Students and Faculty Receive AIA Georgia honors

The Atlanta firm, BLDGS, founded by Professors of the Practice, Brian Bell and David Yocum, receive the AIA Georgia Firm of the Year award.

Georgia Tech Students and Faculty Receive Honors at AIA Georgia 2019 Design Awards

May 16, 2019 | Atlanta, GA

The American Institute of Architects, Georgia Association (AIA Georgia) 2019 Design Awards recognized the top architectural projects by practitioners in Georgia and students currently enrolled in the state of Georgia. Twenty-two projects of the 147 entries that were submitted were awarded in the categories of Built, Unbuilt, Renovation/Restoration, Interior Architecture, Residential Over $1M, Residential Under $1M, Student Project, and People’s Choice.

The award ceremony took place on the same day as the Georgia Tech School of Architecture End of Year Show. The End of Year Show gives students an opportunity to showcase their work for an audience of their peers, faculty, family, friends, alumni, and local practitioners. This exhibition is hosted in the Hinman Research Building and the Hinman Courtyard, which underwent a new installation in the fall of 2018.

Design/Build Workshop Project Earns Excellence Award

So it came as no surprise to the School when we learned that the Hinman Courtyard Installation received an excellence award in the student project category. This project took place over three semesters as part of a Design/Build workshop that consisted of multidisciplinary teams who prototyped, detailed, fabricated, and constructed three new installations, which are now in use in the Courtyard. The installation elements include a pavilion, a layered steel veneer wall, and stair seating.

Portman Prize Studio Project Receives Honor

The recognition of our student work did not stop with the Hinman Courtyard. A team comprised of Marco Ancheita, Emily Wirt, and Stephanie Wright received a merit award for their project, “Rigid + Fluid,” which was created for their Spring 2018 Portman Prize Studio taught by Jen Pindyck. This project proposes a Center for Ecological Interpretation and Land Use History at Amicalola Falls.

BLDGS Named AIA Georgia Firm of the Year

One of the strengths of the School of Architecture is that we have faculty who are actively practicing in their fields.

“BLDGS is a recognized firm of local, regional, and national commendation. The Atlanta-based firm has set a precedent for other firms large and small in its design philosophy of individualized solutions and the importance of a contemporary and public focused perspective on design and the built environment,” notes the award announcement by AIA Georgia.

“Equally passionate about both education and architecture, founding principals, David Yocum, and Brian Bell, also serve as professors of the practice at the Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Architecture where they have been able to imbue their dedicated and enlightened view of architecture and environmental impact. BLDGS has elevated the public’s conception of meaningful design and their multi-faceted work shows their belief in architecture as a “community asset.” Their work in both architecture and with the next generation of architects is recognized, celebrated and to be commended and recognized with the 2019 AIA Georgia Firm of the Year Award."

Click here to read the press release for this year’s AIA Georgia Design and Honor Awards.

 

Media Contact:
Carmen New
Marketing and Events Coordinator II
Georgia Institute of Technology | School of Architecture
carmen.new@design.gatech.edu