The American Institute of Architects Los Angeles has announced the winners of its annual Residential Architecture Awards, recognizing 20 projects across typologies including ADUs, affordable housing, multifamily dwellings, and more. RAA recipients were celebrated at a June 29 ceremony in West Hollywood, Calif., where two other projects "that address climate-responsiveness, low-emissions, and resilient design considerations" were honored with the Climate Positive Award, according to an AIA|LA press release.
The RAA jury included Rochelle Mills; Simon Ha, AIA; and Vince Bertoni. The Climate Positive Award, meanwhile, was selected by Dave Intner, AIA.
Read on for an excerpt from the AIA|LA release, which includes a list of winners and jury quotes.
From AIA|LA:
Awards levels include Honor, Merit, and Citation, with Honor representing the highest-level award.
Additions and Accessory Dwellings
Honor
Plymouth ADU
Los Angeles
Firm: Vertebrae
Photo: Art Gray
This is a primer on how to do the quintessential ADU. | Good integration into the neighborhood. Simple solutions, like a tandem garage to give more frontage to the house and entry and not overpower the facade with a 2-car garage. | Simple, elegant and clean.
Merit
Sunset Avenue Residence
Santa Monica, Calif.
Griffin Enright Architects
Photo: Margaret Griffin, FAIA
This project demonstrated a masterful understanding of the site by turning its limitations into very special moments. | The connection from the main house and ADU through the various open spaces in the court, terrace, and roof/bridge seems well thought through. | Very nice indoor/outdoor transitions navigating the elevation challenges. | Admire the complexity of this job.
Merit
Bonsai House
Venice, Calif.
M Royce Architecture
Photo: Edmund Sumner
Seamless integration of ADU and home addition. Love the textures and relentless commitment to design continuity. | The play between the two living rooms visually connects the main house and the ADU but the separation by the bed of gravel makes it seem like two islands. | Storm water collection system is intriguing. It’s like having a private underground aquifer.
Citation
Longwood
Los Angeles
Firm: Patrick Tighe Architecture
Photo: Dex Hu
Stunning pool house and pavilion addition. | This project integrates the guest house, patio, and the pool into a single design. | Very unique one-of-a-kind design.
Affordable Housing
Honor
Summit View Permanent Supportive Veterans Housing
Sylmar, Calif.
Firm: GGA+
Photo: Rick Berryman
This project showed a mastery of the site, materials, and context—and is permanent supportive housing too! | The project demonstrates the important integration of biophilic and trauma-informed design, which is intriguing. | Materials and textures are refreshing.
Citation
Pacific Landing
Santa Monica, Calif.
Firm: Patrick TIGHE Architecture
Photo: Pavel Bendov
Affordable housing has a laundry list of social, environmental, and programmatic requirements from competing public and private entities. This project accomplished them all, plus artistic flair. | The sustainability features are really impressive.
Citation
SP7 / San Pedro House
Los Angeles
Firm: KFA Architecture
Photo: Jonathan Ramirez
The wall exposing the glazing was exciting. | Pedestrian relationship is addressed well. | This will provide homes and services to 99 formerly unhoused individuals, including veterans! | Gardens and other amenities will truly make this feel like home.
Adaptive Reuse/Renovation/Historic Preservation
Honor
8899 Beverly Boulevard
West Hollywood, Calif.
Firm: Olson Kundig
Photo: Joe Fletcher
Yes in every way! It celebrates the new and honors the past. | Office-to-residential conversion is going to be a necessity as a result of the pandemic that accelerated our adoption of technology to work from anywhere and to solve the housing supply and affordability crisis. This is a great example of how a class C office building can be converted to housing in an area where it is very difficult to build new multi-family housing at this scale.
Merit
Curtis Avenue House
Manhattan Beach, Calif.
Firm: ras-a studio
Photo: Here and Now Agency
Its quietness is its superpower. Knowing when to stop is its gift. | Very creative approach for an addition resulting in a one-of-a-kind house that is respectful to the neighborhood context.
Citation
Crestridge Residence
Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.
Firm: Colega Architects
Photo: Manolo Langis
Brava! Turns ho hum into hubba hubba. | Great design and execution. Love the use of the wood screen to provide privacy for the room and bathroom facing the driveway. | Creative approach, respectful to the context of the neighborhood. Created A-frame to the existing house with two floating rooms.
Multi-Unit Residential – SMALL
Honor
Purdue
Los Angeles
Firm: Bittoni Architects
Photo: Michael Clifford
A simple and elegant design solution. | I like the simplicity of the two buildings with a quirky fun design. Doesn’t seem like a high-budget building but the composition and material selections have created a successful design. | Looks amazing from the street. Reads as a single-family residence in front.
Merit:
Periscope
Los Angeles
Firm: Project M Plus
Photo: Meiwen See
A formidable solution to LA’s housing crisis without sacrificing the desire for detached living. | There is something really intriguing about the arrangement and varying scale/orientation of individual buildings. Six siblings with each having individuality but all working together as a family. | They jumped through many hoops to get this project completed.
Multi-Unit Residential – MEDIUM
Honor
The Harland
West Hollywood, Calif.
Firm: OFFICEUNTITLED
Photo: Hunter Kerhart
I appreciate how the design adjusts its scale in response to its various neighbors. | Sides received different treatments because of the context of the neighborhood. The complex site has different frontages. | Tall, major frontage to step down the residential; honored the neighborhood that it’s in.
Single-Family Residential – SMALL
Citation
Oak Avenue House
Manhattan Beach, Calif.
Firm: ras-a studio
Photo: Here and Now Agency
The view from the sidewalk is a stunner. | Like the integration into the neighborhood. Simple. Like the tandem garage to give more frontage to house and entry, not overpowering facade with two-car garage, simple, clean design.
Single-Family Residential – MEDIUM
Merit
Bayview
Hermosa Beach, Calif.
Firm: Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects
Photo: Matthew Millman
I love the elegance of the forms, voids, and shadows. | Great street presence, like the scale of the facade. | Clean, very hard site to work with, many restrictions, gave up interior space for exterior space (zoning). Like how they allowed for outdoor space, The elegant language of a beach house is not always in the front of the house. The great thing about beach houses is passageways–like how they have side entrances.
Citation
JARZM House
Los Angeles
Firm: John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects
Photo: Benny Chan
Unapologetically in its own class. | Wanted to know more. Interesting concepts! | Its openness and transparency makes it feel far more spacious than its actual size. | The transparency throughout the space connects inside with outside.
Single-Family Residential – LARGE
Honor
SC Residence
Manhattan Beach, Calif.
Firm: Laney LA
Photo: Roger Davies
The texture of the concrete and warm wood tones is a fresh departure from the typical Manhattan Beach “beach house.” | Like the textured scalloped elements. Client pushed to do something that’s more than wood texture on the walls. Balances light in the right way. Came together as a unique piece of architecture. Stand out is the white box/wood tone. It’s hard to stand out in this category but this design definitely elevates above the competition. | Big fan of the horizontal top.
Merit
Vertical Courtyard House
Santa Monica, Calif.
Firm: Montalba Architects
Photo: Kevin Scott
Great use of louvers. The Vertical Courtyard is a special moment and illuminates the entire interior. | Unique, innovative thinking about acquiring more square footage. Created a full, three-story house instead of a full basement. | Clearly told a compelling story. Presentation was very clear from the name to the images. Great all-around presentation!
Merit
The Beach House
Manhattan Beach, Calif.
Firm: Rockefeller Kempel Architects
Photo: Eric Staudenmaier
Soothing and understated. Shoutout to the in-floor heating! | Clean design. Brought above others because of sustainability, radiant floor heating, and solar. Went above and beyond using geothermal. | Nice forms through street, gabeling, side entry court, nice composition. Thought things through; geometry was well done. Proportions are great!
Temporary Shelter
Citation
Safe Landing
Los Angeles
Firm: KFA Architecture
Photo: Jonathan Ramirez
The thoughtfulness and restrained design elements put the well-being of its residents first. No ego-tecture here! The design provides a calming respite for lives that may otherwise be filled with turmoil. | Uplifting without being overwhelming. Done very well. Site and programming deserves recognition. Use of colors is comforting and soothing. | Appreciate what they are trying to accomplish with sleeping areas that give flexibility within space. Appreciate the site plan and layout. They did not overdo color schemes, which were uplifting. Created structures that may seem temporary but rethought them in spaces for people to live.
Climate Positive Award Sponsored by Southern California Edison
Honor
Pacific Landing
Santa Monica, Calif.
Firm: Patrick Tighe Architecture
Photo: Pavel Bendov
From Dave Intner, AIA: This LEED-Platinum certified, all-electric housing project, demonstrates that excellence in aesthetics, building performance, and occupant well-being can be deftly integrated into a transcendent design solution, and that the highest quality architecture can be made accessible to disadvantaged populations.
Citation
The Alvarado
Los Angeles
Firm: KADRE Architects
Photo: Nerin Kadribegovic, FAIA
From Dave Intner, AIA: This project’s all-electric, solar-powered design, employed adaptive reuse and central heat pump systems to eliminate fossil fuel use on site and achieve significant reductions in both operational and embodied carbon. The combustion-free design provides a much healthier indoor environment for the project residents.
