Interior—Residential
2020 Best of Design Award for Interior—Residential: Hill Country Wine Cave
Designer: Clayton Korte
Location: Hill Country, Texas
Located at the eastern edge of the Texas Hill Country, this private wine cave is embedded in a solid limestone hillside. The unassuming entry court reveals a bit of mystery belying the space within, camouflaged at the approach by limestone boulders collected from the excavation and lush vegetation. The opening of the cave is capped with a board-formed concrete portal, meant to weather naturally, molded to the irregular surfaces of the limestone and retaining the mouth of the earth cut. A tasting lounge, bar, wine cellar, and restroom are all tucked into an 18-foot-tall, 70-foot-deep tunnel. Sitting under the arch at the back of the cave, the private cellar provides storage for 4,000 bottles.
Honorable Mentions
Project Name: 16 Desbrosses Street
Designer: David Bers Architecture
Project Name: Unit 2808
Designer: Vladimir Radutny Architects
Editors’ Picks
Project Name: Meridian Residence
Designer: ROBERT KERR architecture design
Project Name: Tribeca Duplex
Architect of record: Ted Porter Architecture
Interior—Retail
2020 Best of Design Award for Interior—Retail: Capital One Café, Georgetown
Designer: LEO A DALY
Location: Washington, D.C.
Capital One Café in Georgetown reestablishes the placemaking role of banking with a flagship cafe. Less a branch than a local social/co-working space, the cafe offers a cozy environment for neighborhood residents to “stress less, save more, and find inspiration in the people around you.” The interior features local materials, furnishings, and artwork. Three stories connected by a spiral staircase provide a variety of seating and functional options to support the social and entrepreneurial needs of neighbors. Communal tables and lounge chairs, meeting rooms with digital presentation media, free Wi-Fi with power outlets, and video ATMs transform the bank into a social hub. Restored brick walls, exposed and rebuilt wood-beam ceilings, and repaired vintage tile celebrate the building’s history.
Honorable Mentions
Project Name: BLDWN LA
Designer: Montalba Architects
Project Name: Eyeconic
Designer: Perkins&Will
Interior—Workplace
2020 Best of Design Award for Interior—Workplace and Project of the Year Finalist: 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East
Designer: Adjaye Associates
Location: New York
The public member spaces for the new headquarters of the 1199SEIU labor union embody the principles, ethos, and achievements of its tenant, consolidating the union’s operations into one building while integrating its rich history of social justice. The colorful Anton Refregier ceramic tile mural from the union’s old building, depicting key moments and figures of the civil rights movement is faithfully replicated in the new entry-level lobby. The mural’s material language continues through all floors of the building, uniting the member spaces. A central circulation void forms the heart of the building and connects all floors with a quadruple-height feature wall. Icons like Martin Luther King Jr. and James Oppenheim are commemorated through wall art, imagery, and quotations.
“The infusion of culture and history through the vibrant visuals creates an inherent sense of belonging, and in doing so allows for an environment in which the work of the union can be celebrated.” —Jha D Williams
Honorable Mentions
Project Name: 225 Polk
Designer: HASTINGS
Project Name: Steelcase WorkLife DC
Designer: BLDGS
Editors’ Picks
Project Name: Autodesk Boston Workspace Expansion
Designer: Utile
Project Name: 335 Madison Avenue
Architect of record: SHoP Architects
Interior—Hospitality
2020 Best of Design Award for Interior—Hospitality: ASSET
Designer: Bates Masi + Architects
Location: New York
Renovating 329 Columbus Avenue to create ASSET restaurant, the designers sought to excavate the existing space in search of unique textures and hints of the past that would enrich the guest experience. In the process of 3D-scanning the building, vaults of expanded metal lath were discovered above the fire-rated ceiling. The vaults were reintroduced as an exposed element. Formally, their rhythm breaks down the expansive space to a more intimate scale. Structurally, they conceal steel girders; below hang the stairs, bar shelves, and light fixtures, allowing those elements to be much more delicate than if they were self-supporting. The diamond pattern of an expanded metal mesh becomes a motif unifying details.
Honorable Mentions
Project Name: 1700 Broadway Club
Designer: Fogarty Finger Architecture
Project Name: W Montreal Common Spaces
Designer: Sid Lee Architecture
Editors’ Picks
Project Name: Politan Row Houston
Design architect: bell butler design and architecture
Architect of record: ASD|SKY
Project Name: Tilda California Natural Wine
Architect of record: Stayner Architects
Interior—Healthcare
2020 Best of Design Award for Interior—Healthcare: Norwegian American Hospital First-Floor Transformation
Designer: JGMA
Location: Chicago
Norwegian American Hospital is a one-hundred-year-old institution in the heart of Humboldt Park, a predominantly Puerto Rican neighborhood in Chicago. It is a critical safety-net provider of high-quality, compassionate, and affordable healthcare in partnership with patients, families, employees, physicians, and the communities served. The interior renovation represents a critical first step in a wellness district master plan aimed at completely rethinking the health and well-being of area residents. The firm planned and designed the renovation and reimagination of the lower levels and functions within the hospital specifically related to patient care, visitor flow, and wayfinding. The project consists of over 25,000 square feet of work split into 22 individual phases.
Honorable Mentions
Project Name: Beverly Clinic
Designer: Merge Architects
Project Name: Cedars-Sinai Advanced Health Sciences Pavilion Outpatient Surgery
Designer: CO Architects
Editors’ Picks
Project Name: Modern Animal
Designer: Design, Bitches
Project Name: Yale Child Study Center
Architect of record: Svigals + Partners
Interior—Green
2020 Best of Design Award for Interior—Green: DPR Sacramento Headquarters
Designer: SmithGroup
Location: Sacramento, California
The DPR Sacramento Headquarters reimagines two vacant buildings to create a sustainable 34,433-square-foot work environment that fosters collaboration and connects employees to both nature and the surrounding community. The reconfigured space features agile, open office seating areas that reflect the company’s familylike culture and offer flexibility to accommodate employees who spend more time at job sites than in the office. The project is the largest use of mass timber in a vertical expansion of an existing building in the United States and includes biophilic design elements: sculptural “grow columns” and a seed wall art installation. The project aims for net-positive energy and is designed to meet LEED Platinum and WELL certification standards.
Honorable Mentions
Project Name: The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI)
Designer: COOKFOX Architects
Project Name: University of Delaware The Tower at STAR Campus
Architect: Bernardon
Living wall manufacturer and designer: EcoWalls
Living wall installation and maintenance: Parker Interior Plantscape
Architectural Lighting—Indoor
2020 Best of Design Award for Architectural Lighting—Indoor: Catoptric Surface
Designer: Open Source Architecture
Location: St. Louis
Catoptric Surface harvests daylight by reflecting it through a building envelope to form an image-based pattern of light. The result produces visual effects and practical applications directing daylight in precise locations, with the potential to replace artificial light in a building. Its adaptability is based on its ability to rotate each mirror independently, controlled by a computer and electric motors. In this way, each mirror produces a pixel of daylight whose target location is determined by analyzing a raster-based image. As each mirror rotates to reflect daylight onto a chosen location, it contributes to the creation of a very low resolution version of the input image.
Honorable Mentions
Project Name: Goldring/Woldenberg Complex Expansion, Tulane University School of Business
Design architect: Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects
Architect of record: Manning
Lighting designer: Cline Bettridge Bernstein Lighting Design
Project Name: Hunters Point Library
Architect: Steven Holl Architects
Lighting designer: L’Observatoire International
Editors’ Picks
Project Name: King Open/Cambridge Street Upper Schools and Community Complex
Architects: William Rawn Associates with Arrowstreet
Lighting designer: HLB Lighting Design
Institutional—Interior
2020 Best of Design Award for Institutional—Interior: Schiff House Daycare Center at the City College of New York
Designer: Michielli + Wyetzner Architects
Location: New York
The 3,000-square-foot Schiff House Daycare Center is intended to serve the children of the students and faculty of the City College of New York. Built in 1912, the neo-Gothic stone house underwent a full gut renovation of the interior as well as a restoration and upgrade to the exterior, including a new playground design. To preserve valuable square footage, disparate floor heights were raised to the same level for ADA compliance. With four classrooms, the school is capable of accommodating 45 children from ages two to six. Curved walls soften the interior environment for small children, and playful fenestration opens up sightlines and brings unity to the space. Maple-clad bleachers form a centerpiece for school gatherings and storytelling.
Honorable Mentions
Project Name: Bay Area Children Center
Designer: March Studio
Project Name: King Open/Cambridge Street Upper Schools and Community Complex
Architects: William Rawn Associates, Architects with Arrowstreet
Lighting designer: HLB Lighting Design
Editors’ Picks
Project Name: Grace Church School Athletic Center
Designer: MBB Architects
