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Harvard Med in Boston

ARC/ Architectural Resources Cambridge designed a large research building for Harvard Medical School in Boston. The architects were challenged to design a structure that encouraged collaboration while taking into account the social planning issues associated with moving two departments away from the med school's main quadrangle area into a densely developed medical research area.

The resulting L-shaped building wraps around the existing Institutes of Medicine. Developed on a brownfield site, the new 11-story, 739,000-square-foot (68,700-square-meter) building includes a conference center with a 500-seat auditorium in addition to the 260,000 square feet (24,000 square meters) of research laboratories.

The jury appreciated "the manner in which the stepped and juxtaposed masses created urban spaces appropriate to the locality and enhance the approach to an existing private medical school."

Rhode Island Home

Water Sheds is a single-family residence in Little Compton, on the Rhode Island coast. Designed by Roger Ferris + Partners, the 5,500-square-foot (510-square-meter) house was constrained by inland wetlands that limited useable site area.

With weathered ipe wood siding and zinc roofing, the home blends traditional and contemporary elements, its clean-lined form capturing hints of traditional local architecture in the sloping roof. The residence is divided into a series of four small structures, connected by a broad communal deck.

Small Multiunit

The six-unit Penn Lofts building in Quincy, Massachusetts, by Merge Architects, was designed within the footprint of a former granite-carving factory. Although the existing timber frame was removed, the building's original foundation and column footings were kept.

The jury commended the architects' "disciplined imagination," adding: "Conventional space allocation presented problems so the architects invented a scheme of interlocking volumes that balance nicely the issues of privacy and public presence. This gives life both to the interiors and to the street facade, which is cleverly modulated."

Tall Multiunit

45 Province Street is a 150-unit high-rise condominium building in downtown Boston, designed by Bruner/ Cott & Associates. The developer client sought light-filled, open-plan units on a small hilltop site that constrained the building to a narrow footprint of 59 by 270 feet (18 by 82 meters).

The architects broke the building into several smaller-scale elements, stepping the building back as it goes up. Terra-cotta cladding at the base, echoing nearby historic architecture, gives way to a glass curtain wall.

Currier Museum of Art

Another honor award went to an addition to the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, New Hampshire, by Ann Beha Architects, which was previously covered in depth in ArchitectureWeek No. 397.

Additional Awards

The 2009 AIA New England design awards were announced on October 5.

Other Merit Awards:

Mountain Road Residence, Kent, Connecticut, by Halper Owens Architects

Fred and Fay Haas Memorial Interfaith Chapel, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott, Arizona, by Kane Architecture

Carl J. Shapiro Science Center, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, by Payette

Peirce Hall addition and renovation, Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio, by Gund Partnership

Special Mentions:

Cottage, Guilford, Connecticut, by Gray Organschi Architecture

Student Recreation and Fitness Center, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, by Cannon Design

Blue Rock House, Austerlitz, New York, by Anmahian Winton Architects

Two single-family houses in Maine by Elliott Elliott Norelius Architecture — one on Casco Bay and another on Penobscot Bay

Center for Life Science, Boston, by Tsoi/ Kobus & Associates

The jury for the 2009 AIA New England design awards was chaired by Patrick J, Quinn, Loudonville, New York, emeritus professor of architecture, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and also included Mark Mistur, associate professor of architecture, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, and Brett Balzer, Balzer Hodge Tuck Architecture, Saratoga Springs, New York.   >>>

Brian Libby is a Portland, Oregon-based freelance writer who has also published in Metropolis, Architectural Record, the Christian Science Monitor, and the New York Times.   More by Brian Libby

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SUBSCRIPTION SAMPLE Flexible external shelving accommodates heavy landscaping materials at the Stone Industrial Storage Structure in Washington, Connecticut. Photo: Jonathan Hillyer Extra Large Image A translucent wall surface combines with the exterior shelving to create varied light and shadow effects inside the Stone Industrial Storage Structure, designed by Gray Organschi Architecture. Photo: Jonathan Hillyer Extra Large Image SUBSCRIPTION SAMPLE The predominant multilayer curtain wall of the University of Massachusetts Integrated Sciences Building incorporates an external metal shading device. Photo: Warren Jagger Photography Extra Large Image As designed by Payette, the 173,000-square-foot (16,072-square-meter) Integrated Sciences Building is the first of a two-phase, three-wing project enclosing three sides of a courtyard. Photo: Warren Jagger Photography Extra Large Image A new research building for Harvard Medical School in Boston was designed by ARC/ Architectural Resources Cambridge to wrap around an existing campus building. Photo: Jeff Goldberg/ Esto Extra Large Image A multistory lobby at the new Harvard Med research building is glazed on two sides. Photo: Jeff Goldberg/ Esto Extra Large Image Designed for a waterfront site, the Water Sheds house by Roger Ferris + Partners is located in Little Compton, Rhode Island. Photo: Michael Biondo Extra Large Image Four identical pavilions were arrayed and linked to form the 5,500-square-foot (510-square-meter) Water Sheds house. Photo: Michael Biondo Extra Large Image In Quincy, Massachusetts, the facades of the six-unit Penn Lofts, by Merge Architects, are interrupted by irregularly spaced voids and openings. Photo: John Horner/ Silvia Illia Extra Large Image Inside one of the units at Penn Lofts. Photo: John Horner/ Silvia Illia Extra Large Image   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.