Four projects win in 2019 AIA Institute Honor Awards for Regional and Urban Design

Four projects designed by top-notch architecture firms won big in the 2019 Institute Honor Awards for Regional and Urban Design, which distinguish the best in urban design, regional and city planning, and community development. The five-member competition jury evaluated all the submissions based on criteria like the ability to collect and distribute resident renewable resources while enhancing quality of life and promoting social equity. 

In case you missed them, here are the 2019 Institute Honor Award winners in Architecture and Interior Architecture.

Read on for a glimpse of the winning projects.

Detroit East Riverfront Framework Plan, Detroit | Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP

Project excerpt: “Designed to broaden community access and propel investment along Detroit’s previously blighted waterfront, the Detroit East Riverfront Framework Plan comes at a pivotal moment for the future of the city. Building on a 10-year, nonprofit-led effort to restore and preserve the land, the plan facilitates a new generation of authentic Detroit neighborhoods. [...] With an overarching goal of providing deep connection to the Detroit River, long dominated by industry, the plan provides a starting point for redevelopment and lays out the series of phases needed for the long-term commitment to comprehensive transformation. It also identifies future strategies that can draw on existing initiatives to create riverfront destinations achievable in the short term.”

Pike Place MarketFront, Seattle | Miller Hull Partnership, LLP

Project excerpt: “Reclaiming a former municipal building site, Pike Place MarketFront is the first addition to Seattle’s cherished farmer’s market in nearly 40 years. The final piece in a long-anticipated vision for a 9-acre neighborhood turned historic district, the project delivers nearly 40,000 square feet of public space and creates a new gateway from the city’s downtown area to its waterfront. [...] In addition to extending the market through 50 additional vendor stalls, public restrooms, and enclosed retail space, the project added 40 new low-income senior housing units to the neighborhood’s current stock.”

The Infra-Space Initiative, Newton Lower Falls, Massachusetts | Landing Studio

Project summary, via Landing Studio: “The Infra-Space program is a statewide initiative with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to re-evaluate spaces under viaducts for better urban and ecological performance. Infra-Space 1 is the pilot project, spanning nearly a half-mile in length through the middle of downtown Boston. The project includes a stormwater management landscape that diverts the runoff from the viaduct, improved maintenance access, public recreation, and a series of scaffold structures that support operable lighting and art installations.”

Shelby Farms Park, Memphis, Tennessee | Marlon Blackwell Architects + James Corner Field Operations

Project excerpt: “On the site of a former penal farm on the east side of Memphis, the 4,500-acre Shelby Farms Park blends pastoral landscapes with an active central park to form the lynchpin for the greening of the region. A true 21st-century urban park that recently saw the completion of phase 1, it has already boosted the quality of life for citizens of Memphis and western Tennessee. [...] It calls for embracing the city’s vibrant culture and food scene, creating gathering places for all members of the community, and developing a hub for nature-based recreation.”

2019 Jury:

Lance Hosey, FAIA, Chair, Gensler, San Diego
Jonah Cohen, FAIA, Hacker, Portland, Oregon
Jeffrey Huber, AIA, Brooks + Scarpa Architects, Fort Lauderdale
Marcel Quimby, FAIA, Gensler, Dallas
Claudia Herasme, New York City Department of City Planning, New York City