“Wood Design & Building magazine announces the winning projects of the 38th annual Wood Design & Building Awards program. The influential awards program recognizes and celebrates the outstanding work of visionaries around the world who achieve excellence in wood architecture.

Wood Design & Building magazine and the Canadian Wood Council extend their appreciation to all participants in the 2021/22 awards program and thank both the program’s sponsors for their ongoing support, and the esteemed members of the jury for their time and expertise. The members of this year’s jury are: • Marie-Odile Marceau, Principal at McFarland Marceau Architects • Donald Chong, Design Principal at HDR • Tom Chung, Principal at Leers Weinzapfel Associates” – Wood Design & Building Press Release

https://cwc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Awards-Winners.pdf

Tom S. Chung, Wentworth Institute of Technology

Mass Timber has tremendous potential to address issues of climate change, disrupt outdated construction processes and create unique spaces that promote user well-being. We investigate these potentials through research and apply them in a design project. Studio travel thru New England gives students direct exposure to all major elements of Mass Timber architecture:

• Sustainable forestry and tree harvesting
• Softwood Lumber yard and production of laminates for Mass Timber
• Digital fabrication technology and CNC machinery
• Prefabrication and Assembly line optimization of building components
• Testing & Research of Mass Timber building products
• Exemplary works of Mass Timber architecture in New England

Studio begins with analysis of mass timber precedents, each selected for a specific creative approach. This exercise equips the studio with a wide catalog of references for inspiration and approach to mass timber design, tectonics, details, construction and spatial quality. Students are then tasked with “inventing” their own mass timber panel, beyond available products such as CLT, NLT, DLT & MPP to investigate mass timber’s architectural and structural potential regarding material reuse, efficiency, systems integration and aesthetics & spatial quality. Studio culminates in a semester long design project, a synthesis of their research, analysis and explorations of mass timber.

Learn more about his award winning course: https://www.acsa-arch.org/resource/2022-timber-education-prize/2022-timber-education-prize-winners/

Architizer’s core mission is to Empower Architects by connecting designers with building-product manufacturers, and via inspiring content, awards programs, competitions and global reach spotlighting the world’s best architecture.

The Architizer A+Awards is the largest awards program focused on promoting and celebrating the year’s best architecture. Its mission is to nurture the appreciation of meaningful design in the world and champion its potential for a positive impact on everyday life. They share the world’s best architecture with a global audience of 400+ million.

Finalists and Winners are chosen by an illustrious jury including such industry leaders as Julie Eizenberg, Suchi Reddy, Germane Barnes, Irene Osei-Poku and Fermin Tribaldos, as well as luminaries from beyond architecture like Karim Rashid (Karim Rashid), Yves Behar (Fuseproject), David Rockwell (Rockwell Group), and Aric Chen (Design Miami).

Learn more and vote for our projects for the “People’s Choice Award” here: https://www.architizerawards.com/a/page/vote-now

Leers Weinzapfel Associates celebrated the Roslindale Library receiving the Preservation Massachusetts Mayor Thomas M. Menino Legacy Award!

The recently completed renovation of the Boston Public Library – Roslindale Branch preserves the essence of a historic 1960s community library while transforming it to embrace the needs of the 21st century. As both a “community living room” and an “information hub”, this restoration serves as a vibrant piece of the city, restoring the old structure and celebrating the new.

Principals Josiah Stevenson FAIA LEED, Jane Weinzapfel FAIA, Andrea Leers FAIA, Tom Chung FAIA LEED AP BD+C and Associate Principal Winne Stopps FAIA LEED AP BD+C attended the 39th Annual @bsaaia Fellows Dinner! This dinner celebrated the new BSA fellows including Tom Chung, elevated in 2020 and Winne Stopps, elevated in 2022.

The American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Committee on Architecture for Education (CAE) has recognized the John W. Olver Design Building with the 2022 Education Facility Design Award, Award of Excellence for its state-of-the-art design of schools and learning centers.

In order to be eligible for AIA’s Awards of Excellence, the architect must demonstrate exemplary practice. Additionally, the design must meet a host of criteria, including enhancing learning in classrooms; balancing function with aesthetics; establishing a connection with the environment; being respectful of the surrounding community; demonstrating high-level planning in the design process; and integrating sustainability in a holistic fashion.

The Olver Design Building, a new collaborative facility at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, unites three design departments from different schools under one roof. In doing so, the building fosters new synergy across the disciplines of architecture, building and construction technology, and landscape architecture on the university’s flagship western Massachusetts campus.

“This first-of-its-kind building combines architecture, construction, and building systems to serve as a learning element for students. While programmatically straightforward, the project is unique and well-executed.” – Jury comment

Learn more about the John W. Olver Design Building here:

https://www.lwa-architects.com/project/integrated-design-building/
Learn more about the award-winning features of the John W. Olver Design Building:

https://www.aia.org/press-releases/6504971-aia-honors-cutting-edge-designs-with-2022-

https://www.aia.org/showcases/6497043-john-w-olver-design-building-university-of

The recently completed renovation of the Boston Public Library – Roslindale Branch preserves the essence of a historic 1960s community library while transforming it to embrace the needs of the 21^st century. As both a “community living room” and an “information hub”, this restoration serves as a vibrant piece of the city, restoring the old structure and celebrating the new.

See spotlight video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyR_xn7Wv_0

Learn more about the Boston Public Library Roslindale Branch here: https://www.lwa-architects.com/project/roslindale-library/

For more than three decades, the Davis Center has been the physical, intellectual, and programmatic heart of campus-wide efforts to build inclusive community on Williams’ campus.   The reimagined 26,350 sf Davis Center encompasses a major new addition, as well comprehensive renovations of the beloved Rice and Jenness Houses, creating a center with universal access and increased space to accommodate Minority Coalition (MinCo) student gatherings, meetings, dialogue, classes, socializing, and studying.

Learn more about the Davis Center project here: https://www.lwa-architects.com/project/davis-center/

Read article here: https://www.learningbydesignmagazine.com/pursuing-living-building-challenge-petal-certification

Winne has taken an unusual route to the field of architecture, passing first through training and practice as a physician in Canada with a degree from McGill University School of Medicine. She acknowledged her first passion for design returning to Yale where she was an undergraduate to complete a Master of Architecture.

A talented and highly effective project leader and team manager for over 25 years, Winne has developed an expertise for managing technically demanding complex projects and has led several of our largest higher education projects. Clients appreciate her insightful intelligence, depth of experience and ability to coordinate a large team of consultants from programming through construction with exceptional rigor and efficiency.

Winne has lectured on classroom design at the SCUP 2012 North Atlantic Regional Conference, and SCUP 2013 in Montreal. Her publications include co-authorship of the new chapter on Project Teams in the 15th Edition of the AIA Handbook and an article describing the new MGH Russell Museum, “A Bright New Face”, in Health Care Design Magazine.

Harvard University District Energy Facility received the American Institute of Architects Boston Society of Architects 2021 Honor Award for Design Excellence – Hobson 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.”

Pictured here is the Harvard District Energy Facility Project team: (L to R) Irene Kang, AIA LEED AP BD+C, Andrea Leers FAIA, Jane Weinzapfel FAIA, Zhanina Boyadzhieva AIA, Winne Stopps, FAIA, LEEP AP BD+C, accepting the award.