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>>> who's doing what, where in the design industry

The Arizona Chapter ASLA (AzASLA) recognized 12 landscape projects with design awards during its recent “Beyond Sustainability: 2009 AzASLA Awards Gala” held in Phoenix. Winning the highest honors--the Award of Excellence and the President’s Award--was the Sonoran Landscape Laboratory, an urban desert garden at the University of Arizona in Tucson, designed by Ten Eyck Landscape Architects, Inc. of Phoenix. The Ten Eyck firm also received awards for the design of a cancer clinic in Tucson, the Phoenix Art Museum and the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University in Tempe. Cactus City Design of Phoenix was recognized with awards for cactus and succulent galleries at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix and for a Baja-style residential garden in Paradise Valley. Other Arizona firms winning design awards were J2 Engineering and Environmental Design, JJR/Floor, Logan Simpson Design and Labor Studio. Arizona State University students Lora Martens and Valerie Ahyong won awards for work on the Kornegay Design warehouse and site in Tempe, a firm specializing in cast-concrete site furnishings.

In other AzASLA news, the chapter is working with Liberty Elementary School in Buckeye, Arizona to create a 7,000-square-foot outdoor classroom for use by students from the school and the district to learn about science in a natural habitat. The outdoor space, located east of a historic 1910 building on the campus, will be created by volunteers and donors such as Logan Simpson Design, Inc., a Tempe-based landscape architecture firm, and AAA Landscape of Phoenix, a commercial landscape contractor.

Michael P. Johnson Design Studios’ Shelter Island residence.

Cave Creek, Arizona-based Michael P. Johnson Design Studios has been honored with an Interarch-Laureate award for the design of a residence in Shelter Island, New York from the International Academy of Architecture during the 12th World Triennial of Architecture/Interarch 2009, held recently in Sofia, Bulgaria. The prize was conferred on architectural designer Michael P. Johnson, firm principal, by the mayor of Mons, Belgium.

Intrinsik Architecture of Bozeman, Montana has received a 2009 AIA national Small Projects Award for the design of a counter-balanced steel stair accessing a third-floor in a Bozeman residence. The awards program, now in its fifth year, recognizes small-project practitioners and the design excellence in projects, no matter the limits of size and scope.

RSP Architects, with offices in Phoenix, has been recognized with a 2009 Educational Facility Design Award from the national AIA Committee on Architecture for Education for the redevelopment of the Arizona State University Polytechnic Academic Complex in Mesa, Arizona. The 245,000-square-foot structure, designed in association with Lake/Flato Architects of Texas, received an Award of Merit.

Heritage Todd Creek Clubhouse by Kephart Community Planning Architecture.

Kephart Community Planning Architecture has been recognized by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) 50+ Housing Council during the recent 2009 Building for Boomers & Beyond: 50+ Housing Symposium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Denver-based architectural and planning firm received a Gold Award for the design of the Heritage Todd Creek Clubhouse in Thornton, Colorado and a Silver Award for The Links at Old Hawthorne in Columbia, Missouri.

The Phoenix architectural firm SHJ Studio also won awards from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) 50+ Housing Council during the recent 2009 Building for Boomers & Beyond: 50+ Housing Symposium in Philadelphia. The firm, which specializes in community architecture design, won a Gold Award for Sun City Festival in Buckeye, Arizona by Pulte Homes Corporation and a Silver Award for that community’s clubhouse.

SmithGroup’s Papago Gateway Center.

Papago Gateway Center, a mixed-use office and laboratory facility in Tempe, Arizona, designed by SmithGroup Phoenix, has achieved LEED Gold Certification. The facility, developed by Chesnut Properties, LLC, features numerous sustainable strategies, including automated sun-tracking louvers that wrap the building’s facades.

In other SmithGroup news, the architectural firm has broken ground on the new Chandler City Hall in Chandler, Arizona. The building is planned as a 131,000-square-foot, $47 million facility to replace leased office space. The project is designed to receive LEED Gold Certification. The firm was also named AIA Arizona Volunteer Firm of the Month for May for continued service to the state’s professional organization. Additionally, SmithGroup associates have received professional recognition. Robert Sty, PE, LEED AP, a project manager and senior mechanical engineer, has been named to the 2009 Consulting-Specifying Engineer “40 Under 40” list, while electrical engineer Mark Greenawalt, PE, LC, and graduate electrical engineer Brett Lorenzen, EIT, LEED AP, have been named 2009 president and treasurer, respectively, of the Arizona Section of the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES).

Boyd Gaming laundry facility by Pugsley Simpson Coulter Architects.

Pugsley Simpson Coulter Architects’ Boyd Gaming Shared Services Laundry Facility has become the first commercial laundry facility in the United States to achieve LEED Silver Certification for energy efficiency. The Las Vegas architecture firm renovated an existing 100,000-square-foot building to meet all the linen needs of Boyd Gaming properties in Nevada. Sustainable strategies included the removal and reuse of original concrete and exterior asphalt, the use of skylights for daylighting and laundry equipment chosen for water conservation.

Robert Singer & Associates, a lighting design company in Basalt, Colorado has won a national Source Award from Cooper Lighting for a residential project in Snowmass, Colorado. The lighting for the mountain contemporary home was designed by firm principal Robert H. Singer, along with Kim Slivka.

A proposed project designed by B. Costello Design & Consulting, LLC of Denver was among jury-selected award winners of the Highland Farmers Market Design Competition. The competition, hosted by Sprocket Design Build, invited designers to address a small infill parcel in historic Highland Square in northwest Denver, to be anchored by a farmers’ market. Firm principal Bernie Costello’s winning proposal included a ground-level pocket park topped by a floating community pavilion.

The Elegant Window in Gilbert, Arizona, a trade-only custom drapery workroom owned by Karen Barnes, was recently awarded Workroom of the Year by Window Fashions Vision magazine during the International Window Coverings Expo held in Atlanta, Georgia. The workroom also received First Place in Specialty Windows and 2nd Place in Top Treatments within the Ingenuity Workroom Competition.

Three interior design students from Scottsdale Community College in Scottsdale, Arizona won awards for design vignettes at the Maricopa County Home Show, held in Phoenix. Students Ellinor Ellefson, Jeannie Collins and Jamie Trank won first-, second- and third-place awards, respectively, for their designs, which they built and installed in 10x19-foot spaces.

The Thornburg Campus by Legorreta+Legorreta and Dekker/Perich/Sabatini.

Mexico’s architectural firm Legorreta +Legorreta, in collaboration with Dekker/Perich/Sabatini of Albuquerque, has completed work on the Thornburg Campus in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The seven-acre campus, which houses Thornburg Investment Management, Thornburg Securities and Thornburg Resources Team, includes a combined 100,000 square feet of office space, two courtyards and three rooftop gardens, all emphasizing environmental technologies. The project is anticipating LEED Gold Certification. Contractor was Klinger Constructors, LLC of Albuquerque.

Davis Partnership Architects of Denver has been awarded a new renewable energy project for Mesa State College in Grand Junction, Colorado. The project includes the design and installation of some 100,000 square feet of solar panel arrays on the roofs of approximately 12 campus buildings and potentially several parking lot canopies. The $15 million Mesa State College initiative is fully funded through the initial design phase and is well-positioned to receive a portion of Colorado’s federal stimulus money (the American Reinvestment and Recovery Program) in addition to other funding required to complete the project.

In other Davis Partnership Architects news, 12 members of the professional staff have received LEED AP status. Receiving the LEED accreditation were Robyn Altieri, Christy Collins, AIA; Wendi Ekborg, AIA; Dave Land, ASLA; Joe Lear, AIA; Marcia Lester, AIA; Jason Olinek, AIA; Katherine Pecoraro, David Popiel, Meg Rapp, Associate AIA; John Salisbury, AIA; and John Worgan, AIA.

David Kahn Studios of Eldorado Springs, Colorado and Denver’s Michael Tavel Architects have collaborated on the design of Geos in Arvada, Colorado, set to be the largest net-zero, urban mixed-use community in the United States. The project, developed by Norbert Klebl, is set on a 25-acre site and will include some 250 homes, with energy needs provided from ground-source loop fields and photovoltaic and solar thermal panels. Construction is set to begin this year.

Michael D. Rust Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church.

Chandler, Arizona architect Michael D. Rust has designed a new facility for the Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church in Gilbert, Arizona. The 10,000-square foot, $1.1 million project was designed to resemble a barn, reminiscent of a structure that once stood on the site. The new structure includes a sanctuary, kitchen and classrooms. Contractor for the project, set to be completed this year, is Nordic Builders of Gilbert.

Kitchen & Home Remodeling Team.

Phoenix-area kitchen designer Joy Vesuvius, principal of Joy of Kitchens, Etc. has launched a new association, Kitchen & Home Remodeling Team. The team is a group of 16 local trade specialists, whose expertise ranges from architectural design and general contracting to painting and cabinetry sales, who work together on residential projects. Vesuvius’ recent projects include kitchens, baths and home offices.

Phoenix architect John Chonka has teamed with builder Jack Sokol to create a new venture, Construkt, a design-build firm. The firm will be specializing in residential remodeling, additions and new construction. Chonka, a registered architect since 1982, has worked on residential, commercial and retail projects. Sokol relocated his contracting business from Chicago to Arizona in 2002.

Kitchell Contractors Healthcare Division and their canine quarters.

In Phoenix, architecture has gone to the dogs. Kitchell Contractors Healthcare Division employees recently teamed with HKS, Inc. architects to create three individual canine residences as a benefit for the therapy dog program at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. The design/build teams followed guidelines that included a $133.33 budget cap for materials and a maximum of 100 hours’ labor. The stylish dog houses were auctioned off during a recent human/canine benefit dinner called Dine With Your Dog.

Ethan Allen Design Center will open in September at the Las Vegas Design Center. The 10,000-square-foot. company-owned showroom will be the first Ethan Allen foray into a true design center. The opening is scheduled to correspond with the September 2009 Las Vegas Market.