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Five Fort Worth-area architecture firms swept the American Institute of Architects Fort Worth annual design awards.
The event, held Saturday, February 17, from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the Museum of Modern Art in Fort Worth, honors architects and designers for their contributions to the city’s built environment.
Last year, the winners were announced at the Modern Awards Ceremony, followed by a speech by Emmanual Ramírez, judge of Estudio MMX in Mexico City. Michelle Old of Kirksey Architecture in Houston and Tobin Smith of Tobin Smith Architects in San Antonio also joined the jury.
From 33 entries, a jury of three renowned architects selected eight projects, including two Studio Awards (or unbuilt and conceptual), two Excellence Awards, one Community Impact Award and three Honorable Mentions (the highest honors).
The winners’ projects are concentrated on the city’s west and south sides and include some of the region’s most influential companies.
Ibañez Shaw Architecture swept the studio awards for the Exchange Hotel in the Stockyards and 665 S. Main on the Near South Side. It also earned two Honorable Mentions for Pella Experience Fort Worth in west Fort Worth and 61 Osteria in downtown, the organization’s highest form of recognition for its attention to detail, conservation, attention to public realm and High praise for an overall impeccable job.
The deal is known for preserving the area’s character, which includes quintessential Western designs like Cowtown Coliseum and Mule Alley, but also more mundane historic one- and two-story brick and wood buildings on the outskirts of the entertainment district. “We feel like this is a project coming out of Fort Worth,” Ord said of the hotel’s modern features and unique perforated exterior.
Likewise, 665 S. Main is a proposed multi-story office building that retains the appearance of the historic red brick building. Surrounding it is a new lobby with four floors of solid glass.
“It’s great that this proposal preserves a piece of history,” Smith said. The new ground floor is set back from the original entrance, integrating brick with new glass features. “It adds to the energy of the site,” he said of the “rhythmic” design.
“We hope this can happen,” he said.
Beck Group’s renovation of historic 464 Bailey received an Award of Merit for its popular redesign of a historic office building just a mile from the famous Cultural District Museum.
Ramirez calls it “intervention,” an overused, catch-all, and sometimes passive word in the world of architecture. He said the building, now Baker’s headquarters, needed some help, but in another world, maybe not this kind of help.
“It’s an interesting mix between ‘new’ and ‘different,'” he said. Originally built in 1954, Baker’s team ensured that the brick, single-story building remained intact while including a second floor with a terrace, a possibility left open by original architect Preston M. Geren Jr. Houston architect Ord praised Baker for preserving the character of the site while also preserving the original trees.
Konstrukcio Studio, arguably one of the best interior design firms in town, received an Award of Merit for its redesign of a 665-square-foot kitchen on Autumn Drive. The firm worked with contractor Bogle Constructs to craft a project that retained the mid-century feel but provided new hardware, lighting and more open space.
“New materials, hardware features — everything was just right. When you have an opportunity like this, it could go well or it could go terribly. They succeeded,” said San Antonio architect Smith.
VLK Architects, in partnership with Pogue Construction, has won a new Community Impact Award for the Eagle Mountain-Saginaw School District’s Leadership Training and Discovery Center. The award is given to a building that has made an impact on the community, usually for a social service or educational facility.
Alder said the Baker team faced the challenge of building in a terrain that no architect could predict: around water. In this case, they intentionally took on the challenge and built an educational facility near Marin Creek Lake. Alder said they met the challenge, balancing a new building on an unstable site to accommodate the program’s dedication to science and sustainability education. The old title project was successful.
Ibañez Shaw’s Pella Experience Headquarters, Pella Glass Headquarters and 61 Osteria are praised for different reasons.
San Antonio architect Tobin said the Pella project, designed by RJM Construction, is an example of overcoming an architect’s nightmare obstacles, including an existing retail building, restrictive existing conditions and a corporate client. “What came out of this was a mood and a magic that we think is pretty amazing,” he said, describing the gray and white interior and the selective use of color, in this case bright yellow.
61 Osteria opened last year at First on 7 in the historic city center, where brightly colored fabric chairs and rugs combine with teak, black formica and steel in this stark modernist concrete and glass building.
Ramírez says everything from the details to the cut stone walls and fabrics create a delightful interior and dining experience.
Glen Rose-based Jeff Garnett was also a recent recipient of the AIA Texas Studio Award, with his studio receiving an Award of Merit. Tobin and Alder were enthusiastic about his design for a narrow, tunnel-like limestone building in the growing town square. Garnett focused on integrating the interior with the exterior, creating a building that was, in his own words, “fantastic.”
He said the focus was “a smart move.”
Admission is free for members, $25 for non-members. Tickets can be purchased at eventbrite.
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