Brown and Glazer honored at AIA Design Excellence Awards Ceremony

The Rochester Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) presented its 2014 Design Excellence and Service Awards on April 25 at the Memorial Art Gallery. At a ceremony attended by over 185 regional design professionals and supporters, the AIA offered Roger Brown, AIA its Medal of Distinction, a lifetime achievement award, and named Ken Glazer, AIA as its 2014 Emerging Architect of the Year winner. Brown, a 45-year design practitioner, became synonymous in the early 2000s with the then nascent downtown Rochester housing boom, designing the Corn Hill Landing Apartments for Mark IV Construction, and, subsequently, The Mills at High Falls for the Urban League of Rochester. Although recently retired from Rochester's Barkstrom & LaCroix, Brown's voice in the regional design conversation has only grown stronger, as he, and former Monroe County architect Joni Monroe, AIA, have shepherded the Rochester Regional Community Design Center (RRCDC) into its present-day position as one of western New York's leading design and planning forums. Joining Brown in the individual achievement category was Emerging Architect Award winner, Glazer, AIA and Buckingham Properties' director of development and architectural services. A graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago, Glazer has actively sought to infuse a "heightened design aesthetic" throughout Buckingham's extensive portfolio, including their own headquarters on Alexander St., the Alexander Park development site, and at the Midtown Tower complex. Educational clients served as the funders for six of the nine firms winning 2014 Design Awards, although their goals were as expansive as the dramatic design solutions recognized by the AIA jurors. They included the following: Nazareth College Integrated Center for Math and Science (SWBR Architects, and Burt Hill, a Stantec Company); R.I.T. Institute Hall (Bergmann Associates and Francis Cauffman); R.I.T Golisano Institute for Sustainability (SWBR and FX/Fowle); Stony Brook University's NamanaBe Hall at Madagascar (In.Site Architecture); SUNY Fredonia Williams Center rehabilitation (CJS Architects); and, Charlotte High School rehabilitation (CJS Architects). Rounding out the evening's top honors were the Sampson Veteran Memorial Cemetery (PLAN Architectural Studio); LiDestri Foods Innovation Center (LaBella Associates); and the Frank Lloyd Wright Boynton House rehabilitation (Bero Architecture). The AIA's new Unleashed Architectural Ideas Competition also prompted a number of individual and group accolades, with Michael and Enid Bryant crafting the winning design solution for a potential development site in Rochester's Wadsworth Square neighborhood. Honorable mention plaudits also went to Erik Reynolds and the team of Evan Graziano, Thomas Harding, Emily McCaffery, and Stergios Zissis. This competition was developed by the AIA's Emerging Rochester Architects (ERA) in collaboration with personnel from the City of Rochester Planning Department. According to an ERA leader, Ben Deuel of Clark Patterson Lee, "It is intended to showcase the talents of young Rochester area designers, test the limits of what is achievable in our built environment, and inspire new solutions to the design and development issues we currently face." Participants proposed a design for the city-owned parking lot between Wadsworth Park and the Clinton Avenue overpass, adjacent to the western edge of the portion of the Inner Loop that will be filled in the coming years. In addition to these Honor Awards, and in conjunction with participation with member firms and established memorial funds, AIA Rochester also raises and distributes funds for an annual scholarship program. This year, a total of $8,500.00 in scholarships will be distributed between four candidates. The jury for the 2014 Design Awards included: Richard Bamburak, AIA (Senior Principal at WTW Architects, Pittsburgh, PA); Francis D.K. Ching (Professor Emeritus, University of Washington, USA); and Kurt Hunker, FAIA, (AIA College of Fellows, New School of Architecture & Design, Davy Architecture, San Diego, Ca.). The jury represents a cross-section of distinguished practitioners from a diversity of practice and geographical areas. The annual Design Excellence Awards ceremony, hosted by AIA Rochester, honors excellence and achievement in design, sustainability, and innovation. For more information, visit AIARoc.org.