Master Class

by Marcy Marro | July 1, 2022 12:00 am

As someone who doesn’t get the opportunity to sit in and listen to architects debate, discuss and evaluate projects very often, our annual judging call for the Metal Architecture Design Awards is always a fascinating experience. Regardless of having been in the industry for a while now, the projects that end up being discussed at length during the call always end up amazing me. Wherever I think a conversation may go, a project that may be selected, there is always that one unexpected project when the conversation ends up being very passionate.

You could almost call these judges’ calls a master class in metal architecture, construction and design. From discussions that really show each individual judges’ experience and insights, their thought processes and how they approach different projects, I always learn so much and it is definitely a highlight of my year.

I would like to thank this year’s judges—Rand Elliott, FAIA, president of Rand Elliott Architects, Oklahoma City; Mark Roddy, FAIA, principal of Mark Roddy Architects, Sacramento, Calif.; and lee Calisti, AIA, principal of Lee CALISTI architecture+design, Greensburg, Pa.—who graciously spent an entire afternoon out of their very busy schedules to share their thoughts and debate a variety of submissions, as well as the time they spent beforehand reviewing projects. This year’s call may very well go down as the longest awards call we’ve ever had.

One of the advantages of having architects from different areas of the country and with different experiences is seeing how they approach the projects. I think Rand said it best, when he said, “What I always try to do when it comes to projects like this, I’m really looking for this connection to place, purpose and poetics. Place speaks to where it is, purpose represents its function, and the poetics is how does it become architecture as opposed to just a building.”

Insight like this laid the groundwork for many of the discussions the judges had this year. And, as always, this year’s judging panel selected a great variety of projects. The diversity of the winners really showcases the quality we receive every year.

Congratulations to all the winners of the 2022 Metal Architecture Design Awards, and be sure to check out the articles here[1].

Source URL: https://www.metalarchitecture.com/blog/master-class/

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