2023 Design Award Winners

Grand Award Winner/Ribbed Metal Wall Panels

Texas A&M University Southside Rec Center, College Station, Texas[14]

The Southside Rec Center, with its simple nature and its subtle application of metal, won over the judges, who named it the Grand Award Winner and the winner in the Ribbed Metal Wall Panel category. Highlighting the combination of materiality and contrast between the stone and metal, the judges were impressed with the detail juxtaposition and range of applications throughout the project.

Renovations and Retrofit

Van Ness Elementary School, Washington, D.C.[15]

Judge Arnold Swanborn, AIA, LEED AP, design principal, CO Architects, Los Angeles, said, “There’s just sort of a simple elegance about it. It has a scalar relationship to the neighborhood and it doesn’t try to make anything more than what it really is. The existing building is basically a rectangular box with brick. They have this very simple sort of elegant solution to the addition, and it is quite nice architecturally.

Natural Metals

Egg Harbor Lodge, Egg Harbor, Wis.[16]

Noting the refined and expressive materials, as well as the juxtaposition of the Corten panels and the flush panel siding, the judges named Egg Harbor Lodge in Egg Harbor, Wis., the winner in the Natural Metals category in the 2023 Metal Architecture Design Awards.

Smooth Metal Wall Panels

Digital Futures 2 at Uptown Gateway, Cincinnati[17]

With its simple elegance, single material and color palette, as well as its effective use of daylight to create patterns across the facade, the judges awarded the Digital Futures 2 (DF2) building in the Uptown Gateway mixed-use development in Cincinnati the winner in the Smooth Metal Wall Panels category for the 2023 Metal Architecture Design Awards.

Metal Buildings

3 Roots Fit & Rec Center, San Diego[18]

All the judges identified the decision to express the metal building system elements as strong influences on their decision to award the 3Root Wellness Center a 2023 Metal Architecture Design Award in the Metal Buildings category.

Sustainable Design

Sahuarita Regional Library, Sahuarita, Ariz.[19]

The library’s design concept was deeply rooted in the idea of connectivity and integration. Line and Space Architects, Tucson, Ariz., strategically positioned the building to allow natural light to flood the interior. This not only creates a welcoming and inviting atmosphere for visitors, but also reduces the building’s energy consumption by maximizing daylighting.

Interiors

Spotlight AR (Analyst Relations) LLC, Kansas City, Mo.[20]

Sharp, modern-looking, bright white metal elements carefully integrated into an existing three-story masonry building transformed the interior, according to judges for the 2023 Metal Architecture Design Awards. The metal elements connect with, and contrast with, the building’s existing industrial masonry and wood elements.

Metal Roofing

Templo Ministerio Cristiano de Restauración Familiar, Tegucigalpa, Honduras[21]

Sweeping down a hillside in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, a curved metal roof encloses the Templo Ministerio Cristiano de Restauración Familiar. The judges noted the project addressed the site’s topography with the form of the building and its position on the site. For these reasons and more, they recognized the Templo Ministerio Cristiano de Restauración Familiar with a Design Award in the Metal Roofing category.

Judges Award

Moody Center, Austin, Texas[22]

Offset levels and contrasting building materials break down the massing of the Moody Center at University of Texas at Austin and make it feel approachable from ground level. The events arena has a combination of expansive, wood-clad soffits that curve inward and continue into the interior, alternating layers of dark brown, metal-clad levels and reflective, transparent, glazed levels.

Judges Award

San Francisco AmeniPODS, San Francisco[23]

A new generation of public amenities have landed in San Francisco, catching the attention of the 2023 Metal Architecture Design Award judges, who gave the project a Judges Award. These egg-shaped pods are designed to be cleaner, safer, more durable and visually compelling, all aimed to meet the needs of its 21st century urban environment.