The Kentucky chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) recognized the University of Kentucky College of Design and its new home in the Gray Design Building with a 2024 Honor Award for Excellence in Architectural Design.
The Honor Award is the highest award given as a part of the AIA Kentucky Honor Awards Program. This award is given based on the project's scale and budget. The UK College of Design’s Gray Design Building received the Honor Award in the Additions/Renovations/Restoration: Greater than $5M category.
The renovation of the 107-year-old former Reynolds tobacco warehouse has transformed the 132,000-square-foot space into an educational facility that includes open studio areas, advanced fabrication labs, classrooms, offices and event spaces. The facility serves students from various disciplines, including architecture, interiors, historic preservation, product design, landscape architecture and biomedical engineering, fostering a collaborative, cross-disciplinary learning environment.
The adaptive reuse of the Gray Design Building was carefully planned to preserve key elements of its historic architecture, such as the exposed brick walls, wooden beams and large windows, while updating the structure to meet modern educational needs. Modern improvements, including energy-efficient systems and state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment, were integrated to enhance functionality without compromising the building’s historical character.
According to comments from the award jury, “This project displays the skill of a mature design team which chose clarity of concept as the key to articulation. The historic building is restored to a useful and pleasant open interior rendered in white with operable windows and an unobtrusive mechanical system. Interventions within and outside of the building are indicated both in deep grey color and through graceful curves culminating at a heroic “Maker Marquee” canopy.”
This award is a culmination of the hard work of the design and construction team that brought the Gray Design Building to fruition including:
To learn more about the 2024 AIA Kentucky Honor Awards, visit https://classic.aia.org/articles/154616-award-winning-design-from-across-kentucky-2.
To learn more about the Gray Design Building, visit https://design.uky.edu/about/gray-design-building.
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