jurors for Architecture M, L, and XL and Interior Architecture L are: Nicole Becker, AIA, ZGF, Portland, OR; Kai-Uwe Bergmann, FAIA, BIG, New York, NY; Audrey O’Hagan, AIA, Audrey O’Hagan, Cambridge, MA; Thomas Phifer, FAIA, Thomas Phifer and Partners, New York, NY; Rob Whitehead, FAIA, College of Design at Iowa State University, Ames, IA; Ashley Craig, AIA, Jury Alternate, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Los Angeles, CA.
Design Excellence Awards Finalists by Category
ARCHITECTURE FINALISTS
Architecture XL
LaGuardia Airport Terminal B, HOK; LaGuardia Gateway Partners (Client), Queens, NY
O’Hare International Airport, Multi Modal Terminal, Ross Barney Architects, Design Architect; TranSystems, Architect of Record, Transportation Engineer; City of Chicago, Department of Aviation (Client), Chicago, IL
One Chicago, Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture and Goettsch Partners; JDL Development (Client), Chicago, IL
The St. Regis Chicago, Studio Gang, Design Architect; bKL Architecture, Architect of Record; Gensler, Hotel Architect; HBA, Interior Architect; Magellan Development Group (Client), Chicago, IL
Architecture L
800 Fulton Market, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; Thor Equities (Client), Chicago, IL
Chicago O’Hare International Airport Terminal 5 Extension, Muller & Muller, Ltd (M2) and HOK; Chicago Department of Aviation, Commissioner Jamie Rhee (Client), Chicago, IL
Tribune Tower Conversion, Solomon Cordwell Buenz (SCB); Tribune Tower West, LLC (Client), Chicago, IL
Architecture M
Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, Studio Gang, Design Architect and Architect of Record; Polk Stanley Wilcox, Associate Architect; Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts (Client), Little Rock, AR
Chicago Joint Public Safety Training Center, AECOM; City of Chicago (Client), Chicago, IL
Joliet Inpatient Treatment Center, HOK and HDR; Illinois Capital Development Board (Client), Joliet, IL
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Campus Instructional Facility, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Client), Urbana, IL
Western Kentucky University Commons at Helm Library, Gensler in collaboration with Luckett & Farley; Western Kentucky University (Client), Bowling Green, KY
Architecture S
Broadway Youth Center, Wheeler Kearns Architects; Howard Brown Health (Client), Chicago, IL
Ford Calumet Environmental Center, Valerio Dewalt Train; Chicago Park District (Client), Chicago, IL
Meadow Lane Retreat, Wheeler Kearns Architects; Anonymous Client, Lakeside, MI
The Hub at Prairie Shores, Gensler; Farpoint Development and Golub & Company (Client), Chicago, IL
Architecture XS
A Library Free to All, Architecture for Public Benefit; Boston Public Library and Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics (Client), Boston, MA
Medill House, UrbanLab; Kevin & Deree Kobets (Client), Chicago, IL
Susan’s House, Mary English and Xavier Vendrell Architects; Susan English (Client), San Antonio, TX
Tree House, dSPACE Studio; Anonymous Client, Beverly Shores, IN
INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE FINALISTS
Interior Architecture L
345 North Morgan, Eckenhoff Saunders with Sterling Bay Design Studio; Sterling Bay (Client), Chicago, IL
SOM Chicago Studio Renovation, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (Client), Chicago, IL
Confidential Client, Perkins&Will; Confidential Client (Client), Chicago, IL
University of Cincinnati College of Law, Perkins&Will, Design Architect; BHDP Architecture, Architect of Record; University of Cincinnati (Client), Cincinnati, OH
Interior Architecture M
AIC Ryan Learning Center Renovation, Wheeler Kearns Architects; Art Institute of Chicago (Client), Chicago, IL
Blue Bottle Coffee Wolf Point, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, Design Architect; DxU, Architect of Record; Blue Bottle Coffee (Client), Chicago, IL
Interior Architecture S
Lincoln Park Condo Remodel, New Office; Annabell Ren, Steven Karvelius (Clients), Chicago, IL
Soldier Field House, Collective Office; Anonymous Client, Chicago, IL
Wicker Park Courtyard House, 34-TEN; Anonymous Client, Chicago, IL
AIA Chicago’s Decarbonization Award recognizes projects that have gone above and beyond base level energy reduction goals and showcases those project vanguards that exemplify the profession’s abilities to pursue the goals of the 2030 Commitment while also upholding the functional and aesthetic goals of the design. The 2023 jurors for Decarbonization Award are: Stephanie Carlisle, Carbon Leadership Forum, University of Washington, Seattle, WA; Stacy Smedley, LEED AP BD+C, Building Transparency, Seattle, WA; Gunnar Hubbard, FAIA, LEED Fellow, Thornton Tomasetti, Portland, ME.
DECARBONIZATION AWARD FINALISTS
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Campus Instructional Facility, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Client), Urbana, IL
Yannell PHIUS+ Residence, HPZS; Yannell Foundation for Sustainable Development (Client), Chicago, IL
The Roberta Feldman Architecture for Social Justice Award, administered by the AIA Chicago Foundation, was established in 2020 to honor excellence in single built projects and single design programs guided by the conviction that access to high quality architecture is not a privilege, it is a human right. The 2023 jurors for Roberta Feldman Architecture for Social Justice Award are: Danielle Tillman, AIA, NOMA Jury Chair, bKL Architecture, Chicago, IL; Elliott Dudnik, FAIA, Elliott Dudnik + Associates, Evanston, IL; Pete Landon, FAIA, LBBA, Chicago, IL; Negin Moayer, BNMO Design, Chicago, IL; Katie Swenson, AIA, Mass Design Group, Boston, MA.
ROBERTA FELDMAN ARCHITECTURE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AWARD FINALIST
A Library Free to All, Architecture for Public Benefit; Boston Public Library and Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics (Client), Boston, MA
“Our esteemed panel of national jurors has selected a variety of projects that demonstrate the power of design to improve our city and cities across the world,” said AIA Chicago President Mindy Viamontes, AIA.
Other awards to be given at Designight 2023 on September 28 include the AIA Chicago Lifetime Achievement Award given to Cynthia Weese, FAIA and the second annual Lerch Bates People’s Choice Awards presented in partnership with the Chicago Architecture Center. Finalists for the Lerch Bates People’s Choice Awards will be announced in early September along with information on how the public can vote for their favorite designs.
Designight 2023
Harris Theater for Music and Dance
Millennium Park
205 E Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60601
Thursday, September 28, 2022
6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. with After Party to follow
To purchase Award Ceremony tickets beginning August 14 call or visit: https://www.aiachicago.org/designight or https://www.designight.org
Harris Theater Box Office: (312) 334 7777;
Harris Theater Website: https://www.HarrisTheaterChicago.org;
Harris Theater Address: 205 East Randolph Drive
Theater rental and services have been underwritten through support of the Harris Theater for Music and Dance.
To purchase After Party tickets visit: https://www.aiachicago.org/designight or https://www.designight.org
About AIA Chicago
The American Institute of Architects Chicago (AIA Chicago) serves nearly 4,000 architect members in Chicago and is the second largest local AIA chapter in the country. AIA Chicago’s mission builds on the city’s architectural legacy by advocating for the profession, sharing knowledge among members, and partnering with communities. It fosters a culture of design excellence for equitable, sustainable places and spaces.
AIA Chicago offers lectures and continuing education courses; specialized, issue-specific Knowledge Communities; advocacy for architects; and help for consumers looking for an architect.
AIA Chicago is the local Chicago chapter of The American Institute of Architects. Based in Washington, D.C., the AIA has been the leading professional membership association for licensed architects, emerging professionals, and allied partners since 1857. Learn more by visiting www.aiachicago.org.
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