Good architecture can be a lot like good water. Once, while hiking, a friend pulled a bottle of spring water from his pack to quench his thirst. He commented on how good the water was, and I asked, “What’s it taste like?” He said, “It’s not so much what it tastes like, it’s what it doesn’t taste like.” This off-hand comment changed the way I thought about everything from politics to poetry as well as architecture.
While well-designed structures are often stylish, comfortable, and functional, part of what makes their architecture great is an ability to disappear. With ill-conceived spaces, the first thing we notice is what it is not: it does not flow; it is not comfortable; there’s not enough light; and so on. The point is we notice the flaws. With great architecture, we may notice the aesthetic appeal, but aftertime spent working and living in a space, we mostly just don’t think about it at all—it just works.
Recently, three architecture firms from the American Institute of Architects Chesapeake Bay Chapter (AIA/CBC) won awards for designs that just work. The structures are not only visually appealing, they also solve problems, making life easier and more pleasurable for the people who live, work, and learn in theses spaces. The AIA/CBC awards not only allow fellow architects to recognize one another for excellence, they also help you, the consumer, get to know more about some of the top architects in the region—their projects represent the best of 2004.
Kirby Mehrhof Architects Benchmark School, Middle School Addition and Performing Arts Center
HAMMOND WILSON ARCHITECTS
Located on the South River in Annapolis, Maryland, this house is designed to incorporate the principles and forms of Maryland vernacular architecture with the planning strategies and technologies of today. Hammond Wilson Architects organized the home in a linear fashion to take advantage of the river views, and the poolhouse and garage are designed as separate buildings, much like the outbuildings of early Maryland plantations. The arrangement of these separate buildings also creates an exterior courtyard space reminiscent of Maryland farm buildings.
The gable roof and stair tower give the entrance to the house a distinct character. On the waterfront side of the house, the first floor wall is pulled away from the structure to create a colonnaded covered porch. The overhanging roof reduces the amount of direct sunlight into the main living spaces and makes it possible to use large areas of glass on the western side to optimize views from the living, dining, and family rooms as well as the master bedroom. A screened porch is tucked under the colonnade, providing a protected outdoor living space.
The house is clad with cedar shingles, and the doors and windows are designed to be reminiscent of traditional Maryland houses. Despite the outward appearance and direct references to regional architecture, the residence is also very modern. Interior spaces are open and flow into each other throughout the house. The continuous window wall emphasizes this openness, floods the house with light, and provides dramatic river views.
Dupont Circle Office Building Renovation
GEORGE GORDON ARCHITECTS
The office building at 1666 Connecticut Avenue in historic Dupont Circle is the primary asset for a non-profit foundation focusing on annual grant giving to community outreach organizations. This project consisted of renovating the vacant, three-theater multiplex to maximize rental income and allow for an increase in funding for grant recipients. Working with the foundation, leasing agents, and a construction manager, George Gordon Architects developed a design that would open the ground floor for maximum visual connection into the new spaces. Particular attention was paid to creating distinction between the ground floor retail level and the body of the building, tenant signage, lighting design, and the transparency of the storefront. A glass and stainless steel trellis was designed to combine the responses to these needs in a cleanly designed and visually identifiable statement.
Over the course of the construction for the base building work, the foundation expressed a desire to renovate the lobby. The lobby design extends the space literally and figuratively out into the sidewalk, updates the interior with welcoming and engaging finishes, and enhances the visibility of the entrance. A stainless steel canopy covers the entrance, identifying a more appropriate location for the building address, and allows the point of entry to be extended out to the building line—a new revolving door and glass panels visually connect the new lobby space with the retail spaces to each side, and an enhanced lighting scheme highlights the updated finish materials. The renovated building now houses an Italian restaurant and a fashionable clothing store, giving this north Dupont Circle neighborhood a center of activity that was lacking before the renovation.
Benchmark School, Middle School Addition and Performing Arts Center
KIRBY MEHRHOF ARCHITECTS
The Benchmark School, nationally recognized for its work with special needs children, is located on a heavilywooded and sloping site among the rolling hills of south-eastern Pennsylvania. To help the school accommodate its gradual growth, Kirby Mehrhof Architects (KMA) designed a middle school addition and a new Performing Arts Center. The middle school addition consists of new and renovated classrooms, new offices, conference space, mentor rooms, and a common area. The Performing Arts Center called for a 400-seat performance hall equipped with support facilities and state-of-the-art control systems to be operated by the students.
To minimize the visual impact of the new structures and renovations, the playground was preserved as were much of the wooded areas surrounding the school. A new wing of classrooms, separated from existing classrooms by a common space, has been added down-slope from the existing middle school, and the Performing Arts Center is located at the end of the middle school wing. Taking advantage of the slope, KMA sited the building in a way that helped form the raked seating area of the performance hall and maintained a buffer of mature trees, preventing the building from visually dominating an important playground.
While the exterior of the new structures borrows finish elements and overall style from existing campus buildings, the windows and interior spaces have their own character, which not only supports the functions of the spaces but also provides connection with the outdoors. Knowing that visually stimulating environments promote learning, KMA designed aesthetically interesting spaces, alive with natural light—spaces that respond to the pre-existing contexts of the structures and the site; comfortable spaces that the students enjoy; spaces that express the goals of the school.
ChesapeakeHome is proud to partner with the American Institute of Architects Chesapeake Bay Chapter to feature its annual design awards. To learn more about AIA/CBC and its architect members, visit aiachesapeakebay.org.
