AIA Designates Regional and Urban Design Awards
Five projects are sited in the U.S., three abroad.
Staff -- Interior Design, 1/26/2006
The results are in for the 2006 AIA Honor Awards for Regional and Urban Design and with them the themes of reviving socially and economically poor urban areas, striving for sustainability, and engaging communities in the design process. A jury selected the prize-winners, with projects ranging from a plaza begun 
15 years ago, to an urban park conceived a century before, to a master plan that looks forward 50 years. Of the eight projects selected, which are described below, five are in the U.S.; the remainder are in British Columbia, Palestine, and Switzerland.
The Arc: A Formal Structure for a Palestinian State in the West Bank and Gaza, Palestine by Suisman Urban Design addresses a crumbling infrastructure and rapidly increasing population. Concepts for new areas are linked via international transport facilities, a tangible symbol of the state’s emergent progress.
Ferdinand S. Johns, along with Allison Orr and the Community Design Center at the Montana State University School of Architecture, gathered information from community members to develop a 50-year master plan for the 130,000-acre Chippewa/Cree Reservation Plan in Box Elder, Montana.
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill helped complete the City of Chicago’s 100-year vision for Grant Park by completing the illustrious Millennium Park. Incorporating a multimodal transit center, performing arts facilities, the Great Lawn, and a bridge, this former eyesore site is now a destination.
CBT/Childs Bertman Tseckares carved North Point out of various local municipalities in the Boston area. The new, mixed-use, transit-oriented, 5.2-million-square-foot neighborhood on a 45-acre parcel was formerly a railroad yard. Now, it’s 20 city blocks, green spaces, a bike trail, and public amenities.
The Swiss Government Piazza in Bern, Switzerland, by Lee & Mundwiler Architects, is a modern solution to an historic situation. With the Swiss Parliament Building at its heart, the plaza now functions as a prelude to official state events, but can still act as a public space for markets, political demonstrations, and tourist visits.
Combining 50 percent new construction with existing architecture, Torti Gallas and Partners was able to create “more humane architecture and a restored sense of community” in Philadelphia’s Martin Luther King Plaza. Adding a focal center, park, and 350 housing units helped revitalize the neighborhood and its public housing project.
For the expansion of University of British Columbia, Moore Ruble Yudell Architects and Planners envisioned University Square a public, open space. The design calls for two mixed-use buildings (totaling 415,000 square feet) to be constructed over an underground transit station, as well as interconnected spaces along 18 acres.
From top: Image courtesy of RAND/Suisman Urban Design; image courtesy Moore Ruble Yudell.
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