To highlight the importance of midcentury and modern architecture, and what they mean to the public, the U.S. branch of international nonprofit organization Docomomo has announced 10 winners of its annual Modernism in America Awards. As the only program in the country celebrating modern architecture and those responsible for not only creating, but maintaining it, the Modernism in America Awards program also pushes to advance the case of preservation. By acknowledging the following sites, locations, and organizations, it raises awareness of how these efforts boost the economic and cultural aspects of urban areas and surrounding communities while setting a standard of what others can accomplish for other modern sites currently facing neglect.

This year's winners recognize four projects with Design Awards of Excellence, four with Citations of Merit, and two with Citations of Technical Achievement. With a range that varies greatly, from public squares to personal residences and advocacy groups, Docomomo's perception of what and who impacted the modern landscape is flexible and open-minded.

This year's jury was chaired by Frederick A. Bland, FAIA, principal and managing partner of Beyer Blinder Belle in Washington, D.C. Other renowned figures in the design world that served on the jury included Joan Blumenfeld, design principal at Perkins+Will's New York office; Michelangelo Sabatino, professor an director of the doctoral program at the Illinois Institute of Technology College of Architecture in Chicago; Deborah Dietsch, a Washington, D.C.-based design journalist and former editor-in-chief of Architecture magazine (ARCHITECT's predecessor title); Jack Pyburn, FAIA, partner of Tysons, Va.-based firm Lord Aeck Sargent and adjunct professor at Georgia Institute of Technology’s College of Architecture; and Theodore Prudon, FAIA, a partner of New York-based architect Prudon & Partners and president of Docomomo US.

As the first sponsor for the awards program, Design Within Reach, a retailer that distributes modern industrial design objects, will host the award presentation at its studio in New York.

The following are this year's winners in the Modernism in America Awards, to learn more, head over to ARCHITECT's Project Gallery.

Design Award of Excellence Winners

Ed Massery

Mellon Square, in Pittsburgh, Penn.
Original Design: Simonds & Simonds and Mitchell & Ritchey
Restoration: Heritage Landscapes, Hilbish McGee, Pfaffman+Associates Architects, Atlantic Engineering Services, Allen & Shariff, and HydroDramatics

Paul Turang

Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building, in Los Angeles
Original Design: Paul Revere Williams
Restoration: AE3 Partners, Inc., Steinberg Architects, Historic Resources Group, KSJ & VCC Joint Venture, Community Impact Development, LLC, Primestor Development, Inc.

Cincinnati Preservation Association

Frederick and Harriet Rauh Residence, in Cincinnati, Ohio
Original Design: John Becker
Restoration: Cincinnati Preservation Association; Architects Plus; and Meisner and Associates

Photograph of the lobby of the Design Building at General Motors Technical Center by Eero Saarinen which will serve as the cover of the book Michigan Modern.
James Haefner Photograph of the lobby of the Design Building at General Motors Technical Center by Eero Saarinen which will serve as the cover of the book Michigan Modern.

Michigan ModernOrganization: Michigan State Historic Preservation Office

Citations of Merit Winners

Jeffrey Totaro

Margaret Esherick House, in Philadelphia
Original Design: Louis Kahn
Restoration: k YODER design

Peter Aaron

The Met Breuer, in New York
Original Design: Marcel Breuer & Associates
Restoration: Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners

Nic Lehoux

The Shepley Bulfinch Architecture Firm Office at the Phoenix Financial Center, South Rotunda, in Phoenix, Ariz.
Original design: Shepley Bulfinch
Restoration: Shepley Bulfinch

Photo by Rocio Carlon, catalog design by Jeffrey Liao

Houston: Uncommon Modern, in Houston, TexasProject team: Anna Mod & Delaney Harris-Finch

Citation of Technical Achievement

Left: Heintges & Associates; Right: Woodruff / Brown Architectural Photography

United Nations Headquarters Campus Renovation of Façades, in New York
Original Design: Oscar Niemeyer and Le Corbusier with Harrison & Abramovitz
Restoration: Heintges & Associates

Christian Costea Photography

Tower of Hope, Christ Cathedral, in Garden Grove, Calif.
Original Design: Richard Neutra
Restoration: LPA

Correction: This article initially reported that the original design for Tower of Hope, Christ Cathedral was by Philip Johnson. Credit has now been given to the correct architect, Richard Neutra.

This article has been updated.