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Winners of the 2021 AIA Small Project Awards announced

2021-06-25T12:11:00-04:00

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has unveiled the eleven winning projects for the 2021 edition of the AIA Small Projects Awards. Now in its eighteenth year, the awards were established by the Small Project Design (SPD) Knowledge Community to “recognize small-project practitioners for the high quality of their work.” The initiative also seeks to raise awareness of the value and excellence that architects can apply to projects regardless of size, brief, or scope.

The eleven winners are spread across three categories. Below, we have set out the winning entries, along with a description excerpt. For full details on the winning projects, visit the AIA’s official website here. You can also recap previous winners of the Small Project Awards through our coverage in 2020 and 2019.

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.

Casa de Baño (Bathhouse), Temasca...

A criticism of London's museum effect and the survival of everyday spaces

2018-08-31T14:39:00-04:00

London is pure object in these images and likewise in those taken from the other aforementioned viewing points. Like visitors to a museum, we wander the corridors atop the Switch House and observe the artefacts curated for our all-consuming gaze: a shard, a walkie-talkie, a gherkin, etc. Like Tower Bridge, the new Museum of London, Battersea Power Station and the Tate Modern, the skyline of the city is presented as a display – complete with its own exhibition gift shop.

George Kafka argues that London's trend in preservation and commemoration in the built environment is directly related to the decline of small-scale spaces and small businesses centered around everyday life.

Kafka cites recent developments in London's built environment over the past few years: the V&A preserving a of a section of Robin Hood Gardens, the Museum of London moving into Smithfield Market, and the Tate Modern's viewing platform extension.

He does not necessarily argue against cultural preservation and commemoration, but rather aims to draw attention to a trend in "objective gaze prioritized over subjective experience" and the effect this has on the survival of small, everyday spaces.

This 40m2 wilderness cabin by Ark Shelter Studio offers a cozy glamping experience

2018-07-13T20:31:00-04:00

Three years in the making, this cozy wilderness cabin in Slovakia's Kysuce region looks much more spacious inside than its 40m2 size. Michiel De Backer and Martin Mikovčák of Ark Shelter Studio designed the modular getaway cabin with several large windows that help occupants reconnect with nature.

Photo: Jakub Skokan and Martin Tůma / BoysPlayNice.

Painted in a subdued shade of black on the outside, the main structure of the shelter contains a furnished kitchen space, lounging areas, and a bathroom. Next to the bathroom is a bed that can move up to the ceiling to reveal a jacuzzi underneath.

Photo: Jakub Skokan and Martin Tůma / BoysPlayNice.

Photos: Jakub Skokan and Martin Tůma / BoysPlayNice.

The main area is topped with an extra module that has another bedroom, and a large rooftop...

A minimalist vintage clothing store by Gustavo Guimarães pops up in Porto

2017-11-30T19:58:00-05:00

Portuguese vintage clothing label Mão Esquerda Vintage has a new shop nestled in the 19-square-meter ground floor of a historic building in Porto. Refurbished by Atelier Gustavo Guimarães, the intimate space shows off trendy minimalist aesthetics fused with the “raw, traditional vibe” of Porto.

Working with the irregularities of the slender space, the Gustavo Guimarães team's objective was to create a flexible design that can display a large, eclectic collection of vintage clothes.

Photo: Nelson Garrido.

The resulting design focuses on two main curved elements, the architects describe. Complemented by the existing textured marmorite flooring of the building, “the first [element] is a gridded floor-to-ceiling wall made of oak that serves as a partition and also allows for a storage area behind. The second is a two-level iron hanging rail that allows the shop to change its configuration based on the items on display.” The store also features a refurbished counter that once belonged to...

MONU #27 on "Small Urbanism" released

2017-10-16T12:39:00-04:00

“… And Though She be but Little, She is Fierce!”, the title of Liz Teston’s contribution using a quote from Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, captures the content of this MONU issue on “Small Urbanism” very well. For when it comes to urbanism, small things seem to matter, whether they are actions, small physical elements, information and communications technology, or small-scale interventions. With regard to actions, Teston shows how transient micro-urbanisms of protest architecture can have a significant impact on our cities. During such actions, human bodies can alter public spaces through practices that challenge the arrangement of urban power and convert it into a channel of opposition, as Ana Medina argues in her piece “Dissident Micro-occupations”. In her explorations of dissident architectural practices, she reveals that spaces for protests are in fact not designed, but taken over by the dissidents to transform the architectural urban landscape. However, t...

New Rooftop Observatory launched at Bold Tendencies

2017-07-25T05:36:00-04:00

Peckham’s famous multi-storey car park has a new addition; a new viewing gallery created by Cooke Fawcett. The young practice, based in London’s creative Clerkenwell, was formed just two years ago, by directors Oliver Cooke and Francis Fawcett, after working on the Tate’s Switch House at Stirling-prize winning practice Herzog & de Meuron.

This project, a spectacular kiosk and viewing gallery for arts space Bold Tendencies, will not only provide breathtaking views of London but also act as an interactive setting for installations and specially commissioned art pieces. This arts-focused structure joins (and benefits from) Peckham’s famous rooftop hangout, Frank’s Bar. Over the past decade, the Peckham multi-storey car park has been slowly transformed by Bold Tendancies, through a programme of culture. Immersive public space and unique views have drawn over a million visitors south of the river, to this unlikely home of the arts.

Francis Fawcett: “For an avant garde cultural institut...

Preserving memory in 2016 Stephen Lawrence Prize winner House of Trace

2016-10-07T19:12:00-04:00

Tsuruta Architects' House of Trace was revealed as the 2016 Stephen Lawrence Prize winner during a slew of big announcements at the RIBA Stirling Prize party in London yesterday...[In designing the House of Trace,] Tsuruta Architects wanted to preserve a “sense of everyday memory, while simultaneously allowing the new intervention to have its own identity.”

It surely must be a proud moment for London-based Tsuruta Architects, whose delightful old-meets-new House of Trace won the RIBA's 2016 Stephen Lawrence Prize.

More details on Bustler.

Previously:

RIBA announces 2016 Stephen Lawrence Prize shortlist

AIA Chicago celebrates 2015 Small Project awardees

2015-05-01T21:28:00-04:00

The AIA Chicago's Small Project Awards is that extra nudge reminding us that small firms and small-scale projects are not to be overlooked and underestimated. Today, the Chapter announced this year's winners at a festive party at Chicago's Architectural Artifacts. The exhibition showcased all the competition entries from this year, and attendees had the chance to meet the architects behind the work. Every year, AIA Chicago's Small Project Awards give a big shoutout to the city's emerging architectural firms as well as exceptional local small projects.

P.K. VanderBeke, Architect received the sole Honor Award for their Live/Work Gallery project, wherein the architect transformed a century-old factory space into a functional and sustainable live/work gallery while maintaining the space's "romantic ruin" character.

Six additional firms received Citations of Merit:

MGLM Architects - Acanthus Awards Medal

Froelich Kim Architecture - Box Within A Box

Dirk Denison Architects - Cast Aluminum Tabl...

Swedish architects design for un-permited small-space living

2014-12-29T19:16:00-05:00

Battling a national housing shortage, Sweden’s housing ministry is gambling that throwing away the red tape will encourage homeowners to build that extra room and alleviate the pressure. In July 2014, the Scandinavian kingdom amended its Planning and Building Act to allow homeowners to build small structures that complement their homes without obtaining a building permit, provided they are no bigger than 25 square meters (269.1 sq. feet), and no higher than four meters (13.1 ft).

AIA Chicago highlights emerging firms in 2014 Small Projects Awards

2014-05-14T20:26:00-04:00

AIA Chicago gave a big shoutout to some of the city's best small and emerging architectural firms in the annual 2014 Small Projects Awards. The awards program promotes upcoming small firms as a resource for design excellence and also the valuable contributions of architects in even the smallest works. Out of 96 entries, 13 projects received awards -- including four Honor Awards and one Special Recognition.

HONOR AWARDS

(pictured above) dSPACE Studio - The Wave

Paul Preissner Architects & Indie Architecture - Two Barns

Johnson & Lee Architects and Planners - Ping Tom Park Boathouse

Searl Lamaster Howe Architects - Harbert Cottage

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

Illinois Institute of Technology - Barnsworth Exhibiton Center

CITATIONS OF MERIT

Bureau of Architecture and Design - Little You

Dirk Denison Architects - Cell Table

dSPACE Studio - Atrium House

Kuklinski + Rappe Architects - Woodland Dune Home

Lawton Stanley Architects - Grace Restaurant

Longo Park Design Workshop - Onward Reception Wall

Vinci | Hamp Architects - The Club for Modern Fashions

Wrap Architecture - Safe House

More details on each project at Bustler.

2013 Recipients of the AIA Small Project Awards

2013-04-11T20:07:00-04:00

Ten projects have been announced by the American Institute of Architects to receive the 2013 Small Project Award. Now in its tenth year, the AIA Small Project Awards Program was established to recognize small-project practitioners for the high quality of their work and to promote excellence in small-project design.

What is likely the world’s thinnest home

2012-11-15T22:29:00-05:00

When Mr. Keret, 45, received a call from the architect, he was initially puzzled. “This guy with a very heavy Polish accent said he wanted to make a house in proportion to my stories,” he said. “It sounded like a prank.”

Steven Karutz profiled Keret House, a recently completed example of "experimental architecture" by Jakub Szczesny, a Polish architect. Mr. Szczesny, 39, designed the space for an ideal resident, specifically Israeli writer, Etgar Keret. The architect who belongs to a collective called Centrala, built the house in an incredibly thin gap between two existing buildings.

Bringing Architectural Ghosts Back To Life, In Knoxville

2012-08-03T17:59:00-04:00

Nearly ten years ago, Tricia Stuth and Ted Shelton--the married co-founders of the architecture firm Curb--set out to build a home in downtown Knoxville. They ended up with roughly three: a trio of attached homes they call the Ghost Houses. Earlier this summer, the American Institute of Architects honored Curb for the project, including it in their 2012 Small Projects Awards [...].

Click here to see more of this year's AIA Small Projects Award winners.

2012 Recipients of the AIA Small Project Awards

2012-08-02T14:26:00-04:00

The American Institute of Architects recently selected eleven projects to receive the 2012 Small Project Awards. The program, now in its ninth year, was established to recognize small-project practitioners for the high quality of their work and to promote excellence in small-project design.