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