by ArchitectureWeek

In May 2006, in its annual awards program, the Michigan Chapter of the American Institute of Architects cited sixteen projects for design excellence and creativity. Many of these fall, coincidentally, into pairs of similar building types, inviting design comparisons.

Two institutional projects, for instance, are the new Detroit Science Center by Neumann/Smith Associates and The Detroit School of the Arts by Hamilton Anderson Associates Inc. The science center was given the chapter's Steel Award for the striking use of exposed structural steel throughout the public spaces. "Beautifully composed and elegantly detailed, the skeletal assembly lends definition to the exhibit spaces without overpowering them," said the jury. The building is clad in glass and corrugated metal siding reminiscent of Detroit's industrial history.

The art school, a public high school, was cited for its "strong urban presence achieved through calculated simplicity." Located in the heart of Detroit's Cultural Center, the building was praised for its massing and the "interaction between glazed and opaque surfaces." Like the science center, it serves both its occupants and the larger community.

Two contemporary — and very different — approaches to houses of worship are the Synagogue Lubavitch Campus of Living Judaism in West Bloomfield, Michigan, by Luckenbach/ Ziegelman Architects PLLC and the Keystone Community Church in Ada, by Integrated Architecture, which was also recognized as Michigan's Firm of the Year.   >>>

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The new Detroit Science Center by Neumann/Smith Associates received an honor award from AIA Michigan. Photo: Justin Maconochie Photography The Detroit School of the Arts by Hamilton Anderson Associates Inc. Photo: Clayton Studios   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.