Today, Docomomo U.S., the United States nonprofit chapter of Docomomo International, announced the 10 winners of its 2019 Modernism in America Awards. In its sixth year, the annual awards program honors projects that exemplify best practices in preservation by today's architects, designers and other industry professionals. By recognizing projects that best celebrate Modernism's built heritage, the program aims to increase appreciation for the architectural period and raise awareness of ongoing threats to its legacy.
“This year’s Awards recognize projects as holistic and collaborative efforts," said Theodore Prudon, FAIA, president of Docomomo U.S. and founder of New York–based Prudon & Partners, in a press release. "Modernism was about societal progress through design, and it is important that likewise we, as preservationists of this era, continue to push for improvements in how we identify, document, and preserve our modern heritage.”
This year's jury was chaired by Peyton Hall, FAIA, principal at Pasadena, Calif.–based Historic Resources Group and adjunct professor at the University of Southern California, and comprised Meredith Arms Bzdak, partner at Princeton, N.J.–based Mills + Schnoering Architects; Charles Birnbaum, founder and CEO of the Cultural Landscape Foundation in Washington, D.C.; Jean-Louis Cohen, Sheldon H. Sollow professor in the history of architecture at New York University; Amy Freitag, executive director of the New York–based social justice and conservation of the natural and built environment non-profit J.M. Kaplan Fund; and Alexandra Lange, New York–based architecture critic for national real estate blog network Curbed. This seven-person jury chose all the projects honored except for the Advocacy Awards of Excellence, which were chosen by the Docomomo U.S. Board of Directors.
Last year's awards honored 13 projects with seven Awards of Excellence, four Citations of Merit, and one Special Award of Restoration Excellence. The 2019 recipients will be honored in New York on June 19.
2019 Design Award of Excellence
Project: Des Moines Catholic Pastoral Center, Des Moines, Iowa
Client: Catholice Diocese of Des Moines
Original Architect: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Project Team: BBS Architects | Engineers, Harboe Architects, Genus Landscape Architecture, Neumann Brothers (Construction Manager), Jennifer I. James, MAHP (Architectural Historian)
Project: Gateway Arch Museum, St. Louis
Client: Gateway Arch Park Foundation
Original Team: Eero Saarinen, architect; Dan Kiley, landscape; J. Henderson Barr, Lily Swan Saarinen, Alexander Girard, design team
Project Team: Cooper Robertson, James Carpenter Design Associates, Trivers, Architecture; Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, landscape architecture; Haley Sharpe Design, exhibit design; Alper Audi, structural engineer; Eckersley O'Callaghan, structural glazing/façade), Cowell Engineering, exhibit structural design
Project: Silvertop, Los Angeles
Client: Luke Wood and Sophia Nardin
Original Architect: John Lautner
Project Team: Bestor Architecture (Rehabilitation Architect), Barbara Bestor, principal in charge; Stacey Thomas, project architect/designer/manager; Chris Kao, Elinor Nissley, project team
2019 Survey Award of Excellence
Project: Preserving Eichler Neighborhoods, Palo Alto, Calif., and Orange, Calif.
Client: City of Palo Alto; City of Orange
Project Team: Page & Turnbull, with Janus Consulting for Orange
2019 Design Citation of Merit
Project: Schlumberger Research Center Administration Building, Ridgefield, Conn.
Client: BassamFellows
Original Team: Philip Johnson, architect; Florence Knoll, interior design; Richard Kelly, lighting designer; James Fanning, landscape
Project Team: Craig Bassam
Project: Pond House, Wellfleet, Mass.
Client: Masine Shaffer and Sharon Fey
Original Architect: Olav Hammarstrom
Project Team: SPG Architects - Caroline N. Sidnam, AIA, lead partner; Eric A. Gartner, AIA, partner
2019 Survey Citation of Merit
Project: Midcentury Modern Midland, Midland, Mich.
Client: Alden B. Dow Home & Studio
Project Team: Alden B. Dow Home & Studio, DC Tree, University of Michigan’s Department of Industrial Operation Engineering, Practicum in Production and Service System Class
2019 Advocacy Award of Excellence
Project: Isami Enomoto Labor Murals Preservation, Kapolei, Hawaii
Advocates: Docomomo US/Hawaii, Dr. William J. Puette, UHWO Center for Labor Education and Research
Project: Peter Meijer: Portland Building Advocacy, Portland, Ore.
Advocate: Peter Meijer, AIA
Project: Terrace Plaza Hotel Advocacy Efforts, Cincinnati
Advocates: Cincinnati Preservation Association
