AIA Selects 17 Residential Structures for Housing Awards

The awards jury included Kenneth Workman of RWA Architects and Rainy Hamilton of Hamilton Anderson Associates.

Nicholas Tamarin -- Interior Design, 5/5/2009

700 Palms Residence by Ehrlich Architects; photography by Julius Shulman & Juergen Nogai

For the ninth year in a row, the American Institute of Architects recognized the importance of good housing as a necessity of life as it named the 17 winners of its annual Housing Awards Program.

The jury, including chair Kenneth Workman of RWA Architects, Rainy Hamilton of Hamilton Anderson Associates, and Jeff Oberdorfer of First Community Housing, was tasked with choosing the best in American housing design. The group named projects in four categories: One/Two Family Custom Housing, Multi-family Housing, One/Two Family Production Housing, and Special Housing.

Seattle-based firm Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects was the program's big winner, bagging two awards in the One/Two Family Custom Housing category, including one for their Montecito Residence in California's fire-prone Toro Canyon. The architects devised a raised roof that acts as an umbrella to shield the house from the area's relentless sun, while also creating a long central hallway that allows cool off-shore breezes to naturally move through the space.

Hacin + Associates was one of three firms to earn honors in the Multi-family Housing category. The Boston firm was recognized for combining two historic structures, a new building, and a three-story rooftop addition above all three structures into the 140,000-square-foot Fort Point Loft Condominiums in their hometown.

Only one firm was recognized in the One/Two Family Production Housing category for homes built for the speculative market: Ross Chapin Architects for their Conover Commons residential development in Redmond, Washington. The project met the 4-Star rating of the Master Builders Association's Builtgreen program for its high-efficiency appliances, low-toxicity materials, and jobsite recycling.

The Special Housing category was created to recognize housing that meets unique needs, including single room occupancy residences, independent living for the disabled, residential rehabilitation programs, and domestic-violence shelters. Overland Partners Architects was one of three winners in the category for turning an abandoned Dallas warehouse into the Bridge, a temporary shelter that provides transitional housing on its upper floors