[1]View of John W. Olver Design Building with transparent façade revealing the warm wood inside. Photo courtesy Albert Vecerka/Esto
The American Institute of Architects[2] (AIA) Committee on the Environment (COTE) has announced this year’s recipients of the COTE Top Ten Awards.
COTE bestows the award annually on 10 design projects that have expertly integrated design excellence with cutting-edge performance. The COTE Top Ten winning projects illustrate the solutions architects provide for the health and welfare of communities and the planet.
To be eligible, project submissions are required to demonstrate alignment with COTE’s rigorous criteria, 10 measures that include social, economic, and ecological values. The five-member jury evaluates each project submission based on the effectiveness of their holistic design solution and metrics associated with the 10 measures.
This year’s COTE Top Ten Awards recipients are:
Austin Central Library (Austin, Texas) by Lake|Flato Architects[3]+ Shepley Bulfinch[4]joint venture;
U.S. Land Port of Entry (Columbus, New Mexico) by Richter Architects[5];
Etsy Headquarters (New York) by Gensler[6];
Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice (New York) by Gensler[6];
John W. Olver Design Building (Amherst, Massachusetts) by Leers Weinzapfel Associates[7];
Keller Center – Harris School of Public Policy (Chicago) by Farr Associates[8](design lead and architect of record) and Woodhouse Tinucci Architects[9](collaborating architect, interior designer);
Marine Education Center at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (Ocean Springs, Mississippi) by Lake|Flato Architects[3] in association with Unabridged Architecture[10];
The Six (Los Angeles) by Brooks + Scarpa[11]; and
UPCycle (Austin, Texas) by Gensler[6].
Jurors also designated one project as a Top Ten Plus recipient for its exceptional post-occupancy performance data. This year’s recipient is the Environmental Nature Center and Preschool (Newport Beach, California) by LPA, Inc.[12]