The General Services Administration (GSA) has returned to their Design Awards program for the first time since 2016 with a selection of 19 recently-completed projects honored over their contributions to the architecture and design of buildings used by thousands of federal employees and citizens every day.
The Design Awards were established in 1990 thanks to the vision of the GSA’s former chief architect Ed Feiner, who passed away last year. This year’s awards recognized projects that were completed between 2016 and 2022. Winners were evaluated by a panel of industry experts who separated their designs into Honor Awards and Citation categories unified by a shared capacity to “celebrate the power of public buildings,” according to GSA Public Buildings Service Commissioner Nina Albert.
“I’m thrilled to honor the professionals who have contributed their time and talents to ensure that federal buildings nationwide are vibrant, contributing parts of their communities,” GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan said in a statement. “Through these awards, we are reaffirming our belief that excellence in design means creating spaces in which the federal government can deliver government effectively while also providing great overall experiences for the people who work in and visit federal facilities.”
"This year as GSA’s Art in Architecture program marks its 50th anniversary, we have the opportunity to marvel at the incredible collection of artworks commissioned for federal buildings over the past five decades,” GSA Fine Arts Director Jennifer Gibson said finally.. “These artworks, which become part of the fabric of a community, are the result of an individual artist’s creative talent and vision. They are also evidence that artistic expression in our democratic society is something to cherish and celebrate. It will be fascinating to see what the next 50 years bring and how artists continue to contribute to this federal art legacy.”
The full list of projects can be viewed below.
Honor Awards
Name: Columbus Land Port of Entry (Architecture and Landscape Architecture)
Location: Columbus, NM
Architect: Richter Architecture
Name: United States Courthouse (Architecture)
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Architect: SOM
Name: Yosemite Falls (Art)
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Artist: Catherine Opie
Name: FBI Central Records Complex (Construction)
Location: Winchester, VA
Name: The Fruit of the Spirit (Art)
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Name: Hedge Wedge (Art)
Location: San Diego, CA
Name: The Robes of Justitia (Art)
Location: Nashville, TN
Name: Department of State Workspace Prototypes (On the Boards)
Location: Washington, DC
Citations
Name: Dwight D. Eisenhower National Memorial (Landscape Architecture)
Location: Washington, DC
Architect: AECOM
Name: John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (On the Boards)
Location: Cambridge, MA
Architect: SOM
Name: John F. Kennedy Federal Building (Preservation)
Location: Boston, MA
Name: Convent Avenue and Juarez-Lincoln Land Ports of Entry (Construction)
Location: Laredo, Texas
Name: Captain John Foster Williams U.S. Coast Guard Building and Seawall (Construction and Engineering)
Location: Boston, MA
Name: Arthur J. Altmeyer Federal Building (Architecture)
Location: Woodlawn, MD
Architects: HGA and Snow Kreilich Architects
Name: USC Consolidation- Conrad B. Duberstein U.S. Post Office and Courthouse (Workplace)
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Name: United States Custom House (Preservation)
Location: San Ysidro, California
Name: Tomochichi Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse Annex (Urban Design and Planning)
Location: Savannah, GA
Architects: Liolio Architecture and Hartman Cox
Name: Robert C. Weaver Federal Building (Workplace)
Location: Washington, DC
Name: Red Neon Circle Fragments on a Blue Wall (Conservation)
Location: Dayton, OH
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3 Comments
The General Services Administration (GSA) has returned to their Design Awards program for the first time since 2016. . . .
Does anyone know why they stopped/supended this program in 2016? Those were the years of youknowwho.
@Gary, I noted/wondered the same thing, though if that was sole reason why wouldn't they have held them the last couple of years since Biden won? Even if you need to factor in one year post election... Perhaps COVID had something to do with it?
@Nam
It was also during the years of the make public architecture classical or at least traditional mandate. And it may have been a period of disarray and disillusionment, as was the case in many agencies during the Trump years.
You see something that approaches an official style above, buildings that are modern, reserved, but light, with vertical accents in several that somewhat approach columns, or at least a classical feel. If they hold up over the years, I have no objections.