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American Architecture Award Winners Announced

Winning projects include the Queens Botanical Garden Visitor and Administration Building.

Mairi Beautyman -- Interior Design, 9/2/2008 12:00:00 AM

Across the U.S., a fresh crop of new buildings have earned a nod from the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design -- together with the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and Metropolitan Arts Press -- in the 2008 American Architecture Awards program. The coveted awards distinguish new architecture designed and built in the U.S. by leading American and international architecture firms practicing in the U.S.

A total of 66 buildings were awarded for design excellence in this year's program. Winning firms include Elliott + Associates Architects, RMJM Hillier, Steven Holl Architects, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and Moore Ruble Yudell Architects and Planners, among others. A jury of Greek architects sifted through hundreds of submissions, ranging from new corporate headquarters, skyscrapers, airports, urban planning projects, retail stores, hospitals, to private residences. Projects, both built and unbuilt, were designed by architects in their countries of origin or abroad as of January 1, 2006.

The awards program is organized "as a way in which to draw significant world attention to new buildings and urban planning projects being built and designed globally by the best and most prestigious American architecture offices and design firms," states Christian K. Narkiewicz-Laine, director and president of the Chicago Athenaeum.

In November, winners and other selected works will be showcased in the exhibition "New American Architecture" at Spazio Espositivo di Santa Verdiana (SESV) in Florence, Italy. The exhibit will then travel to the European Centre’s new Contemporary Art + Architecture Centre in Athens before kicking off a national tour in the U.S. in 2009.

Visit the Chicago Athenaeum for a complete list of winners.

From top: The Queens Botanical Garden Visitor and Administration Building in Queens, New York by BKSK Architects; U.S. Court House in Orlando, Florida by Leers Weinzapfel Associates.