October 24, 2018 / Design Awards

2018 AIA Baltimore Excellence in Design Awards Winners

2018 Grand Design Award Winner

©2017 Tim Griffith

Morgan State University Earl G. Graves School of Business & Management
Executive Architect: Ayers Saint Gross | Design Architect: Kohn Pedersen Fox | Associate Architect: KPN Architects, Inc.
Baltimore, MD
This year’s Grand Design Award winner underscores how architecture reinforces the institution’s mission and aspirations, while offering high quality design that is publicly engaging and of service to the broader community. The design does an admirable job of breaking down what would otherwise be a very large building, while maintaining cohesion with beautifully detailed fenestration and massing. The building and landscape integration is very sophisticated, creating flow between buildings and the outdoors. The composition of the building as a backdrop to the spiraling garden offers a successful publicly-engaging space as well as a connection to civil rights history. The jury appreciated that the central space is unique and doesn’t feel like every other business school. It is a good example of how to make use of a triangle, opening space in the middle which allows for deeper penetration of light. The green roof, visible from the ground, further integrates the building and plaza landscape, while integrating sustainable design and a wonderful elevated garden place.
Owner: Morgan State University | Contractor: Gilbane Building Company | Landscape Architect: Mahan Rykiel Associates |  Civil Engineer: Site Resources, Inc. | Structural Engineer: Hope Furrer Associates | Mechanical Engineer: Mueller Associates Inc.| Electrical Engineer: Paulco Engineering | Geotechnical Engineer: Froehling & Robertson, Inc. | IT/Acoustics/Audio Visual: Spexsys | Survey: AULtec | Code Consultant: Koffel Associates | IT/Acoustics/Audio Visual: Spexsys | Cost Estimating: Toscano Clements Taylor | LEED Consulting: Sustainable Design Consulting | Lighting Consultant: MCLA  | Food Service Consulting: Birchfield Jacobs Foodsystems

SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARDS | DESIGN AWARDS | DESIGN AWARDS HONORABLE MENTIONS | GOOD DESIGN = GOOD BUSINESS | PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD BAF AWARDS| FAR SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS |  JURY VIEW ALL ENTRIES

 2018 Social Equity Award

In celebration of Whitney M. Young’s speech at the AIA National Convention 50 years ago in 1968, AIA Baltimore is proud to introduce the first ever Social Equity Design Award. Organized in partnership with the Neighborhood Design Center (NDC), which also celebrated its 50th anniversary this year, the award recognizes community-driven projects that promote social equity.

© Karl Connolly Photography

Dorothy I. Height Elementary School
Cho Benn Holback + Associates, a Quinn Evans Company
Baltimore, MD
This project was awarded the first ever Social Equity Award in large part for the robust way the project team collaborated with a deeply informed local community, leading to a school that truly serves community and purpose. One of the first projects to be completed under the 21st Century Schools initiative, Dorothy I. Height Elementary School has set the standard for school projects across Baltimore.
Owner: Baltimore City Public Schools | Contractor: J. Vinton Schafer & Sons, Inc. | Landscape Architect & Civil Engineer: Site Resources Inc.|  Structural Engineer: Columbia Engineering Inc. | Mechanical and Electrical Engineer: Global Engineering Solutions Inc. | Food Service Consultant: Culinary Advisors | Technology Consultant: USSI Technologies Inc. | Plumbing and Fire Protection Engineer: KES Engineering Inc


2018 Award for Excellence in Sustainable and Resilient Design

© Karl Connolly Photography

Fells Point Passive House
Ziger/Snead Architects
Baltimore, MD
This project rises to the highest level with building performance, sustainability and design excellence. This sophisticated project stitches itself into an existing shell, adding a second level and creating a courtyard. It is sensitively detailed with a high level of material refinement and looks like it will age gracefully. The relationship between the courtyard and living spaces is well established. The jury applauds the care in designing the street facade and entrance and commended the spatial layering that unfolds from street to courtyard.
Contractor: Harbor Builders | Landscape Architect: Moody Landscape Architecture | Civil Engineer: Greening Urban LLC | Structural Engineer: Plowden Engineering | Mechanical Engineer: Engenium Group | Passive House Consultant: Michael Hindle


2018 Michael F. Trostel, FAIA, Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation

John Allen, J. David Allen and Son Photography

Seminary Ridge Museum
Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects
Gettysburg, PA
This project preserves the building as well as its history. Through the restoration, significant historic fabric was preserved and recreated where it had been lost. The jury appreciated the intention to preserve and save where possible, and add new where appropriate, including extensive additions of substantial systems and energy conservation improvements within a preservation project. It is a model for long-term stability through both its purposeful programming and building performance improvements. This project was done very well. A true restoration makes you look several times.
Owner: Seminary Ridge Historic Preservation Foundation | Contractor: Morgan-Keller Construction | Civil Engineer: ELA Group, Inc. | Structural Engineer: Baker, Ingram & Associates | Mechanical & Electrical Engineer: James Posey Associates | Construction Manager: The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company | Exhibit Design: The PRD Group Ltd. | Historic Tax Credits: Delta Development Group, Inc.


2018 Excellence in Design Award Winners

© Tom Holdsworth

Eager Park
Gensler and Mahan Rykiel Associates
Baltimore, MD
This compelling project brings skillful design to both landscape and architecture. The project feels complete in its execution, but retains an open-endedness that will allow it to grow over time. Community engagement is evident and resonates through the design solution. The jury appreciated the narrative of the environmental features, programming components, health and wellness goals, sustainable systems, and community engagement process. The design spans over a number of blocks and successfully knits them together. The jury appreciated the well-conceived and presented graphics of the submission, especially the diagram of the pavilion.
Owner: Forest City – New East Baltimore Partnership | Contractor: RAM/Clark Construction | Landscape Architect: Mahan Rykiel Associates | Structural Engineer: Carroll Engineering | Steel Fabricator: Baltimore Steel Erectors | ETFE Manufacturer: Vector Foiltec | Grid Shell Consultant: Samar Malek | Developer: EBDI and Forest City


© Karl Connolly Photography

Fells Point Passive House
Ziger/Snead Architects
Baltimore, MD
This project rises to the highest level with building performance, sustainability and design excellence. This sophisticated project stitches itself into an existing shell, adding a second level and creating a courtyard. It is sensitively detailed with a high level of material refinement and looks like it will age gracefully. The relationship between the courtyard and living spaces is well established. The jury applauds the care in designing the street facade and entrance and commended the spatial layering that unfolds from street to courtyard.
Contractor: Harbor Builders | Landscape Architect: Moody Landscape Architecture | Civil Engineer: Greening Urban LLC | Structural Engineer: Plowden Engineering | Mechanical Engineer: Engenium Group | Passive House Consultant: Michael Hindle


©2018 Brycen Fischer Photographer

Spa Creek House
GriD architects
Annapolis, MD
This project adeptly navigates the change in elevation to leverage broader site features. The Building form is thoughtfully composed and facilitates internal and external movement through the site. The interior spaces establish a strong orientation to the water and allow for bountiful daylight and view. The scale and detail are also well considered, and the jury especially appreciated the stair details.
Contractor: ThinkMakeBuild | Landscape Architect: Campion Hruby | Civil Engineer: Bay Engineering | Structural Engineer: Tarantino Engineering


© Tom Holdsworth Photography

The Pearl
Design Collective, Inc.
Silver Spring, MD
This project has everything going for it. The massing, daylighting, views, and public spaces are handled well, as is the planning of the sequence of public spaces and how the open space is activated. The jury appreciated the handling of the elevation facing the neighborhood side. It is hard to do buildings this big well and admirable when it is achieved. The scale of the public space is done well and the project is strong on sustainability. The fitness lantern is a clever move to address health and wellness. It is impressive to convince a developer to not build floors to make other floors more valuable, and the inclusion of community gardens mixed with luxury housing is delightfully unexpected. It has beautifully developed outside spaces and the way it steps and wraps into the site is handled with great skill.
Owner: The Tower Companies | Contractor: Clark Construction Group, LLC | Landscape Architect: Sasaki and Associates, Inc. | Civil Engineer: VIKA | Structural Engineer: Smislova, Kehnemui & Associates, PA | Mechanical and Electrical Engineer: Integral Group | Interior Design: RD Jones & Associates | Building Envelope: Wiss Janney Elstner Associates | Commissioning: Sustainable Building Partners | LEED Consultant: Sustainable Design Consulting | IT/Acoustics/Audio Visual: Polysonics Corporation | Geotechnical Engineer: Schnabel Engineering Associates, Inc. | Vertical Transportation: Lerch Bates


The Potomac School New Athletic Center
Hord Coplan Macht
McLean, VA (Unbuilt)
This project rises to the challenge of designing a large campus building around smaller ones. The design accomplishes this by breaking down the massing into smaller pavilions. It brings in natural light and views of the lovely wooded site, and handles topography and elevations in a thoughtful way. Considering the larger campus, it does an admirable job of addressing multiple entry points for vehicles and students on foot. The design is well integrated in broader campus and green space. It is unusual for a school building to be so visually porous. It is graphically very clear.
Owner: The Potomac School


 2018 Excellence in Design Awards Honorable Mentions

©2018, Brycen Fischer Photography

706 Giddings
GriD architects
Annapolis, MD
The design offers a new creative vision for a tired office building and is a great example of market transformation through good design. The jury particularly liked the strong level of care from diagram to detailing. Through successful site and building planning moves and a dramatic transformation to the exterior, the project offers an energizing effect to the surrounding area. There is a nice attention to material craft and resolution in the design execution. The new positioning of the entry creates an inviting sense of arrival and continues to celebrate this sequence through thoughtful detailing and substantial daylighting as you move up the stair to the rooftop terrace.
Contractor: Plano-Coudon | Landscape Architect: Campion Hruby | Civil Engineer: Bay Engineering | Structural Engineer: McLaren Engineering Group | Mechanical & Electrical Engineer: Thomas Foulkes LLC


© Tom Holdsworth

City Arts 2
Hord Coplan Macht
Baltimore, MD
The design is strong in community impact and showcases design goals emerging from community engagement. It is one of a series of projects in the neighborhood that reinforce each other, and makes a significant difference in the community. It is an example of achieving good design in challenging project types such as affordable housing. The jury admired the design restraint and relationship to both the larger and smaller surrounding building context.
Owners: Homes for America, Jubilee Baltimore Inc and The Reinvestment Fund | Contractor: Southway Builders | Landscape Architect: Floura Teeter | Civil Engineer: STV Incorporated | Structural Engineer: Cates Engineering | Mechanical & Electrical Engineer: Century Engineering, Inc. | Sustainability Consultant: PANDO Alliance


© Patrick Ross

Coppin State University Connector
Cho Benn Holback + Associates, a Quinn Evans Company
Baltimore, MD
This is a small project with large impact. It goes well above the seemingly simple nature of a bridge accessibility improvement project and adds value to the surrounding area. The design elevates the everyday utilitarian need to a civic landmark and lantern-like beacon. A lot was made out of this little project, and the design is well considered and put together.
Owner: Coppin State University | Contractor: Jeffrey Brown Contracting, LLC | Landscape Architect: Carroll Engineering, Inc. | Civil Engineer: Carroll Engineering, Inc. | Structural Engineer: Hope Furrer Associates, Inc. | Mechanical & Electrical Engineer: James Posey Associates


© Brandon Stengel, FarmKid Studios

Kent State University Integrated Sciences Building
Design Architect: Ayers Saint Gross | Associate Architect: Payto Architects
Kent, OH
This project is well done all the way through. The project does a good job of being sympathetic to the original brutalist buildings, while bringing them forward into a modern dialogue. It offers wonderful spaces on the interior and a good use of materials as a concept. The design creates a flow through the space and a connection to outside. A consistent use of material creates a seamless transition between old and new. There is restraint with the material palette and a subtle yet transformative symbolic gesture to the university’s blue and yellow colors. The interior environment makes exceptional use of daylighting.
Owner: Kent State University | Contractor: Turner Construction Company | Landscape Architect: Knight & Stolar, Inc.  | Civil Engineer: Alber and Rice | Structural Engineer: Keast and Hood Company and GPD Group | Mechanical & Electrical Engineer: Prater Engineering Associates, Inc. | Lighting Consultant: The Lighting Practice | Audio Visual: Sextant Group |  Cost Estimating: Costcon Construction Services | Energy/Environmental: CTL Engineering and Doty & Miller | Commissioning Agent: Karpinski Engineering | Code Consultant: Koffel Associates, Inc.


Stacy Zarin Goldberg Photography

Sharpe-Hatt Residence
Foundry Architects
Bethesda, MD
This is a substantial renovation and addition to an existing house. The interior detailing and spatial arrangement was thoughtfully done. The jury appreciated the articulation of the addition, with the change of cladding; the thoughtful resolution of the indoor-outdoor relationship, and the elegant details of the stair.
Owner: Geoff Sharpe & Laurel Hatt | Contractor: AllenBuilt, Inc. | Civil Engineer: CAS Engineering | Structural Engineer: Skarda and Associates | Mechanical Engineer: Welborn Engineering


© Sam Kittner/Kittner.com

Sterling Branch Library
Grimm + Parker Architects
Sterling, VA
This is a wonderful repurposing of a strip mall that works wonderfully given the constraints. The jury particularly liked how the design is highly selective with no wasted or extraneous moves, while achieving a ton of value. A welcomed sense of playfulness runs through the library environment. One example that the jury was particularly drawn to was the series of jellybean spaces. There are a number of clever elements throughout such as the silver wrappers on columns, the flow of the ceiling moving through the space, and the way the skylight was cut into the roof. The project demonstrates how creativity can elevate our environment. The design team rose to the challenge and did a great job.
Owner: Loudoun County Public Library | Contractor: Marion Construction | Structural Engineer: McMullan & Associates, Inc. | Mechanical Engineer: Setty and Associates | Audio Visual: Polysonic Corporation


© Charles Uniatowski

The Pilot School
Cho Benn Holback + Associates, a Quinn Evans Company | Special Needs Consultant: Purple Cherry Architects
Wilmington, DE
This school design is successful on many levels and sends a strong message for an educational environment. The positioning of the building elevates human health and well-being and establishes an inspired learning environment. Sustainable features are nicely integrated into the learning environment and integrated throughout. The creation of narrow blocks and three-sided courts is a great strategy. The jury appreciated cracking open the roofs to create saw-tooths for letting in daylight. Throughout the program and informal spaces, the design creates an orientation to views and daylight. There is a simple, clear unifying quality expressed in the continuity of the wood ceiling through the building. All in all the design is consistently thought out.
Owner: The Pilot School | Contractor: EDiS Company | Landscape Architect: Foresite Associates | Civil Engineer: Foresite Associates | Structural Engineer: MacIntosh Engineering | Mechanical & Electrical Engineer: Henry Adams, Inc. | Acoustics Consultant: Shen, Milsom, Wilke | Pool Consultant: Atlantic Aquatics


© Jeff Wolfram Photography

Two Merriweather
Gensler
Columbia, MD
This project uses Jim Rouse’s utopian vision for a city in a garden as inspiration. The design tackles the challenge of suburban office parks by placing the building as a backdrop to a regenerative landscape. The design also offers some smart moves for a spec office building. This is a very challenging typology and not often awarded. The arrival and entry areas have a strong engagement to this outdoor place and the well composed exterior facades enhance the overall quality. Together, the composition and attention to details of the building elevations and materials, and the integrated landscape design make for a unique experience.
Contractor: Harvey Cleary Builders | Landscape Architect: LSG Landscape Architecture | Structural Engineer: Carroll Engineering | Mechanical & Electrical Engineer: WB Engineering Consultant PLLC | Acoustics: Convergent Technologies 


© 2018 Alan Karchmer

University of Maryland Health Sciences Facility III
Design Architect: HOK | Associate Architect: Design Collective, Inc. | Interior Architect: Melville Thomas Architects
Baltimore, MD
The design of this large building breaks down the massing well and successfully handles a difficult program in a dense urban site. Daylight pours through the atrium into the deep building block. The exterior is well resolved and does a nice job with layering the exterior materials and with tectonic expression in the transitions. The articulation of the wall assembly is nice, and the vertical glazing is quite elegant, creating depth in each facade. Even the integration of the penthouse is carefully disguised.
Owner: University of Maryland Baltimore, Facilities Management | Contractor: Barton Malow Company | Landscape Architect: Site Resources | Civil Engineer: Site Resources | Structural Engineer: Cagley & Associates | Mechanical & Electrical Engineer: Affiliated Engineers (AEI) | Lab Planning: Jacobs Consultancy | Code/Life Safety: GHT | Cost Estimating: Toscano Clements Taylor (TCT) | Plumbing/Fire Protection: WFT Engineering | Vibration Consultant: Acentech | Geotechnical Engineering: Kim Engineering | Environmental Modeling Consultant: Rowen Williams Davies & Irwin (RWDI) | Interior Design: Sandra Vicchio Associates | Radiation Shielding: ProPhysics Innovations | EMI/RFI Consultants: Viatech Electromagnetics


2018 Good Design = Good Business Awards

Now in its 12th year, the Good Design is Good Business Award awards honor architects and clients who best utilize good design to help companies and organizations achieve their goals.  This award is intended to recognize projects where design excellence elevated the resulting benefit of a project to the business, institution, or community which it serves. In particular, it awards exceptional collaboration.
The 2018 jury included Nick Tomaszewki, AIA, Architect with Design Collective, Inc., and lecturer at the School of Architecture and Planning at Morgan State University; Amy Bonitz Palmer, President and CEO at Baltimore Arts Realty Corporation; and Thibault Manekin, co-founder of Seawall Development.

© Kevin Weber Photography

400 East Pratt Street Addition
Fillat+ Architects
Baltimore, MD
This project successfully enhances public experience downtown, reviving the north side of Pratt Street with urban connectivity and street vitality. The reactivated promenade sets the standard for productive engagement at street-level and attracting businesses, patronage, and public activity.
Contractor: Constantine Commercial Construction | Mechanical & Electrical Engineer: ENS Consulting Engineers


©2017 Alan Karchmer

Sagamore Spirit Distillery
Ayers Saint Gross
Baltimore, MD
The project transformed a brownfield industrial site into a cultural destination and brings the Sagamore brand to life. The jury admired a comprehensive design approach with references to the brand’s rich agrarian and industrial history.  The combination of poetry and purposeful space-planning generates a village environment conducive to learning, connecting, and playing, in addition to the functional necessities of whiskey processing.
Owner: Sagamore Development Company | Contractor: The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company | Landscape Architect: Core Studio Design |  Civil Engineer: Whitney Bailey Cox and Magnani | Structural Engineer: Structura, Inc. | Mechanical & Electrical Engineer: Allen & Shariff | Code Consultant: Koffel Associates | AV/IT Security Consultant: SpeXsys | Lighting Consultant: The Lighting Practice | Kitchen Consultant: Culinary Advisors | Interior Design: Patrick Sutton Interior Design | Distillery Process Optimization: Larry Ebersold, LLC | Experience/Branding Consultant: Solid Light, Inc. | Owner’s Representative: C2C, Inc. | Signage Consultant: Ashton Design


2018 Good Design = Good Business Honorable Mention

©Jeffrey Totaro

The Nature Place
GWWO, Inc./Architects
Reading, PA
The jury commemorates the project’s intrinsic, orchestration within the surrounding landscape to encourage connection to nature and a healthy lifestyle. Orientation, materiality, and the seamless integration of sustainable practices highlights the delicate care that the project achieves with an eye toward conservation.
Owner: Berks Nature | Contractor: Burkey Construction | Landscape Architect: Mahan Rykiel Associates, Inc. | Civil Engineer: Barry Isett & Associates, Inc. | Structural Engineer: Faisant Associates, Inc. | Mechanical & Electrical Engineer: Henry Adams, LLC | Commissioning Agent: Reynolds Solutions 


 

2018 AIA Baltimore Excellence in Design Awards People’s Choice Award

Royal Venya Resort
Design Architect: inPLACE Design | Local Architect: Alami Inter Media, JL
Bali, Indonesia (Unbuilt)
Even though Bali is an island with gorgeous beaches, its heart and soul is in the mountainous area near its physical center. The Royal Venya Resort embraces the mountain. Contemporary in its design and traditional in its reverence for the land, the resort demands the guests to appreciate the extraordinary place in which it lies. The project is the winner of AIA Baltimore’s first People’s Choice Award.


2018 Baltimore Architecture Foundation Awards

GOLDEN GRIFFIN AWARD
MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

This award was given was based on the University’s significant contribution to Baltimore’s built environment through its historic campus (designated a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation) and new buildings, as well as neighborhood revitalization through programs such as the Morgan Mile; and in recognition of the University’s 150th anniversary in 2017. The history and role of Morgan SA+P and CBEIS in educating the next generation of architects, and contributing to diversity in the design professions, is a very important part of this award.
BAF’s Golden Griffin Award is presented to an organization that has demonstrated a dedication to Architecture and to furthering its understanding in Baltimore.

ROGER D. REDDEN AWARD
LANCE HUMPHRIES, PHD

Mr. Humphries was selected for significant contribution to Baltimore’s architecture and built environment through scholarship and publication on Baltimore architectural history, outstanding leadership with the Mount Vernon Place Conservancy and key role in the restoration of the Washington Monument, as well as numerous contributions to advance the Baltimore Architecture Foundation and its mission.
The Roger D. Redden Award is presented to an individual who has demonstrated a lifelong dedication to Architecture and to furthering its understanding in Baltimore.


2018 FAR Scholarship Awards

The AIA Baltimore Future Architects Resources (FAR) Scholars Program was created in 2013. This is the 5th year of an annual scholarship open to students of architecture in their final year of graduate, undergraduate or community college programs in Maryland.
Graduate Student Design Project Award
Recharging Station
Matthew Tuckfield
Morgan State University School of Architecture + Planning
“Recharging Station” is dynamic and thorough in design concept. The path from parti to completion shows creative, consistent and thoughtful process. Matthew demonstrates a sophisticated effort that addresses the ground, entry sequence, scale, cladding and volume with great success. His graphic presentation was exceptional, and the overall design creatively makes the observer want to engage and interact with the space.


Undergraduate Design Project Award
Breaking Tivoly

Emmanuel Balraj
Morgan State University School of Architecture + Planning

Breaking Tivoly attempts to create an urban housing environment that blends with its surroundings while providing both townhomes and single-family dwellings in the city block allotted for this project. The thoughtful design approach creates opportunities for architecture to acknowledge the surrounding neighborhood by crafting paths into the landscaped open space and views from the townhomes to the neighborhood and beyond. A complete and sensitive integration of site and building design is evident by the successful step-by step-analysis and application of how to fit an innovative design into a unique urban context.


Community College Student Design Project Award
Brousse Tigrée, Joshua Tree National Park Visitors Center
Mark Davis
Anne Arundel Community College

The project demonstrates a design that complements the uniquely beautiful environment of Joshua Tree National Park. The fractured plan of the visitor’s complex clearly mimics the surrounding environment while creating distinct locations for programmatic elements. The entrant clearly studied which views and circulation paths to the park are of importance and successfully incorporated them in to the design. Most importantly, the design does not overwhelm the landscape but rather creates a harmonious and complementary relationship, preparing a visitor for the landscape and experiences beyond.


Community College Student Design Project Honorable Mention
Annapolis, Meandering through the history of Maryland’s Capital
Mark Davis
Anne Arundel Community College

While not a design project,  the jury awarded an honorable mention for excellence in architectural drawing.

 
 

Juries

2018 Excellence in Design Awards Jury

Mike Gwin, AIA, Rothschild Doyno Collaborative

Mike Gwin is a principal with Rothschild Doyno Collaborative. In his role as Director of Design, Mike not only leads projects that deliver innovative design solutions but also fosters a collaborative culture in the design process that encourages the integration of both technical and inspirational goals from initial concept through technical detailing and construction administration. In his 15 years of experience, Mike has consistently received architectural and sustainable design merit for successful project outcomes, including over 30 design awards at the local, state, and national level including an AIA-COTE top ten green design project award. On numerous accounts, projects have included the adaptive reuse of existing structures into meaningful design solutions that align with our clients’ unique vision.
Mike has also been working at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Architecture for the past 7 years as an Adjunct Studio Instructor.  Mike is a member of the AIA Pittsburgh Board of Directors working to advance our professional organization’s mission. He is also a participant in the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz School of Business Entrepreneurial Fellows program.

Laura Nettleton, AIA, Thoughtful Balance

Laura Nettleton is the owner of Thoughtful Balance, a Pittsburgh-based architectural firm that specializes in sustainability and low energy design. Laura has more than thirty years of experience in development, sustainable design, and community engagement, and she has been on the cutting edge of sustainable and low-energy design solutions for the past two decades. Ranging from the 2014 North American Passive House Conference, San Francisco, CA, to the 2016 Passive House Conference in Darmstadt, Germany, her speaking engagements confirm her wide recognition as a leader in sustainable architecture who has materially influenced the evolution of this growing market segment.
Laura is currently involved in a number of Passive House projects, having recently completed the first certified Passive House in Western Pennsylvania and the first Passive House designed multi-family retrofit in the country. She founded and developed the PHWPA (Passive House of Western Pennsylvania) and was recently nominated by the GBA for their Luminary award and by the Women and Girls Foundation in 2011 for Women Greening the Pittsburgh Region. Her recent project Morningside Crossing was awarded a PHFA Innovation in Design Award.

Kent Suhrbier, AIA, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson

Kent Suhrbier leads Bohlin Cywinski Jackson’s Pittsburgh studio as an Associate Principal. With over 25 years of experience at nationally and internationally awarded design firms, his projects leverage fundamental design principles, forming essential building elements into distinctive and memorable places. Kent’s experience ranges from the modest High Meadow Residences and Studio at Fallingwater, to signature projects for Adobe and Apple, to complex campus buildings for the University of Pittsburgh and Yale University. This diverse work is all realized through an inclusive design process that thoughtfully integrates structures, the natural environment, and people.
Kent serves as adjunct faculty at Carnegie Mellon University, leading design studios focused on composition and architectural representation. He is also currently leading BCJ teams working on designs for two new Carnegie Mellon University buildings: ANSYS Hall, a simulation and prototyping design center that will open in 2019, and TCS Hall, which will house the expanded School of Computer Science in mid-2020.

2018 Residential Excellence in Design Awards Jury

Jeremy Ficca, Carnegie Mellon University


Jeremy Ficca is an Associate Professor of Architecture in the School of Architecture at Carnegie Mellon University, where he serves as founding Director of the Design Fabrication Laboratory (dFAB) and Track Chair of the Master of Advanced Architectural Design (MAAD) program. Jeremy’s award winning teaching, research and practice focus upon architecture’s performative and poetic dimensions rendered through material and form. Of particular interest are the circumstances of contemporary material practices and the affordances of hybrid design and fabrication techniques. Jeremy’s creative work and research operate across scales, from artifact to building, to opportunistically engage emergent digital techniques. The work explores questions of authenticity and presence within the conditions of contemporary practice.

Teresa Bucco, AIA, AE7 Pittsburgh

Teresa Bucco is a senior architect at AE7 Pittsburgh.  She leads the domestic architecture studio in a collaborative design process to create engaging, interactive places.  Her depth of experience to a broad range of projects and her work with owners and construction teams influences the development of projects that both inspire and meet the client’s core needs.  Teresa served as adjunct studio faculty at Carnegie Mellon University for ten years and continues to serve as juror and design critic.  During that time, she operated as Bucco Architecture where she designed and built multiple projects in local communities in the Pittsburgh region.  Her projects won awards for exceptional architecture designs.  She continues to influence local businesses and communities with her work at AE7 Pittsburgh

Peter Margittai, AIA, Margittai Architects

As Principal of Margittai Architects, Peter is responsible for the design and management of all the firm’s projects. He founded the firm in 2001 with the goal of creating thoughtful and tailored architectural and interior design solutions, in a collaborative studio environment, for his clients. His firm’s work has received numerous awards and acknowledgements, including Pittsburgh Magazine’s Superior Interiors Award, Cool Space Locator’s Cool Space Award, and AIA Pittsburgh Design Award’s Historic Preservation Award.
Peter’s design process is rooted in his education and travels. A graduate of Pennsylvania State University, Peter has studied in Rome, Italy and at the Ecole D’Art Americaines in Fontainbleau, France. He has also traveled extensively throughout Central and Eastern Europe, Japan, and the United States. Peter has served as the President of Preservation Pittsburgh, is a member of the East Carson Street Local Review Committee, and serves as a Board Member of the College of Arts and Architecture Alumni Society at Pennsylvania State University. Peter also volunteered as an Item Writer for the NCARB Architectural Registration Exam.

2018 Social Equity Design Award Jury

Leon Bridges, FAIA, Morgan State University

Leon Bridges was the founder and president of The Leon Bridges Company Incorporated in Baltimore, an architectural and planning firm, following starting his practice in l963 in Seattle, Washington. He relocated his firm to Baltimore in l970 and became the first licensed African American architect in the State of Maryland and owner of a downtown office in Baltimore. He is the recipient of more than 20 national, regional, and local awards for design excellence in Seattle, Boston, Baltimore and Washington D.C.
Leon has served on the National Planned Parenthood Federation Executive Board, both Greater Seattle and Greater Baltimore YMCA Boards, Baltimore Urban League Board, NAACP as a Life Member, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Baltimore ACTSO Program, Club of Baltimore and the Swags of Baltimore. Professional honors include receiving the National American Institute of Architects (AIA) Whitney M. Young, Jr. Award. He served as the 1st elected Black Director of a Regional AIA Board of Directors, as an elected National Vice President of the AIA, President of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA), Co-Founder and Chairman of the AIA Minority Scholarship Fund, and Organizing member of the AIA Task Force on Social Responsibility. Leon semi-retired from active practice in 2005 to become an Assistant Professor in the Morgan State University School of Architecture and Planning. His major interest is in preparing African American students for the practice of architecture.

Jennifer Goold, Neighborhood Design Center

Jennifer Goold joined the Neighborhood Design Center in 2012 after more than a decade of work in cultural resources management, historic preservation, development and planning. At NDC, she directs all aspects of the center’s operations and strategy including staff, programs, outreach, and fundraising. She focuses her program work on real estate development consulting, transportation planning, public space design, and equity in access to public space.  A Baltimore resident since 1993, she has been involved in many of the city’s largest historic building rehabilitations, including the American Can Company, Silo Point and Tide Point. She received a BS in Interior Design from Indiana University and an MS in Historic Preservation from Columbia University.
 

Jessica Solomon, Robert W. Deutsch Foundation

A strategist, facilitator, and cultural worker, Jessica Solomon loves working with people and organizations to build their capacity for creativity and deeper impact. As the Principal at Art in Praxis (AiP), a national organizational development consultancy and cultural think tank, she tailored hundreds of capacity building initiatives to the needs of startups, cultural institutions, municipalities, networks, and community based groups. Jessica’s creative practice is collaborative, interdisciplinary and evolving. It includes interactive gallery exhibitions, creative placekeeping projects, and devised theater. She is a member of RoadMap Consulting and serves as faculty for the National Arts Strategies Creative Community Fellowship.
Currently, as the Senior Program Officer at the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation, Jessica is sharpening Foundation’s existing grant making strategies, developing new programmatic initiatives, and deepening institutional knowledge to ensure maximum impact in Baltimore.

2018 Good Design = Good Business Jury

Amy Bonitz, Baltimore Arts Realty Corp. (BARCO)

Amy Bonitz brings more than 20 years of experience in urban real estate and community development to her current role as BARCO’s President & CEO. She is responsible for new business development and oversees the financial management, operations and marketing of BARCO’s projects.
Prior to joining BARCO, Amy served as the development project manager for the award-winning $18 million Centre Theater project in Station North, and co-led the Southwest Partnership neighborhood planning process with the UMB Bio Park and University of Maryland Baltimore. Amy has a Master’s in Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and spent 9 years in the private sector in commercial real estate development before working in the non-profit sector.

Thibault Manekin, Seawall Development

Thibault Manekin grew up in Baltimore and graduated from Lehigh University with a degree in business and marketing. In 2006, Manekin moved back to Baltimore and co-founded a real estate development firm called Seawall Development Company. Seawall’s mission is to help improve communities by breathing a new life back into forgotten old historic buildings while at the same time filling them with people who in their everyday lives are making cities better places.
Manekin’s company led the critically acclaimed development projects creating Union Mill and Miller’s Court in the Hampden and Remington/Charles Village neighborhoods of Baltimore. For this work, he was recognized by the White House as a Champion of Change.

Nicholas Tomaszewski, AIA, Design Collective

After earning a Master of Architecture from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2013, Nicholas Tomaszewski joined Design Collective and has since been an invaluable team member for a wide variety of projects. He has worked on several of the firm’s most notable mixed-use residential projects, including the award-winning and first residential building certified to the Fitwel standard, The Pearl in Silver Spring.
View 2017 AIA Baltimore Excellence in Design Award winners