Four Leers Weinzapfel projects awarded at the Boston Society of Architects Design Awards 2021
We are ecstatic to announce that Harvard University District Energy Facilities; Center for Engineering, Innovation, and Sciences; Richard and Nancy Donahue Family Academic Arts Center; and Adohi Hall received recognition from the 2021 BSA Design Awards.
Harvard University District Energy Facility received the 2021 Honor Awards for Design Excellence – Honor Award
Jury Comment: “[Harvard District Energy Facility] is elegantly simple—or, an elegant reduction of a complex system into something somewhat understandable. Architects don’t always get to choose a program. We were excited about this infrastructure project with its compelling, jewel-like expression of the interior function on the exterior. Expertly executed from concept to detail, with a clarity apparent through elimination of any unnecessary elements. This is an exemplary presentation with clear case-study diagrams and design solution.”
Jury Comment: “The Center for Engineering, Innovation, and Sciences was seminal in establishing “place” and creating a single building designed to encourage cross- pollination of areas of study. The connection between the quad and Parker Street reinforces the campus edge while the program elements on display enable curiosity and inclusivity. As the technical anchor of the Colleges of the Fenway, this project bookends the connection between this and the other institutions that call the Fenway home while embodying the ethos of the campus and academic offerings in a highly entrepreneurial setting.”
Richard and Nancy Donahue Family Academic Arts Center received 2021 Higher Education Facilities Design Award – Citation
Jury Comment: “The jury found this investment in community, education, and the arts to be the type of transformative work we hope will be emblematic of architecture’s future. We had the privilege of reviewing a project that repurposed an existing building, artfully fulfilling many of the submission requirements, while contributing to a sense of place in a truly transformative manner. As the original build approaches its sesquicentennial, we hope that both Middlesex Community College and the City of Lowell find this to be a catalytic project that enables the future success of both institution and city.” Richard and Nancy Donahue Family Academic Arts Center
Adohi Hall received the 2021 Housing Design Award – Citation
Jury Comment: “Adohi Hall at the University of Arkansas demonstrates exciting new potentials for sustainable student-housing design. Most notable is the project’s deep exploration of wood as a structural material: timber columns, beams, floor panels, and intricate trusswork greatly reduce embodied carbon and imbue living spaces with warmth, texture, and connection to the region’s woodland ecology. The building’s serpentine plan shapes a series of intimate and inviting outdoor rooms, each activated by shared spaces for learning, socializing, dining, recreation, and artistic creation. The design skillfully merges architecture, landscape, and program to create a strong sense of community within the context of a large university.”
Adohi Hall received the 2021 Sustainable Design Award – Award
Jury Comment: “[Adohi Hall] is extremely impressive in taking mass timber design to the next level: scaling up to a major residence hall complex for a public university with beautifully designed public rooms and courtyards. The inventive hybrid trusses in the common rooms, integrating both timber and steel, are an excellent example of thoughtful sustainable design. The interior biophilic motifs address student wellness and relate to the surrounding forested environment. The exposed materials provide a connection to the wood CLT as a finish, which reduces the number of materials used but also brings a warm element to the spaces. Hopefully, other projects will draw attention to this type of construction within the public-bid realm.”
