The Dallas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects has honored five architecture firms with its 2015 AIA Dallas Unbuilt Design Award. The program recognizes works that exemplify excellence in unbuilt projects by Dallas architects.
“The 2015 Unbuilt Design Award submissions highlight the incredibly diverse work being done by Dallas architects in communities around the world,” said Heath May of HKS Inc. and AIA Dallas Design Award committee chair. “This year’s winning projects exemplify beautiful and inspiring design that are responsive to contemporary issues.”
The winners are for proposed projects in Dallas, Dubai, and China. They were announced at a recent ceremony held at Life in Deep Ellum:
• B3 Plot Cultural Pavilion Concept, RTKL Associates Inc., Dubai, UAE, 38,000 square feet: Using the building’s context and cultural influence as a guide, the pavilion’s design strives to create a community hub that will add value to the region. It combines cultural traditions with modern technologies to meet the needs of a growing neighborhood.
• Grotto: An Infill Prototype, NIMMO, Dallas, 1,650 square feet: The prototype is designed to meet the needs and lifestyles of urban dwellers, while filling unoccupied land near downtown Dallas. Its sustainable strategies and systems are implemented with a focus on construction quality.
• Dallas Holocaust Museum I Center for Education and Tolerance, Good Fulton & Farrell, Dallas, 52,230 square feet: The design features a hard-shelled vessel, wrapped by a transparent veil and entered through a garden. At the conclusion, visitors will experience a towering plane of glass containing 60,000 stars, each representing 100 souls.
• Dalian Airport Terminal Competition, Corgan, Dalian, China, 7.3 million square feet: The terminal’s design aims to meet the needs of passengers while creating a unique experience. It is environmentally friendly, economically right-sized, and capable of generating its own power and economic revenue through passenger-oriented operations and concessions programs.
• Dallas Holocaust Museum Center, Omniplan Architects, Dallas, Texas, 50,000 square feet: The building design aims to create an intuitive path for all visitors so that the focus is on the emotional experience of each exhibit with no distractions.
The awards ceremony marked the opening of the AIA Dallas Unbuilt Design Awards Exhibition. The exhibition will be on display through July 11. It will culminate with a closing reception, which will include a discussion with the winning project teams and the announcement of a People’s Choice Design Award.
The 34 entries included projects from around the world and featured various building structures. View the complete gallery of 2015 entries and recipients here.