GSA Awards Spotlight Excellence in U.S. Federal Architecture

Exemplary work in public design took center stage these days as the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) honored 18 projects at its biennial Design Awards ceremony at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C.

“These projects represent the best of the best of GSA’s work for its federal agency customers and the American people,” said GSA acting Administrator Paul Prouty. “They embody GSA’s goals to create superior workplaces, develop creative solutions, and implement cost-effective acquisition services and management policies.”

A jury of private design, construction, and art professionals chaired by Los Angeles-based architect Mehrdad Yazdani reviewed more than 80 projects for this cycle of GSA’s Design Awards, receiving submissions in 13 categories that included architecture, preservation, engineering, sustainability, interior design, art, urban design, and construction.

“These awards help us measure our success as a federal agency and provide a benchmark for quality for future projects,” said GSA’s Public Buildings Service acting Commissioner Tony Costa. “They also allow us to honor those individuals whose creativity, collaboration, and dedication have made GSA a design and construction leader.”

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the GSA Design Excellence Program, which is founded on the “Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture,” issued by President Kennedy in 1962.

The awards program is open to contract design professionals, contractors, artists, and/or organizations that completed or are working on projects for GSA or under GSA authority, as well as current or former GSA employees with professional responsibility for a GSA-authorized project.

The following is a complete list of GSA award-winning projects:

ARCHITECTURE Honor
Wayne Lyman Morse U.S. Courthouse, Eugene, OR
Morphosis

San Francisco Federal Building, San Francisco, CA
Morphosis

ARCHITECTURE Citation
U.S. Courthouse, Springfield, MA
Moshe Safdie + Associates

U.S. Land Port of Entry, Raymond, MO
Hammond Beeby Rupert Ainge Architects

ARCHITECTURE — ON THE BOARDS Citation
U.S. Courthouse, Austin, TX  
Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects

U.S. Land Port of Entry, Donna, TX  
Hodgetts + Fung Design & Architecture

U.S. Land Port of Entry, Warroad, MN
Julie Snow Architects Inc.

U.S. Land Port of Entry, Massena, NY
Smith-Miller + Hawkinson Architects

LEASE CONSTRUCTION Citation
U.S. Courthouse, Alpine, TX
PageSoutherlandPage

MODERNIZATION Citation
Byron G. Rogers U.S. Courthouse, Denver, CO
Bennett Wagnery & Grody Architects

Richard Bolling Federal Building, Kansas City, MO
Helix Architecture + Design

PRESERVATION Honor
U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, Brooklyn, NY
Kliment Halsband Architects

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE Citation
Anthony J. Celebrezze Federal Building, Cleveland, OH
OLIN

SUSTAINABILITY Honor
San Francisco Federal Building, San Francisco, CA
Morphosis

CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE Honor
Wayne Lyman Morse U.S. Courthouse, Eugene, OR
Morphosis

ART IN ARCHITECTURE Honor
Wayne Lyman Morse U.S. Courthouse, Eugene, OR
Artists: Matthew Ritchie, Sean Healy, Kristin Timken, Cris Bruch

GRAPHIC DESIGN/SIGNAGE Citation
GSA Art in Architecture: Selected Artworks 1997-2008
Designers: Cox & Associates, Inc.