Archinect - News

Do architecture awards matter?

2017-01-17T14:16:00-05:00

Almost singing the refrain, "What do awards have to do with it?" writer Ben Willis investigates the disconnect between the plethora of architectural awards, both those that recognize aesthetics and those that focus on data-driven technical specs, and the public's (and for that matter, other architects') incomprehension of what these prizes mean. With so many awards and so many buildings that fellow professionals have never visited or heard of before the merit is given, what exactly is the value of an architectural award? Using an Oscar analogy, Willis explains just what he's talking about:

Whereas non-filmmakers have access to nearly all of the films considered for major film awards, most non-architects don’t have first-hand experience with any of the buildings and designers being considered for awards. Many casual movie-goers know what defines an award-winning movie, and yet the criteria used to define award-winning buildings are often so disconnected from the public’s experience...

MacArthur Fellow Jeanne Gang, FAIA, Joins the 2015 Matsumoto Prize Jury

2014-10-21T12:00:00-04:00

Nationally known architects to judge annual Modernist house competition.

North Carolina Modernist Houses (NCMH), the award-winning non-profit organization dedicated to documenting, preserving, and promoting Modernist residential design across the state, has announced the 2015 George Matsumoto Prize Jury.

The 2015 jury includes MacArthur Fellow Jeanne Gang, FAIA, Studio Gang Architects, Chicago; Harry Bates, Bates Masi Architects, Sag Harbor, New York; Eric Gartner, AIA, SG Architects, New York; Peter Gluck, Gluck+, New York; Bev Thorne, the last living architect to have participated in Arts & Architecture's famous Case Study Houses, Oakland; and Honorary Chair George Matsumoto, FAIA.

Now in its fourth year, the Matsumoto Prize honors George Matsumoto, a founding faculty member of North Carolina State University's School of Design (now College of Design) and architect of some of the state’s best-known and historically significant Modernist houses.

The Matsumoto Prize is a unique awa...

Winners announced for the 2014 New Zealand Architecture Awards

2014-05-12T20:52:00-04:00

Winning at the New Zealand Architecture Awards -- the country's most prestigious architectural competition -- must feel like winning the lottery. This year's winners, who accepted their awards at a ceremony in Auckland, were recently announced. This year's program included nine award categories; the 2014 recipient of the New Zealand Institute of Architects Gold Medal, and the winner of the New Zealand Architectural Medal -- the competition's highest honor.

2014 recipient of the New Zealand Institute of Architects Gold Medal: Patrick Clifford of Architectus Bowes Clifford Thomson

(Pictured above) Winner of the New Zealand Architectural Medal: ASB North Wharf by BVN Donovan Hill with Jasmax. Also awarded in: Commercial, Interior Architecture, and Sustainability categories

Below are some of our favorite photos from the category-winning projects.

AUT University Sir Paul Reeves Centre by Jasmax
Categories: Education, and Planning and Urban Design

A House at the Beach, Te Horo (1986) by Moller Architects
Category: Enduring Architecture Award

Headland House by Stevens Lawson Architects
Category: Housing

Regional Terminal at Christchurch Airport by BVN Donovan Hill and Jasmax in association
Categories: Commercial Architecture and Interior

New Zealand Guest of Honour Pavilion by Patterson Associates Limited and Inside Out Productions Ltd
Category: International Architecture

Hurstmere Green by Sills van Bohemen
Category: Planning and Urban Design

Arruba Bach...

Frank Harmon, FAIA, Receives Prestigious Gold Medal Plus Four Project Awards

2013-09-19T18:09:00-04:00

After an evening aboard the USS North Carolina, the Raleigh architect took home AIA NC’s highest honor as well as four awards for his firm’s completed projects.

September 19, 2013 (Raleigh, NC) -- After what turned out to be a very big night for his small, Raleigh-based firm, architect Frank Harmon, FAIA, went home with the F. Carter Williams Gold Medal, the highest honor the North Carolina Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA NC) bestows on an architect, as well as four other prestigious awards for projects when the North Carolina Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA NC) presented its 2013 AIA NC Design and Chapter Awards recently onboard the USS North Carolina in Wilmington.

Named in memory of Raleigh architect F. Carter Williams, FAIA, AIA NC awards the Gold Media to an individual “in recognition of a distinguished career or extraordinary accomplishments as an architect.”

In his nomination letter for Harmon, fellow architect Jeffrey Lee, FA...