Best of Year: Green

Annie Block -- Interior Design, 12/1/2010 12:32:00 PM

Project: Burgess Group
Firm: SmithGroup
Location: Alexandria, Virginia

Specializing in software for Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements, this company has earned LEED Platinum certification for a headquarters in a new building also by the SmithGroup. Extensive daylighting is among the many elements that added up to the U.S. Green Building Council’s highest rating—on most days, sensors barely trigger the dimmable ballasts on the linear fixtures. In addition, associate Rob Moylan chose natural materials to convey authenticity and complexity. The desk in reception and the island in the pantry were both built with soapstone. Elm flooring was reclaimed from an old barn. Running along one side of the reception gallery that bisects the 17,000-square-foot floor plate, Vermont slate tiles cover an entire wall. And cork lines a break-out area. Throughout, color contrasts reflect and promote the duality of a company that’s young yet stable, creative yet serious. Note the apple green and muted blue of the design lab’s photomural, a pixelated image of Lyndon Johnson signing Medicare into law.

Merit Winners:

Project: Recology

Firm: Pollack Architecture
Location: San Francisco
Standout: An art installation made from old skateboard decks enlivens­ a recycling-services office where efficient lighting and refurbished­ furniture contribute­ to a LEED Gold rating.

 

Project: Saffire Freycinet

Firm: Chada and Circa Architecture

Location: Coles Bay, Australia
Standout: This 20-key luxury resort's organic forms and plentiful use of stone and timber harmonize with the protected coastal landscape of the surrounding national park.

 

Project: House

Firm: Minarc
Location: Los Angeles
Standout: Instead of falling victim to the wrecking ball, more than half of a five-unit apartment building was preserved in converting it into a 3,850-square-foot single-family house.