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The architects worked closely with residents and designed a "New Urbanist scheme" of mixed-use, mixed-income rowhouses and low-rise apartment buildings. They also expanded their scope beyond the 6-acre (2.4-hectare) tower site and redeveloped nearby abandoned rowhouses. In integrating the new buildings with the existing streetscape, they strove to match the scale, proportions, window patterns, and materials palette of the original urban fabric.

The second Project of the Year award went to Dan Rockhill/ Studio 804 for prefab Modular 1 and Modular 2. "Everybody needs to be thinking about this," one judge said of prefab housing. "Modular homes are a reality."

The designs emerged from professor Dan Rockhill's design/ build program at the School of Architecture and Urban Design of the University of Kansas. For over a decade, he and his students have been creating affordable housing in Lawrence, their college town. Beginning in 2004, they turned their attention to prefab structures they could transport to the nearby metropolis of Kansas City.

Studio 804 developed five wood-frame prototypes complete with drywall, painting, cabinetry, siding, and window placement. Modular 2 incorporates donated and recycled materials. The low-cost prototypes are filling an urgent community need for affordable housing. Another Dan Rockhill/ Studio 804 project, Modular 1, also tied with Modular 2 and Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza for the Project of the Year designation.

Affordability Rules

Also chosen were another 14 Residential Architect Grand Awards in eight categories, with overlapping themes. The Affordable Housing awards went to K Lofts in San Diego by architect Jonathan Segal, FAIA and to the Curran House in San Francisco by David Baker + Partners, Architects.

The Curran House supplies high-density housing to San Francisco's gritty Tenderloin District. Its pastel facade blends with the historic neighborhood without imitating it. The jury's assessment: "It's distinct yet fits in well with the neighborhood." The building also offers escape from the street scene with interior and rooftop gardens.

The grand prize for architectural interiors went to Cooper Square, New York City, by Desai/ Chia Architecture. The biggest challenge for this loft renovation was to bring light into the 5,000-square-foot (465-square-meter) space. The architects used interior partitions of glass and offset wood slats to allow the light to bounce through, while providing acoustical and visual privacy. The kitchen is surfaced with anodized aluminum and glass, with an illuminated glass soffit revealing the ductwork.

The grand prize reserved explicitly for kitchens went to the Commonage Kitchen renovation, in Great Falls, Virginia, by Robert M. Gurney, FAIA, Architect. The long space is lined with cabinets that conceal appliances as well as storage. These contrast with maple floors and stainless steel detailing. Pivoting floor-to-ceiling steel-and-glass doors offer views through the family room to the outside while providing acoustical separation between rooms.

Single-Family Showcases

Two houses received Grand Awards in the category of custom design of 3500 square feet (325 square meters) or less. Delta Shelter in Mazama, Washington, by Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects is a concrete and steel cabin that was largely fabricated off site then bolted together quickly and inexpensively. The rusted steel resembles bark and blends with the trees; supporting stilts protect the structure from flooding.

The "Assembled Residence" in East Hampton, New York, by Bates Masi Architects, is also made from prefabricated components. The adaptable house is one big room surrounded by secondary spaces. The framework consists of concrete foundation walls, formaldehyde-free fiberboard, dyed-concrete wall panels, preassembled wood screens, and a cantilevering rack system like those used in lumberyards to hold lifts of plywood.

In an awards category honoring design details, the renovation of Eastern Market Row House in Washington, D.C., by David Jameson Architect, was cited for the large glass openings that turned a dark rowhouse into a "Japanese lantern." The architect cut the original brick facade and installed a steel grid to frame glass panels. Inside, he cantilevered mahogany boards for shelving.   >>>

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SUBSCRIPTION SAMPLE The Curran House, high-density housing in San Francisco, designed by David Baker + Partners, Architects, received an Affordable Housing Grand Award from Residential Architect magazine. Photo: Brian Rose K Lofts, San Diego, California, by architect Jonathan Segal, FAIA. Photo: Paul Body Cooper Square, New York City, by Desai/ Chia Architecture. Photo: Paul Warchol Photography Commonage Kitchen renovation, Great Falls, Virginia, by Robert M. Gurney, FAIA, Architect. Photo: Paul Burk Photography Delta Shelter, Mazama, Washington, by Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects. Photo: Benjamin Benschneider Assembled Residence, East Hampton, New York, by Bates Masi Architects. Photo: Harry Bates/ Bates Masi Architects Eastern Market Row House, Washington, D.C., by David Jameson Architect. Photo: Anice Hoachlander/ HD Photo Parts House Pavilion, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, by Johnsen Schmaling Architects. Photo: Johnsen Schmaling Architects   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.