After expanding our categories to a whopping 47 and receiving over 800 submissions, the 2019 AN Best of Design Awards were our most successful yet. Of course, this made the judging more difficult than ever. Projects came from firms big and small across every corner of the North American continent. While we are always surprised by the breadth and quantity of submissions, we were not surprised by the quality of the design work put forth by these talented architects and designers.
There were some telling trends, however. First, our interior categories received more and better projects than ever before. This resurgence in architects doing interiors, both residential and commercial, seems to mirror what we see in the field: Simpler, less colorful interiors that put more emphasis on materiality than on playful shapes, as in the past. It was also a good year for exhibition design.
For the Building of the Year, our esteemed jury was fiercely divided between two exemplary but very different projects. The final debate came down to The TWA Hotel by Beyer Blinder Belle Planners LLP, and LUBRANO CIAVARRA Architects and the Anita May Rosenstein Campus, Los Angeles LGBT Center in Los Angeles by Leong Leong and KFA. In the end, the jury decided that the sensitive restoration and reactivation of Saarinen’s masterpiece merited the Building of the Year award. This selection well illustrates the attitude that this year’s jury had about the projects that were deliberated. Sensitivity and subtlety were at a premium. Winners were chosen for their contextual, tactical approaches rather than big, bombastic ideas. For example, MQ Architecture’s small wooden pavilion in Garrison, New York, and Signal Architecture + Research’s Cottonwood Canyon Experience Center are both examples of structures with simple profiles that were carefully cut to make residential-scale architecture that blends into its surroundings.
Perhaps this signals something larger about architecture in 2019, or even the end of the 2010s. Is U.S. architecture becoming more formally muted? Or is 2019 just a quiet year? Is this phenomenon an ongoing reaction to something in the media that has promoted design that is flashier and more figurally exuberant? Or is this just a one-year trend?
Our jury this year was a very savvy group that included old AN friends and some new faces as well. By provoking discussions and offering up new ideas, the jury is essential to the mission of AN. We hope you enjoy this selection of winners, honorable mentions, and editor’s picks, and we look forward to hearing from you again next year with new projects!
We will be updating this list over the next few days with winner and honorable mention profiles. To see the complete feature, don’t miss our 2019 Best of Design Awards Annual issue, out now!
2019 AN Best of Design Awards
Building of the Year
Winner
TWA Hotel
Beyer Blinder Belle Planners LLP
LUBRANO CIAVARRA Architects
New York City
Finalists
Cottonwood Canyon Experience Center
Signal Architecture + Research
Wasco, Oregon
Anita May Rosenstein Campus, Los Angeles LGBT Center
Leong Leong
Killefer Flammang Architects
Los Angeles
Public
Winner
Anita May Rosenstein Campus, Los Angeles LGBT Center
Leong Leong
Killefer Flammang Architects
Los Angeles
Honorable Mentions
Discovery Center, Îles-de-Boucherville National Park
Smith Vigeant Architectes
Hunters Point Community Library
Steven Holl Architects
Editors’ Picks
Tsleil-Waututh Administration and Health Centre
Lubor Trubka Associates Architects
Louis Armstrong Stadium
ROSSETTI
Urban Design
Winner
Brooklyn Army Terminal Public Realm
WXY
Brooklyn, NY
Honorable Mention
City Thread
SPORTS
Cultural
Winner
Menil Drawing Institute
Johnston Marklee
Houston
Honorable Mentions
Ruby City
Adjaye Associates
New York State Equal Rights Heritage Center
nARCHITECTS
Editors’ Pick
The Evans Tree House at Garvan Woodland Gardens
modus studio
Saint Mary Mercy Chapel
PLY+
Exhibition Design
Winner
Calder: Nonspace
STEPHANIEGOTO
Los Angeles
Honorable Mentions
Nature—Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial
Studio Joseph
VENTS
TEMPO | Catty Dan Zhang
Editors’ Picks
Model Projections
Agency—Agency
Common Threads
ikd
Green Building
Winner
Galenas Medical Cannabis Cultivation Facility
Urban Green Design
Akron, Ohio
Honorable Mentions
Tree Pittsburgh Headquarters
GBBN
370 Jay Street, New York University
Mitchell Giurgola
Editor’s Picks
Marvin Gaye Recreation Center
ISTUDIO Architects
Greenport Passive House
The Turett Collaborative
Facades
Winner
130 William
Adjaye Associates
New York City
Honorable Mentions
CME Center
Krueck + Sexton
277 Mott Street
Toshiko Mori Architect
Editors’ Picks
University of Cincinnati Gardner Neuroscience Institute
Perkins and Will
280 St Marks
DXA studio
Young Architects
Winner
bld.us
Infrastructure
Winner
North Chiller Plant, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Leers Weinzapfel Associates
Amherst, Massachusetts
Honorable Mentions
Richmond Water Transit Ferry Terminal
Marcy Wong Donn Logan Architects
BART Market Street Canopies
VIA Architecture
Editors’ Picks
Frances Appleton Pedestrian Bridge
Rosales + Partners
Northeastern University Pedestrian Crossing
Payette
Commercial — Hospitality
Winner
Furioso Vineyards
Waechter Architecture
Dundee, Oregon
Honorable Mentions
McDonald’s Chicago Flagship
Ross Barney Architects
The Carpenter Hotel
Specht Architects
Editors’ Picks
Heritage
Savvy Studio
Lumen at Beacon Park
Touloukian Touloukian
Commercial — Retail
Winner
Apple Scottsdale Fashion Square
Ennead Architects
Scottsdale, Arizona
Honorable Mentions
Sunshine and National Retail Center
Dake Wells Architecture
Christian Dior
Myefski Architects
Editors’ Pick
Grant Gallery
Ted Porter Architecture
The Culver Steps
Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects
Commercial — Office
Winner
1000 Maine Avenue
KPF
FOX Architects
Washington, D.C.
Honorable Mentions
901 East Sixth
Thoughtbarn
Delineate Studio
Solar Carve
Studio Gang
Editors’ Pick
American Express Sunrise Corporate Center
Perkins and Will
Interior — Workplace
Winner
HUSH Office Interior
Inaba Williams and Kyle May
New York City
Honorable Mentions
ShareCuse
Architecture Office
Vrbo Headquarters
Rios Clementi Hale Studios
Editors’ Picks
McDonald’s HQ
Studio O+A
Conga Headquarters
DLR Group
Interior — Institutional
Winner
Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School Great Hall Renovation
tonic design
Raleigh, North Carolina
Honorable Mentions
The Center for Fiction
BKSK Architects
The Children’s Library at Concourse House
Michael K Chen Architecture
Editors’ Picks
Countryside Community Church
Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture
Gordon Chapel Renovation, St. Hilda’s and St. Hugh’s School
MBB
Interior — Retail
Winner
maharishi Tribeca
Abruzzo Bodziak Architects
New York City
Honorable Mentions
Malin+Goetz San Francisco
Bernheimer Architecture
Claus Porto New York
tacklebox architecture
Editors’ Picks
Notre
Norman Kelley
R13 Flagship
Leong Leong
Interior — Hospitality
Winner
Tamarindo
Stayner Architects
San Clemente, California
Honorable Mentions
All Square
Architecture Office
ROOST East Market
Morris Adjmi Architects
Editors’ Picks
Woodlark Hotel
OFFICEUNTITLED
The Fleur Room
Rockwell Group
Interior — Healthcare
Winner
Chelsea District Health Center
Stephen Yablon Architecture
New York City
Honorable Mention
Mount Sinai Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit
Perkins Eastman
YPMD Pediatric Neurology Clinic
Synthesis Design + Architecture
Editors’ Pick
NEXUS Club New York
Morris Adjmi Architects
Restoration & Preservation
Winner
Owe’neh Bupingeh Preservation Project
Atkin Olshin Schade Architects
Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico
Honorable Mentions
Brant Foundation Art Building
Gluckman Tang
Avenue C Multi-Family
Thoughtbarn
Delineate Studio
Editors’ Picks
Chicago Union Station Great Hall Restoration
Goettsch Partners
Boston City Hall Public Spaces Renovation
Utile
Healthcare
Winner
University of Cincinnati Gardner Neuroscience Institute
Perkins and Will
Cincinnati
Honorable Mention
Duke University Student Wellness Center
Duda|Paine Architects
MSK Nassau
EwingCole
Editor’s Pick
Sheila and Eric Samson Pavilion at Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic
Foster + Partners
Tia Clinic
Rockwell Group
Interior — Residential
Winner
Michigan Loft
Vladimir Radutny Architects
Chicago
Honorable Mention
Inaba Williamsburg Penthouse
Inaba Williams
Gallatin House
Workstead
Editors’ Picks
Watermark House
Barker Associates Architecture Office
Lakeview Penthouse
Wheeler Kearns Architects
Residential — Single Unit
Winner
Glass Cabin
atelierRISTING
Iowa
Honorable Mentions
Bigwin Island Club Cabins
MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects
Triple Barn House
Mork Ulnes Architects
Editors’ Picks
Ephemeral Edge
Dean/Wolf Architects
Manifold House
David Jameson Architect
Residential — Multiunit
Winner
139 Schultz
CPDA arquitectos
Mexico City
Honorable Mentions
XS House
ISA
Origami
Waechter Architecture
Editors’ Picks
Solstice on the Park
Studio Gang
Bastion
OJT
Landscape — Residential
Winner
Malibu Overlook
Stephen Billings Landscape Architecture & Michael Goorevich
Malibu, California
Honorable Mention
Musician’s Garden
Stephen Billings Landscape Architecture
Landscape — Public
Winner
Josey Lake Park
Clark Condon
Cypress, Texas
Honorable Mentions
First Avenue Water Plaza
SCAPE Landscape Architecture
Pier 35
SHoP Architects
Editors’ Picks
Scottsdale’s Museum of the West
Colwell Shelor Landscape Architecture
Drexel Square
West 8 & SHoP Architects
Education
Winner
Cottonwood Experience Center
Signal Architecture + Research
Wasco, Oregon
Honorable Mentions
Club de Niños y Niñas
Centro de Colaboración Arquitectónica
RISD Student Center
WORKac
Editors’ Picks
Santa Monica College Center for Media and Design + KCRW Media Center
Clive Wilkinson Architects
Cal Poly Pomona Student Services Building
CO Architects
Lighting — Outdoor
Winner
Lightweave
FUTUREFORMS
Washington D.C.
Lighting – Indoor
Winner
TWA Hotel
Beyer Blinder Belle
Cooley Monato Studio
New York City
Building Renovation — Commercial
Winner
Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice
Gensler
New York City
Honorable Mentions
Apple Fifth Avenue
Foster + Partners
Avling Kitchen & Brewery
LAMAS
Editor’s Picks
Intelligentsia
Bestor Architecture
Olympic Tower, 645 Fifth Avenue
MdeAS Architects
Building Renovation — Civic
Winner
Keller Center
Farr Associates
Chicago
Honorable Mention
Centennial Planetarium
Lemay + Toker
Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art
Sparano + Mooney Architecture
Editors’ Picks
Oregon Conservation Center
LEVER Architecture
National Arts Centre Rejuvenation
Diamond Schmitt Architects
Building Renovation — Residential
Winner
Phillipsport Church House
Architecture in Formation
Wurtsboro, New York
Honorable Mention
1/2 House
NOW HERE
Editors’ Pick
Case Room
Geoffrey von Oeyen Design
Adaptive Reuse
Winner
TWA Hotel
Beyer Blinder Belle
New York City
Honorable Mentions
Senate of Canada Building D
Diamond Schmitt Architects
Redfox Commons
LEVER Architecture
Editors’ Picks
Fifth Avenue Adaptive Re-use
Inaba Williams
10 Jay Street
ODA New York
Temporary Installation
Winner
Soft Civic
Bryony Roberts Studio
Columbus, Indiana
Honorable Mention
Salvage Swings
Somewhere Studio
Editors’ Picks
Lawn for the National Building Museum Summer Block Party
Rockwell Group
Coshocton Ray Trace
Behin Ha Design Studio
New Materials
Winner
Grass House
bld.us
Washington, D.C.
Honorable Mention
Walking Assembly
Matter Design & CEMEX Global R&D
Digital Fabrication
Winner
Knitcandela
Block Research Group, ETH Zürich & ZHCode, Zaha Hadid Architects
Mexico City
Architectural Representation
Winner
Support
KEVIN HIRTH Co.
New York City
Honorable Mentions
Other Medians
Studio Ames
Manual of Instructions
NEMESTUDIO
Editors’ Picks
Shaped Places of Carroll County New Hampshire
EXTENTS
Interim Urbanism: Youth, Dwelling, City
N H D M
Small Spaces
Winner
Small Wooden Pavilion
MQ Architecture
Garrison, New York
Honorable Mentions
Aesop Shaw DC
David Jameson Architect
Schaefer Residence
Duo Dickinson Architect
Student Work — Group
Winner
A Home for MJ
Drury University Design-Build Program, Jordan Valley Community Health Center
Springfield, Missouri
Student Work — Individual
Winner
Museum/Park Design
Alberto Arostegui, Savannah College of Art and Design
Unbuilt — Urban Design
Winner
St. John’s Park
Ballman Khapalova
New York City
Honorable Mentions
Pensacola Waterfront Framework
SCAPE Landscape Architecture
Pier 70
SITELAB urban studio
Editors’ Picks
Chicago Transit Authority Damen Green Line Station
Perkins and Will
Boston Coastal Flood Resilience Design Guidelines & Zoning Overlay District
Utile
Research
Winner
Delirious Facade
LAMAS
Honorable Mentions
The Water Alert and Testing Resource (WALTER)
Ennead Architects
USModernist Masters and Library Databases
USModernist
Editors’ Picks
Sound Pavilion
UNC Charlotte
Buoyant Ecologies Float Lab
Architectural Ecologies Lab
Unbuilt — Residential
Winner
Ambrosia
Gensler
Los Angeles
Honorable Mentions
Little Berkeley
Kevin Daly Architects
Stump House
PARA Project
Editors’ Picks
Aqualuna
3XN
Micro Unit
Studio Ames
Unbuilt — Interior
Winner
Life on Mars: From Feces to Food
Lydia Kallipoliti
Mars
Honorable Mention
The Renovation and Reuse of a Historic Granite Bank
musumanoco
Unbuilt – Commercial
Winner
Aurora
Belzberg Architects
Mexico City
Honorable Mention
Surf Entertainment Facility
BLUR Workshop
Editors’ Picks
Folded Wings
Form4 Architecture
Nanotronics Smart Factory
Rogers Partners
Unbuilt — Cultural
Winner
Arkansas Arts Center
Studio Gang
Little Rock, Arkansas
Honorable Mentions
Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation at the American Museum of Natural History
Studio Gang
Terminal B Performance Venue
Touloukian Touloukian
Editors’ Pick
SynaCondo
Studio ST Architects
Unbuilt — Education
Winner
Otto Speech School
Charles Rose Architects
Chestnut Ridge, New York
Honorable Mentions
University of Arkansas Center for Farm and Food System Entrepreneurship
University of Arkansas Community Design Center
Church Hill North
O’Neill McVoy Architects
Editors’ Picks
Del Mar College Southside Campus
Gensler
Tecnano
FGP Atelier
Unbuilt — Green Building
Winner
Sendero Verde
Handel Architects
New York City
Honorable Mention
Coleridge Street Residences
Touloukian Touloukian
Unbuilt — Public
Winner
Adams Street Branch Library
NADAAA
Boston
Honorable Mentions
Northeast Bronx YMCA
Marvel Architects
7Hills Homeless Day Center
University of Arkansas Community Design Center
Editors’ Picks
Memorial Garden for Victims of Gun Violence
Svigals + Partners
Bus Shelter Design for the City of Miami Beach
Pininfarina
Unbuilt — Landscape
Winner
Boston Children’s Hospital Green Master Plan
Mikyoung Kim Design Boston
Honorable Mentions
Tom Lee Park
SCAPE Landscape Architecture and Studio Gang
The Clearing: Sandy Hook Permanent Memorial
SWA Group
Editors’ Picks
Beaubien Woods Action Plan
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Chicago South Lakefront Framework Plan
SmithGroup
A special thanks to our 2019 AN Best of Design Awards Jury!
Jaffer Kolb, Cofounder, New Affiliates
Sara Lopergolo, Partner, Selldorf Architects
Carlos Madrid III, Associate Director, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Anne Rieselbach, Program Director, The Architectural League of New York
Oana Stănescu, Founder, Oana Stănescu Studio
