Dreamscapes and Greenscapes
The 2007 AIA Western Mountain Region Design Awards
BY DEBORAH PADDISON
Architects from Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming had the opportunity to be "carbon neutral" at the 2007 AIA Western Mountain Region Conference, held in the fall at the Hyatt Regency Resort in Incline Village, Nevada. Hosted by AIA Northern Nevada Chapter, "Dreamscapes to Greenscapes: Designing, Transforming and Building a Future" featured speakers including Edward Mazria, AIA, founder of Architecture 2030; RK Stewart, FAIA, national AIA president; and Greg Franta, FAIA, of the Rocky Mountain Institute. Thanks to a sponsorship by Kimberly Phipps-Nichol of Blue Water Studio and John Toth Associates, both of Reno, the event was carbon neutral, offsetting the event itself and the travel of the invited speakers.
On the conference's final day, the AIA Western Mountain Region Design Awards were presented. Here are the built projects winning Honor, Merit and Citation awards.
Honor Awards
Prayer Pavilion of Light
DeBartolo Architects • Phoenix, Arizona
 Prayer Pavilion of Light. Photograph by Bill Timmerman.
Winning architectural design doesn't always have to think "outside the box" — witness the boxy yet ethereal Prayer Pavilion of Light, located on the campus of the First Assembly of God church in north Phoenix. Visitors approach the pavilion via a 600-foot processional walk, which progressively reveals the structure and establishes a contemplative mood. Twenty-eight feet higher, they come upon a piazza of exposed aggregate with desert trees and a 70-foot reflecting pool. The pavilion itself is a lantern-like box with two skins of translucent glass panels, the space between serving as a natural convection chimney for the exchange of hot and cold air. It sits eight feet above ground atop concrete supports. Rows of chairs accommodate services, special prayer events or just quiet reflection. Stacking sliding glass doors completely open to the outdoor space, where the focal point is a towering 50-foot steel cross. Especially at night, when lit from within, the pavilion evokes a feeling of peace, giving off a radiant glow in the darkening sky.
Residence at Connor Creek Ranch
Turnbull Griffin Haesloop Architects • San Francisco, California
 Connor Creek Ranch. Photograph by David Wakely.
A peaceful meadow and spectacular views highlight this private residence at Connor Creek Ranch in North Park, Colorado. The house is sited by an aspen grove on an 8,000-foot plateau with distant views of Steamboat Springs. The client desired a small, compact house with cozy spaces; while the architects accomplished that, they also incorporated features that allow the clients to experience the expansive scale of the surrounding landscape. The plan consists of a series of rectangles set inside one another. For indoor-outdoor living, the outer layer of the house, marked by the roof and stone plinth, forms a covered entry and porch to the east and a large protected outdoor room to the west. Beneath the roof, the small square of the interior house encloses two whitewashed wooden cubes, each defining distinct spaces within and between each other. The result is a spatially unique, cozy house.
Lost Dog Wash Trailhead
Weddle Gilmore Architects • Tempe, Arizona
 Lost Dog Wash Trailhead. Photograph by Bill Timmerman.
The Lost Dog Wash Trailhead sits at the convergence of two large recreational trails in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona. Here, hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians access a network of more than 17 miles of trails. The trailhead, situated partially below grade, and adjacent parking area are extremely sensitive to the desert surroundings. The rammed-earth walls utilize material excavated during construction of the foundations, while metal roof panels, wall panels and steel beams have a rust finish and include significant recycled content. A photovoltaic module system allows the trailhead to be off the electric grid. For irrigating the desert vegetation — including more than 500 cacti salvaged from the site and revegetated — graywater and rainwater harvesting capture nearly 75,000 gallons per year.
Merit Awards
Miramonte Residence
DeBartolo Architects • Phoenix, Arizona
 |
|
Miramonte Residence. Photograph by Bill Timmerman. |
What at first glance seems a simple masonry box opens into an impressive symphony of water, glass and sky in this 3,000-square-foot Paradise Valley, Arizona residence, designed for an architect and his wife. Ensconced at the foot of Mummy Mountain, the house focuses like a camera lens on its southern prospect — the north face of Camelback Mountain — with a 65-foot-long expanse of window walls. The commanding view dominates the interior, which is entirely glass. The distinction between indoors and out is also blurred as one enters through monolithic walls to the north-side courtyard, a water-filled "sky space" that serves as the centerpiece of the house. Balancing sight, light and view, the design evokes dual feelings of minimalism and infinity.
Rincon Mountain Residence
DesignBuild Collaborative • Tucson, Arizona
 Rincon Mountain Residence. Photograph by Liam Frederick.
This remote residence at the base of the Rincon Mountains in Tucson, Arizona, makes the most of the sun, seasonal rain cycles and the beauty of its surroundings. Designed as a series of terraced volumes, some partially built into the hillside, the house incorporates various alternative energy sources and sustainable-design principles so that eventually it will function completely off the grid for water, electricity and gas. A construction system of 24-inch-thick exposed rammed earth and scoria walls provides insulating benefits. Roof overhangs, shade structures and a large connecting breezeway allow for indirect light, passive cooling and natural ventilation. Roof forms do double duty: Photovoltaic cells harvest solar energy, and the surfaces collect rainwater, which is distributed into a large cistern as part of a water storage, filtration and reuse system. On the exterior, gabion walls, berms and swales capture and direct surface water, minimizing irrigation needs for the native-plant landscape.
Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center
klipp • Denver, Colorado
Brennan Beer Gorman Architects • New York, New York
(A Joint Venture Project)
 |
|
Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center. Photograph by klipp/Nick Merrick, Hedrich Blessing Photographers. |
The 37-story Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center is the tallest building completed in Denver in 20 years. The tower houses 1,100 guest rooms and more than 60,000 square feet of meeting space. To plan the 1.5 million-square-foot complex, klipp partnered with Brennan Beer Gorman Architects, a New York–based firm with experience designing convention center hotels. The Mile High City itself provided the architects' design inspiration: Since Denver sits where the Plains meet the Rockies, they expressed this dynamic by creating a language of "sliding planes," which interlock or run perpendicular to each other, echoing the landscape. The building's five-story podium is wrapped by a glass curtain wall, creating an interior series of circulation spaces and lounges dubbed the "Glass Canyon." Limestone, granite and zinc panels cover the podium's other exterior walls, while the towers above are clad in precast concrete panels and zinc.
Private Residence
Rohde May Keller McNamara Architecture P.C. • Albuquerque, New Mexico
 Private residence in New Mexico.
A vertical central chimney is juxtaposed against the horizontal planes of this rectangular, bi-level home, which features gorgeous views of the Sandia and Manzano mountains in north-central New Mexico. The architect's goals were to maximize views and light, accommodate informal gatherings of the client's friends and business associates, allow garden access from both levels and showcase a collection of contemporary art. The entrance sits on an intermediate split level that accesses both floors. Two bedrooms, a laundry room and garage occupy the lower level, while the kitchen/living/dining area, library and master suite are on the upper, loft-like level. The open, informal floorplan features no walls, only maple-clad cabinet-like volumes that define separate spaces. Materials include concrete for walls and floors, steel columns and beams, a wood roof deck and glass curtain walls. The roof plane serves to protect the glass walls and also collects rainwater for irrigation.
Performing Arts Pavilion, Jackson Hole Center for the Arts
Stephen Dynia Architects • Jackson, Wyoming (Design Architect)
Carney Architects • Jackson Hole, Wyoming (Executive Architect)
 Performing Arts Pavilion, Jackson Hole Center for the Arts. Photograph by Ron Johnson.
Just as excellent performing-arts presentations rely on collaboration, so does the design of a performing-arts space. The 35,000-square-foot Performing Arts Pavilion at the Jackson Hole Center for the Arts was a joint effort between Stephen Dynia Architects and Carney Architects, who worked together as the Arts Design Collaborative for this project. The pavilion houses a 500-seat proscenium theater for drama, dance and music, as well as a public lobby, rehearsal facilities, scene shop and theater support areas. The main space is designed to be flexible, accommodating both intimate and full theater presentations. The transparent lobby links the pavilion to the community and brings in the surrounding landscape. The underside of the seating arena is exposed and visible from the lobby below. Clad in wood, the spherical sculptural form hovers above the entrance hall, creating a dramatic focal point and icon for the pavilion.
Cesar Chavez Library
Line and Space, LLC • Tucson, Arizona
 Cesar Chavez Library.
A comfortable, light-filled, energy-efficient space for adults and children to pursue the pleasures of reading is the new Cesar Chavez Library, located lakeside at Cesar Chavez Park in Laveen, Arizona. To tame the harsh summer sun but still capture light, a large roof shades floor-to-ceiling glass windows, and also collects rainwater for landscape irrigation. A series of earthen berms surrounds the library, helping to integrate it into the park's landscape. Inside, architectural solutions include a lowered ceiling height in the children's area to create child-appropriate scale. At the north end of the building, a covered patio allows patrons to enjoy the outdoors; recycled HVAC exhaust air provides cooling and berms create a separation from the nearby street. Designed for the community at large, the library also houses a computer classroom, tutoring rooms and a 75-seat public meeting room.
Citation Awards
Carney Architects • Jackson Hole, Wyoming
New Fork Social Club Residence, Pinedale, Wyoming
5 Lazy R Guest Quarters, Wilson, Wyoming
Gigaplex Architects, Inc. • Park City, Utah
Monte-Silo House, Woodland, Utah
Shepherd Resources, Inc. • Avon, Colorado
Residence at 6 Water Song Lane
SmithGroup • Phoenix, Arizona
Arizona Biomedical Collaborative Building (ABC1), Phoenix, Arizona
Sparano + Mooney Architecture • Salt Lake City, Utah
Arcadia Historical Museum, Arcadia, California
Fentress Architects • Denver, Colorado
Colorado Convention Center Expansion
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Central Terminal Expansion
Rob Paulus Architect, Ltd. • Tucson, Arizona
Silverado Flats Apartments, Tucson, Arizona
John F. Kane, AIA, LEED AP • Tempe, Arizona
Lake Residence, Tempe, Arizona
|
