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The American Institute of Architects (AIA), Birmingham Chapter hosts Design Awards each year to recognize excellence in architectural design by architects in our local chapter. These awards increase awareness of outstanding architects and honor architects, clients, consultants, and contractors who work together to improve the built environment.

AIA Members strive to make the world a better place for everyone to live, work, and play.

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All projects were evaluated anonymously by two juries this year. Projects were divided into categories based on square footage of the project, and given to the five experts who practice within this project scale.

Jury A (above), from Charlotte, North Carolina, met virtually to review projects 0-10,000 sq. ft. & 11,000-30,000 sq. ft.

Jury B, also, from Charlotte, North Carolina, met in person to review projects 31,000 sq. ft.-100,000 sq. ft. & 100,000+ sq. feet.

Jury B also reviewed projects submitted in the Divine Detail category.
The purpose of the Divine Detail category is to recognize an instance in which the expression of architectural theory becomes an artistic medium, defining the relationship between architecture and craft.

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People’s Choice Exhibit

Click here to vote for your favorite project!

Our annual People’s Choice Exhibit & online voting opens June 15th! Vote for your favorite project by July 13, 2023!

Stop by the Martin Biscuit Building’s Main Hall to view our project boards on display from June 15 – June 27th.

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2023 Merit Award | Design Firm Front Lobby & Table | Williams Blackstock Architects

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People’s Choice Award

Entries

Michael Hsu AIA, Michael Hsu Office of Architecture, Jury Chair

On behalf of the jurors, thank you to AIA Birmingham for allowing us to participate in your design awards.  We each feel like we know the Birmingham architectural community better and all have additional motivation to visit your beautiful city.

The jury appreciated that quality design was evident across a wide spectrum of project types, budgets and intended users. We hope the awards reflect that.

There were worthy and carefully executed adaptive re-use projects that took full advantage of the inherent character and beauty of existing buildings. These projects met the challenges of a given context with creative and measured design solutions.

We were also enthralled with projects on the other end of the spectrum – successful large, institutional buildings that serve many users, but maintain a level of humanity and intimacy of occupation that keep the spaces personal. These projects represent best practices in quality collaborative and creative gathering spaces, encouraging community building at different scales.

The jury was pleased to see interior and residential work submitted.  The thoughtful design and appealing nature of these projects was welcome.  Each of these projects dealt carefully with material selections, detailing, and the creation of experiential moments.

The jurors judged each submission on a multitude of criteria including: boldness, craftsmanship, restraint, facility with material and detail, connection with nature or it’s context, design completeness, how the project serves it’s community, use of resources and budget, innovation, thoughtfulness and, finally, the ability to delight and enrich it’s users.

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Join us for a free design lecture on the University of Nations with
John Hudson from 100Fold Studio

Thursday, June 13th
Free; Bring Your Own Lunch
RSVP to:

katie@karmamanagementinc.com 

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AIA Birmingham Design Awards 2019

What a fun night celebrating D E S I G N!  We love to see all of you relaxed, having fun, laughing, seeing old friends and consultants and out of work mode. More than 145 people gathered at Brat Brot on June 10th to celebrate the winners of the 2019 AIA Birmingham Design Awards. AIA Birmingham’s annual design awards exist to recognize excellence in architectural design by member architects. The event featured Jury Chair Kyle Stover with Williams Blackstock as the emcee, a brat bar, and a delicious signature drink – Metropolitan Glow!

Thank you to all our sponsors, especially our 11 years and still going title sponsor Risk Strategies, Inc. and AXA/XL!  A big thank you to our Birmingham representative MIKE JACKSON,  mjackson@risk-strategies.com

All the projects will be on exhibit in the Alabama Center for Architecture through July 5th.

Click here to view photos from the event!

2019 Design Awards Committee

Travis Burke, Chair – Nequette Architecture & Interiors
Jessica Bennett, Past Chair –ArchitectureWorks
Patrick Nelson – Regarding Architecture
Kyle Stover – Williams Blackstock Architects
Danny Trotter – Rob Walker Architects
Allison Vosicky – Birchfield Penuel & Associates

Jury Chair – Michael Hsu, AIA, IIDA – Michael Hsu Office of Architecture

Michael Hsu, AIA, IIDA is the founder and principal of Michael Hsu Office of Architecture, an Austin, Texas based firm of architects and interior designers founded in 2005. Hsu is a Chinese-American, originally from Houston.

Following graduation from the University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture, Hsu worked at OMA in the Netherlands and in Dallas before returning to Austin where he has practiced since 1998.  Hsu is currently the President of the AIA Austin Board of Directors and a member of the University of Texas School of Architecture’s Advisory Council.  His firm has received numerous design awards from AIA Austin, Texas Society of Architects, AIA Los Angeles, IIDA Texas/Oklahoma Chapter and the Heritage Society of Austin. Michael Hsu Office of Architecture was named AIA Austin firm of the year in 2016. Michael Hsu Office of Architecture was formed with the goal of producing locally engaged, design-driven architecture and interiors. The firm advocates a simple, edited design palette, using available materials and techniques to create unexpected results. Michael Hsu Office of Architecture collaborates on a wide range of project types including residential, restaurant, retail, commercial, mixed-used, and adaptive reuse.

Lucy Begg, AIA – THOUGHTBARN
Originally from London, England, Lucy joined Thoughtbarn as Co-Director in 2010. Her crooked architectural path has wound through Pollen Architecture and KRDB’s offices in Austin, Simon Conder and Eldridge Smerin’s in London and the Rural Studio Outreach Program in Alabama. Along the way she’s worked on net-zero housing developments, private homes, hotels, retail fit-outs, a school refurbishment, a recycling facility and a screened porch addition to a mobile home (her first collaboration with Robert, in 2003). In 2006 she was awarded the Branner Travelling Fellowship from UC Berkeley, enabling her to spend a year working with architects around the globe innovating with participatory design methods. Her travels took her to Berlin, Buenos Aires and New Orleans to take part in projects that used games and theatre to rethink a range of urban issues, from disaster relief to public transport systems.

Shelby Blessing, AIA – Page
When it was time to investigate colleges, Shelby Blessing was pretty certain she wanted to be an architect. However, she knew she had too many other interests to make the commitment at that point in her life. Instead, she opted to attend a small liberal arts school that gave her the freedom to to explore many other subjects while majoring in studio art and also studying math. She knew these would provide her with the foundation needed for architecture – or other careers. After graduation, Shelby taught English at a Chinese university and the related travel increasingly convinced her of the importance of place and the role that the built environment has in our lives. She ventured into the non-profit world after that but couldn’t resist the siren song of architecture anymore, so she enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture. Since she interned at several other design firms during her studies, she knows that Page is a great fit for her. The role has allowed Shelby to work on large-scale projects that improve the communities in which they’re located, and the firm has supported her volunteer efforts in pro-bono design and subsequent construction.

Murray Legge, FAIA – Murray Legge Architecture
Murray Legge is a graduate of the Cooper Union School of Architecture in New York City. His professional achievements include receiving the 2006 AIA Austin Young Architectural Professional Award as well as more than 20 design awards, including two national AIA awards and the Chicago Athenaeum American Architecture Award.  Winner of the prestigious Lyceum Fellowship, he was also twice a finalist in Van Alen Institute competitions, including the Paris Prize. His work has appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers, and he has been a lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin, where he has also been a visiting critic. Murray is also a co-founder of Legge Lewis Legge, an interdisciplinary collaborative, based in Austin and New York. With a focus on large-scale installations, public art and landscape design, Legge Lewis Legge has been widely recognized including receiving the 2010 Austin Art in Public Places Community Arts Award. The studio received an honorable mention in the international design competition for the Flight 93 memorial and was a finalist in the Boston Logan Airport 9/11 memorial competition.  Legge Lewis Legge is currently working on a project for Dallas Arboretum.

Sophia Razzaque, AIA, LEED AP, IIDA – Lake Flato
An Austin native, Sophia grew up in a household with an architect father who fostered her love of design at an early age. While studying environmental design at Texas A&M University, Sophia studied abroad in Italy which inspired her to receive an M. Arch from Pratt Institute. Her time in New York City at Pratt further inspired Sophia to pursue working for Zaha Hadid Architects in London. Designing buildings in urban cities all over the world influenced Sophia’s return to her Austin roots to contribute towards the city’s vibrant renewal as Austin rapidly grows. Sophia passionately collaborates with public and private clients to design memorable community spaces within our urban cores. With a broad community project portfolio and knowledge of regional context, Sophia is able to meet diverse program requirements while creating spaces that feel meaningful and tied to their particular place.

Al York, FAIA – McKinney York Architects
Al is a creative thinker with a knack for disentangling the most inscrutable problems.  With our clients, as well as inside the studio, he plays a special leadership role for the firm – the person able to shift a conversation, reconcile differing viewpoints, or ask the right question at the right time to keep a project moving forward.  In addition to his thorough understanding of the technical aspects of architectural practice, Al came to the firm with a background in teaching, having received multiple honors for his work at Texas Tech College of Architecture.  Al believes in a rigorous formal design approach capable of underpinning an aesthetic flexibility.

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