They say the devil is in the details, and it is that attention to detail that got the notice of the judges for the 2020 Metal Architecture Design Awards. This year, the judges—David Dowell, AIA, partner at el dorado Inc., Kansas City, Mo., Stephen Van Dyck, AIA, LEED AP, partner at LMN Architects in Seattle, and Rick Harlan Schneider, AIA, APA, LEED AP, principal at ISTUDIO Architects in Washington, D.C.—poured over the more than 170 entries to come up with the 11 projects that showcased metal in ways that stood out from the rest.
During the discussion, it was the details the architects and contractors paid attention to on each of the winning projects that continuously stood out. From the types of metal panels selected to the way the buildings blend into their surroundings, the judges continuously noted the attention to detail in each winning project.
While metal is the overarching theme of the wining projects, it was the different ways it was used and detailed that struck a nerve with the judges. The Grand Award winner, the Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, showcases how high-concept design and sophisticated sustainable technologies can work together. It creates a LEED Platinum-certified Living Building that is a center of education for future architects and engineers to learn from. While the Kendeda Building shows off its sustainable features in the form of a photovoltaic canopy, Civitas in Memphis, Tenn., relies on architectural expression to achieve LEED Platinum certification and carbon neutrality. This single-family home, designed and built by Memphis-based archimania principal Barry Yoakum, FAIA, as his private residence, was meant to be a good piece of architecture that just happens to achieve the goals of the AIA 2030 Challenge.
The unique, undulating curved metal roof of the Student Services Building at California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, Calif., finds a way to use a mixture of both perforated and solid standing seam aluminum panels to create a canopy roof and breezeway. The roof’s complexity, as well as its organic shape and form, really stood out to the judges. From the roof to the ceiling, the use of expanded metal in a barrel vault ceiling and how metal, wood, bronze plate and light all play together, helped bring ASSET Restaurant in New York City to the forefront in the Interiors category.
These are just some of the examples of the attention to detail that our judges were captivated by while reviewing all of the projects submitted to this year’s contest. Please check out all of the winners of the 2020 Metal Architecture Design Awards.
Congratulations to all of our winners, and thanks again to the judges.
