Here are the 2020 AIA Small Project Award winners

Seven small architectural projects in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Raleigh are the big winners of this year's AIA Small Project Awards competition. The program, established by the Small Project Design (SPD) Knowledge Community, is now in its 17th year and honors small-project practitioners for the high quality of their work.

Southern California firm Brooks + Scarpa managed to win awards for two projects in Los Angeles.

Take a look at the winning projects which were categorized in three groups.

CATEGORY 1: Small project construction, an architectural object, work of environmental art or an architectural design element that costs up to $150,000 in construction.

Aesop DTLA in Los Angeles, CA
Brooks + Scarpa

Project excerpt: "Drawing from the rich fabric of its surroundings in Los Angeles’ historic fashion district, this project relied on the humble cardboard tube and paper for its walls, furniture, and fixtures. This new retail space for a skin care company is tucked into the ground floor of the 1929 Eastern Columbia Building and projects a warm and soothing atmosphere, adjectives regularly used to describe the company’s products."

Rossmore + Weldon in Los Angeles, CA
Brooks + Scarpa

Project excerpt: "As part of the modernization of a 110-unit affordable housing project in downtown Los Angeles, two overlooked service courts have become important tenant social spaces. During the evaluation of the historic building, which required a slew of repairs and upgrades but no major alterations of the overall design, the team uncovered two spaces choked with bicycles and other debris that, with minimal cost, could be easily transformed to provide significant impact."

Salvage Swings, Roosevelt Island in New York, NY
Somewhere Studio

Project excerpt: "While primarily aimed at children, who do not often get to experience spaces designed just for them, this amalgam of play and responsible reuse is a delight for all ages. The winner of an international pavilion competition on Roosevelt Island, a narrow strip of land that sits in New York’s East River, Salvage Swings explores the ways in which materials can be diverted from landfills and turned into a source of respite and fun."

Salvage Swings had previously been featured as the winning entry of the 2019 City of Dreams Pavilion competition.

Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School Great Hall Renovation in Raleigh, NC
tonic design

Project excerpt: "To maximize a federal grant and a summer break construction timeline, this project relied on subtle alterations to radically enhance a dull and poorly lit high school entry hall. This project followed the school principal’s vision for transforming a space that celebrated athletic achievement into a model of collaboration. Today, more than 1,500 students are greeted with comfortable places to engage with one another."

Unit 2808 in Chicago, IL
Vladimir Radutny Architects

Project excerpt: "Beautiful light and captivating views are the hallmarks of this renovated, 28th-floor apartment in a Mies van der Rohe-designed Chicago apartment building. Unlike the design team’s previous work in the building, this renovation removed all the unit’s plaster walls to create new vantage points and allow for visual illusions throughout."

CATEGORY 2: Small project construction that could cost up to $1,500,000 in construction.

XS House in Philadelphia, PA
ISA - Interface Studio Architects

Project excerpt: "Built on a plot of land so small it barely registered as a development parcel, this project added seven apartments to Philadelphia’s Chinatown neighborhood on a site measuring just 11 feet by 93 feet. In addition to rejuvenating an overlooked site, XS House serves as a prototype for urban living through the maximization of density. While housing markets continue to boom and lots become more and more scarce, this project proves that even the smallest projects possess the potential for significant impact."

XS House was also a winner in this year's AIA Housing Awards.

CATEGORY 3: Small project construction, an architectural object, work of environmental art, or an architectural design that is under 5,000 square feet.

Logan Center Kilnhouse in Chicago, IL
Woodhouse Tinucci Architects

Project excerpt: "Born from a collaboration of architects, students, and administrators, the Logan Center Kilnhouse contains the ceramic kilns employed by the University of Chicago’s visual arts department in a most utilitarian object: a shipping container. With full glazing at both ends, the container also functions as a transparent tube that showcases the art-making processes within."