2016 Modernism in America Awards winners exemplify the lasting impact of historic preservation

Several American cities just wouldn't feel the same if their historic monuments weren't properly preserved. Docomomo US' annual Modernism in America Awards are a prominent reminder of the lasting impact that effective and sensitive architectural preservation has to communities throughout the country. In order to raise awareness of the threats that postwar-era architecture continues to encounter, the annual awards is the only national program that recognizes exemplary projects as well as the preservation efforts and advocacy of the individuals behind them. Yesterday, Docomomo US announced 10 winning projects for 2016.

Design Awards of Excellence went to four projects, while others received honorable Citations of Merit in restoration and conservation as well as Technical Achievement.

Scroll down for a look at this year's winning projects.

DESIGN AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE

(cover image) Residential Design Award of Excellence
Frederick and Harriet Rauh Residence
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Original Architect: John Becker
Restoration Team: Cincinnati Preservation Association, Paul Muller, AIA (Project Director); Margo Warminski (Preservation Research); Architects Plus, Principal in Charge: Andrew Schaub, AIA (Restoration Architect); Rick Koehler, AIA (Architect); Jeffrey Jakucyk (Project Designer); Gary Meisner, Meisner and Associates (Landscape architect); Fred Lutt (Landscape Historian); Crapsey and Giles Contractors, Robert Crapsey (Contractors); Milner and Carr Conservation LLC, Roy J. Ingraffia (Architectural Conservator)
Client: Emily Rauh Pulitzer

Project summary: “The Residential Design Award of Excellence is given for the restoration of the Frederick and Harriet Rauh Residence. Restoration of the house and property was accomplished through the collective efforts of the Cincinnati Preservation Association and a team of experts and spearheaded by Emily Rauh Pulitzer who had grown up in the house as a child. Her involvement in the restoration included funding the acquisition of the property, funding the restoration, and working closely with the restoration team to establish the appropriate preservation approach to all elements of the project.”

Civic/Institutional Design Award of Excellence
Mellon Square
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Original Design & Construction Team, 1955: Simonds & Simonds, (Landscape Architects), Mitchell & Ritchey (Architects)
Restoration Team: Heritage Landscapes LLC (Landscape Architect, Team Lead), Hilbish McGee (Lighting Design), Mortar & ink (Graphic Design) Pfaffman+Associates Architects (Railing and Storefront) Atlantic Engineering Services (Civil and Structural) Allen & Shariff (MEP Engineering) HydroDramatics (Fountain Display)
Client: Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy in partnership with the City of Pittsburgh, and in collaboration with the Pittsburgh Parking Authority, Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, and The Cultural Landscape Foundation

Project summary: “Envisioned as a cornerstone of Pittsburgh’s post WWII renaissance by Richard King Mellon and Mayor David L. Lawrence, this space was collaboratively designed by architects Mitchell & Ritchey and landscape architects Simonds & Simonds. It opened in 1955 as the nation’s first urban plaza designed with an underground garage and retail space as an integral composition. After falling into decline due to weather, system failures, and use, a Preservation, Interpretation & Management Plan was first developed in 2008 that informed the five-year restoration and revitalization project focused on recapturing the original design intent and solving persistent issues of decline.”

Commercial Design Award of Excellence
Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Original Architect: Paul Revere Williams
Restoration Team: AE3 Partners, Inc., Steinberg Architects, Historic Resources Group, KSJ & VCC Joint Venture, Community Impact Development, LLC, Primestor Development, Inc.
Client: Community Impact Development II, LLC

Project summary: “At its completion, both the building and its architect, Paul Revere Williams, were central to the African-American community during the previous century and influenced the history of Southern California. For much of the 20th century Golden State Mutual Life Insurance was the largest black-owned insurance company in the western United States and the first in the region to write insurance policies to all people regardless of color. The company was a pillar of the African-American community, providing hundreds of African- Americans and other minorities stable, middle-class employment, and was front and center in the drive for civil rights as the site of numerous voter drives and community organization efforts, including a visit by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”

Advocacy Award of Excellence
Michigan Modern
Location: State of Michigan
Organization: Michigan State Historic Preservation Office

Project summary: “In selecting the project, the Docomomo US Board of Directors commented, ‘The role and impact of Michigan in introducing modern design in all aspects of living in the immediate postwar decades is without any precedent even today. The Michigan Modern project re-introduces us to that fact and, as a result, is groundbreaking in concept and approach as well as in its scope and ability to be a springboard for advocacy throughout the state. The project has also important educational components that continue to raise the understanding, knowledge and appreciation for the state’s considerable mid-century resources and design-related heritage. An early example of the project's importance was the ability of the organizers to save from destruction the architectural records of Yamasaki and Associates and to make these archives of an important American architect available for research through the Archives of Michigan.’”

CITATIONS OF MERIT

Restoration of The Met Breuer
Location: New York, NY
Restoration team: Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners (Architect); The Metropolitan Museum of Art Design Department (Graphics, Signage & Exhibition Design); Cultural Heritage Conservation (Architectural Conservator); Kiran Consulting Group (Visitor Circulation Consultant); Robert Silman Associates, P.C. (Structural Engineer); Kohler Ronan, LLC (MEP/IT/Security Engineer); Susan Brady Lighting Design (Lighting Designer); Vogt Landscape Architects Ltd. (Landscape Architect); Future Green Studio (Landscape Design); Shawmut Design and Construction (Construction Manager); Big Show (Audio Visual); Estela (Restauranteur); David Sullivan Inc. (Restaurant Design); Sam Tell Companies (Kitchen Consultant)
Client: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Jury comments: “Speaking for the jury, Deborah Dietsch and Joan Blumenfeld, FAIA, FIIDA, LEED, ID+C stated, ‘For decades, Marcel Breuer’s Whitney Museum was threatened with insensitive additions and alterations. A once reviled building that has become a familiar and well-loved icon is one of the finest architectural examples of the brutalist period. Though the building hasn’t been threatened for 20 years, this project epitomizes the best preservation practices by respecting the original architect’s intentions, reinstating the design as conceived and leaving evidence of the architectural patina acquired over time. The Met Breuer is proof to other institutions and cities that such tough modern buildings are beautiful and deserve to be better understood, saved and cherished.”’

Conservation of Louis I. Kahn’s Margaret Esherick House
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Restoration team: k YODER design, Kevin A. Yoder, AIA, LEED AP (Architecture); Louise Cohen, NCIDQ, ASID (Interior design); Materials Conservation (Conservation); William Whitaker, curator and collections manager of the Architectural Archives of the University of Pennsylvania School of Design, which includes the Louis I. Kahn Collection (Louis Kahn expertise); Paul Eisenhauer, former executive director of the Wharton Esherick Museum, Malvern, Pa. (Wharton Esherick expertise); Keast & Hood (Structural Engineering); Hansel Contractors, Inc. (Construction); AV Environments (New Projection System); The Marble Restoration Company (Soapstone); LaFont Studio (New Cabinetry); Jeffrey Totaro Photography (Photography)
Client: Paul Savidge and Daniel Macey (Homeowners)

Jury comments: “[A] rare residence by the master architect Louis I. Kahn, this house has been restored by owners who painstakingly sought to have the genius of Kahn shape their approach to the restoration. Extraordinary sensitivity to the original details included the services of a paint conservator; restoration of the idiosyncratic, Wharton Esherick designed, original kitchen, long outdated, and made useful by today’s standards by adding contemporary components in an adjacent utility area; and cleverly adapting the spirit of the character-giving shutters during the winter months, allowing a sustainable future for the house.”

Sensitive restoration of The Shepley Bulfinch Architecture Firm Office at the Phoenix Financial Center, South Rotunda
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Restoration team: Shepley Bulfinch
Client: Shepley Bulfinch (Client) and The Phoenix Midtown Center Limited Partnership (Owner)

Jury comments: “A lesser-known and exuberant desert gem, the original interior details have been carefully restored and brought back to robust life by a tenant. Development pressures have been avoided and the preservation of this building supports the revival of a city district. This is yet another example of how less is more… how restoration with a light hand values even the patina on original material if that material can be saved and restored, rather than replaced.”

Houston: Uncommon Modern
Location: Houston, TX
Project team: Anna Mod & Delaney Harris-Finch

Jury comments: “Houston has its share of noteworthy mid-century modern buildings, but this project - an exhibition, catalog, tour, and panel discussion – puts a spotlight on “outsider” modern structures in a city notable for the lack of zoning or a robust preservation ethos. This is the kind of preemptive work that can save buildings, sites, and neighborhoods without the fanfare of 11th hour campaigns.”

Citation of Technical Achievement
United Nations Headquarters Campus Renovation of Facades
Location: New York, NY
Restoration Team: Heintges & Associates (Exterior Architect and Specialist Consultants for Facade Restoration and Replacement); Integrated Conservation Resources, Inc. (Stone Conservation Specialist); Atkinson-Noland & Associates (Stone Engineering and Testing Consultants); William B. Rose & Associates, Inc, and Art Preservation Services (Specialists, Heat & Moisture in Building Envelopes); Transsolar (Curtain Wall Energy Modeling)
Client: United Nations Capital Master Plan

Project description: “The jury awards a Citation of Technical Achievement to the United Nations Headquarters Campus Renovation of Facades. This world-renown complex by a team of mid-20th century master architects, and in particular the iconic Secretariat building, had failing wall assemblies that were beyond repair and necessitated replacement. This undertaking utilized state-of-the-art design methodologies and rigorous analysis of the original glass and other facade materials, to achieve a historically appropiate visual outcome while meeting today's energy conservation and security objectives. The project represents a significant addition to the body of knowledge essential for the preservation of early modern glass and curtain wall buildings.”

Citation of Technical Achievement
Tower of Hope, Christ Cathedral
Location: Garden Grove, CA
Restoration Team: LPA Inc., architecture and structural engineering, for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, with other consultants.
Client: The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, Christ Cathedral

Jury comments: “Seismic upgrades are as necessary as they are expensive, causing some buildings to be lost to demolition rather than to be retrofitted. The success of this project, a dynamic assemblage of low and high buildings by a master architect, rests on patient research and a determination to find and apply creative solutions without compromising preservation goals. The project can serve as a model for others which might be lost to demolition.”