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Richard M. Lucas Center Expansion

An angled two-story glass curtain-wall and light court combine with creative use of interior glass to flood Stanford University's underground Richard M. Lucas Center expansion with daylight. The research facility, updated by Perkins+Will, houses both a high-powered cyclotron and the world's most powerful MRI scanner. The jury said, "Clever design solved the problem of lighting in a below-grade building and the workspaces exceed expectations of the clients and visitors."

Plaza Apartments

In the new Plaza Apartments in San Francisco by Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects and Paulett Taggart Architects, more than a hundred highly efficient 300-square-foot (28-square-meter) studio apartments provide permanent affordable housing with on-site mental and physical health services for chronically homeless people, replacing a substandard single-room-occupancy hotel in a blighted San Francisco neighborhood. The jury noted that the architects created an extraordinary project with a limited budget — a colorful and dignified building giving hope to residents and providing an anchor in a challenging neighborhood.

Maison Clarte

Maison Clarte, or the 1532 House, by Fougeron Architecture in San Francisco, introduces a new approach to the San Francisco infill site: a house of courtyards and light. Taking advantage of an extra-deep lot, two light courts interweave with two distinct volumes to allow for new modes of indoor-outdoor living. The house is transparent from the street to the backyard, offering a rare glimpse of the intimate world behind closed doors.

1028 Natoma

Simple materials and rigorous design provide an innovative, if severely abstract, form of urban infill housing in San Francisco at 1028 Natoma by Stanley Saitowitz / Natoma Architects, Inc. Vertical access and a light courtyard form one party wall, while services are compressed into a single bar along the other. This approach allows for a free plan that provides maximum flexibility and openness for the occupants. While the jury thought that this "beautiful update of the San Francisco Victorian prototype blends into the neighborhood," others might look for more in the way of blending than offered in this design.

Presentation Welcoming Center and Dining Hall

The beautifully crafted Presentation Welcoming Center and Dining Hall in Los Gatos by Daniel Smith & Associates revitalizes an existing retreat and conference center. Deeply rooted in passive solar design, the LEED Gold facility's features include straw-bale construction, renewable energy generation, living roofs, and advanced stormwater management. This project reflects a modest regionalism, stemming from mindfulness of the local environment — very appropriate for a facility that serves a religious order.

Chartwell School

The vision for the Chartwell School, in Seaside, California, by EHDD Architecture, was to create an exceptional, high-performance learning environment for children with dyslexia. The result is a pleasing, durable campus that integrates daylight to improve learning rates, and uses its site overlooking Monterey Bay as a sustainability teaching tool. The design dramatically reduced environmental impacts, achieving zero net electricity use and the reduction of potable water use by 70 percent. The jury felt that the school "implicitly demonstrates a healthy indoor environment and connection as a strategy for working with a special population of children."

House Ocho

Located in Carmel's Santa Lucia mountains, the 3,000-square-foot (280-square-meter) House Ocho by Feldman Architecture is half the size of other homes in this development, itself a significant achievement in sustainable design. Simply built and elegantly detailed, with well-proportioned and well-oriented outdoor spaces, this house provides the amenities of a larger building. Passive solar heating and living roofs made this project energy efficient and elegant.

San Mateo County Sheriff's Forensic Laboratory

Recently LEED-certified, the 29,000-square-foot (2,700-square-meter) San Mateo County Sheriff's Forensic Laboratory in San Mateo by HOK uses good building orientation, south shading, and north clerestories to provide a superior, daylit workplace in a handsome design. The building exceeded the California Title 24 energy standards by 50 percent, and includes extensive roof-integrated photovoltaics to further reduce electrical demand. The jury said, "This project solves a specialized institutional program with confidence, integrating a large number of environmental criteria and sustainable principles."   >>>

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SUBSCRIPTION SAMPLE Richard M. Lucas Center Expansion by Perkins+Will, an AIA/SF 2007 Design Honor Award winner for Excellence in Architecture. Photo: Robert Canfield Photography Richard M. Lucas Center Expansion interior. Photo: Robert Canfield Photography Plaza Apartments in Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects and Paulett Taggart Architects, an AIA/SF 2007 Design Honor Award winner for Excellence in Architecture. Photo: Tim Griffith Plaza Apartments facade. Photo: Tim Griffith Maison Clarte by Fougeron Architecture, an AIA/SF 2007 Design Honor Award winner for Excellence in Architecture. Photo: Richard Barnes Photography Maison Clarte interior. Photo: Richard Barnes Photography 1028 Natoma by Stanley Saitowitz / Natoma Architects, Inc., an AIA/SF 2007 Design Honor Award winner for Excellence in Architecture. Photo: Tim Griffith Interior at 1028 Natoma. Photo: Tim Griffith   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.