New York, NY: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), the renowned architecture, engineering, interiors and planning firm, has received three 2013 Design Awards in the Architecture category from the New York Chapter of the AIA, more than any other firm this year. The prestigious awards program recognizes outstanding architectural design and honor the architects, clients and consultants who work together to achieve design excellence. Out of more than 400 entries, 42 awards were conferred in four categories: architecture, interiors, unbuilt projects and urban design.
John Jay College of Criminal Justice’s new building on Manhattan’s West Side received top honors, while the Renovation and Adaptive Reuse of 510 Fifth Avenue in New York and Al Hamra Tower in Kuwait both received merit awards. Each project was judged on a broad and inclusive definition of design excellence, including creativity in the resolution and integration of formal, functional and technical requirements and social responsibility. In praising John Jay College, the design jury described the building as a “fabric building, a connector in the city [with] all the architectural beauty we aspire to.” With the renovation of 510 Fifth Avenue, the jury was struck by how the architect “retained the essence of the key design elements,” while Al Hamra was praised for its unusual, poetic form and the technology with which it was achieved. All three projects were completed at the end of 2011 or the beginning of 2012.
An exhibition featuring all the winning projects, including John Jay College, Al Hamra Tower and 510 Fifth Avenue, will be on view starting April 18th at the Center for Architecture at 536 LaGuardia Place, New York. For a full list of the winners and to watch the AIA New York Design Award Juror Symposium, click here.
About Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) is one of the leading architecture, interior design, engineering, and urban-planning firms in the world, with a 75-year reputation for design excellence and a portfolio that includes some of the most important architectural accomplishments of the 20th and 21st centuries. Since its inception, SOM has been a leader in the research and development of specialized technologies, new processes and innovative ideas, many of which have had a palpable and lasting impact on the design profession and the physical environment. The firm’s longstanding leadership in design and building technology has been honored with more than 1,600 awards for quality, innovation, and management. The American Institute of Architects has recognized SOM twice with its highest honor, the Architecture Firm Award—in 1962 and again in 1996. The firm maintains offices in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., London, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Mumbai, and Abu Dhabi.