2014 AIA Wisconsin Design Awards
Project Descriptions & Jury Comments
Merit Award
Project:
Architect:
Owner:
Contractor:
Fieldstone House
Richfield, Wisconsin
Bruns Architecture
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Private Owner
Design 2 Construct
On a site that includes a small farm field as well as the heavily wooded topography of two glacial kettles,
this new home in Richfield is balanced about a fieldstone wall that runs through the length of the
interior and organizes circulation. The stone for the wall was collected nearby and polished smooth by
glacial activity. The primary living spaces are collected in a tall two-story volume with a gently sloping
roof on the woodland side of the home. On the exterior, warm grey zinc panels hang like drapes from
the clerestory down to the lower level. Within the entry, a cedar wall extends past a timber and steel
stairway. A board-formed concrete chimney with wood-burning fireplaces anchors both levels. Support
spaces are organized in a smaller flat-roofed structure on the field side and wrapped in smooth cedar
siding. With energy efficient windows and insulated walls, the home utilizes radiant heat within
polished concrete floor slabs. The south facing eave is extended to allow sunlight on winter days and
provide shade in the summer.
Jury Comment: “The siting of this home is spectacular. The design solution seemed to take off from a
very clear idea about this memorable and beautiful site. The materials and detailing are beautiful. The
sustainability features are very good, such as the window glazing and careful orientation. It must be
heavenly to be in this glass pavilion looking at the woodland forest.”
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2014 AIA Wisconsin Design Awards
Project Descriptions & Jury Comments
Merit Award
Project:
Architect:
Owner:
Contractor:
88Nine RadioMilwaukee
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
HGA Architects and Engineers
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
88Nine RadioMilwaukee
Catalyst Construction
This renovation of a vacant brick and steel industrial building in the Walker’s Point neighborhood of
Milwaukee creates a new home for a nonprofit “listener supported” radio station, expanding its ability
to engage the community through stories and music. The project includes flexible performance spaces
and state-of-the-art broadcast and production studios as well as supporting elements that allow for
active community involvement, enhanced programming and a collaborative work environment that
reflects the culture of the station. The central feature of the building is the Performance Space that
accommodates over 100 people for live performances and events. The adjacent community room for
station events connects to a coffee shop through large glass garage doors and features large windows
that extend the experience to a sidewalk patio. On the second floor, offices and open workstations
bracket a central space with teaming areas to enable collaboration. A green roof and rain barrels
provide stormwater management while a steel patina wall creates a visual and acoustic backdrop for a
rooftop music stage. The project included the extensive use of salvaged, repurposed and recycled
materials.
Jury Comment: “There is an informality and vibe and participatory quality to the performance space
that appears to buzz with excitement. You can really see this being a lively hub of activity. The layering
of spaces, use of color and reuse of materials – especially from the dairy barn – all add interest. The
progressive attitude of the radio station now has an architectural expression to it – and that’s very cool.”
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2014 AIA Wisconsin Design Awards
Project Descriptions & Jury Comments
Merit Award
Project:
Architect:
Owner:
Contractor:
Global Water Center
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Kahler Slater
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Water Accelerator, LLC
KBS
CD Smith
Originally built in 1904 as a box manufacturing facility, this historic landmark in the Walker’s Point
neighborhood of Milwaukee has been carefully renovated into a contemporary seven-story office
building with university lab space and business incubation suites. Designed to promote collaboration
and attract new businesses addressing key local and global water-quality and policy issues, the
redevelopment serves as a catalyst for the city’s Global Water Technology Business Park. On the
exterior, concrete aggregate panels on the lower portion of the building were replaced with brick to
match the rest of the façade and uplighting is used to highlight the building’s historic features. With
heavy timber frame and historic details providing a rich backdrop, the original interior layout was
modified by inserting a new core with stairs, elevators and facilities. On the elevated first floor, the
lobby opens up into a central open gallery that doubles as a large gathering space and a public café
encourages collaboration. The former loading dock has been transformed into an auditorium and
shared conference room. Sustainable design features include a green roof that serves as a vegetated
roofing research laboratory for UW-Milwaukee’s School of Freshwater Sciences.
Jury Comment: “This adaptive reuse project was very successful in maintaining the integrity and power
of a great old building. There are some great spaces inside. You can see how the flow of spaces and the
open gallery on the first floor can activate the idea of collaboration and communication. The recladding
of the exterior brick looks very good. A beat up and ugly building was brought back to life. This project
had a nice coherent approach.”
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2014 AIA Wisconsin Design Awards
Project Descriptions & Jury Comments
Merit Award
Project:
Architect:
Owner:
Contractor:
Owensboro Health Regional Hospital
Owensboro, Kentucky
HGA Architects and Engineers
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
KLMK Group
Turner Construction
This new regional medical facility in northwestern Kentucky includes a nine-story inpatient tower, threestory diagnostic and treatment building, transitional care unit, emergency department and various other
specialty and outpatient facilities. While the 162-acre site offered convenient access to residents and
space for future expansion, special design solutions were required to address seismic and flood plain
issues. The design of the undulating building elements and healing environments that flow through the
477-bed hospital were inspired by the nearby Ohio River. Internal courtyards bring light into the
building and provide views that create calming distractions. The exterior features simple forms and
natural materials, with the buildings connected at shared common spaces. Glass is used to emphasize
important areas, such as the south façade of the tower. The facility incorporates many sustainable
elements, including daylighting, green roofs, stormwater bioswales, native plants and restoration of the
adjacent flood plain. It is the first hospital to be designated as a Certified Audubon International
Signature Sanctuary. The facility is designed to reduce operational costs, improve the workplace
environment, engage the community and optimize patient care.
Jury Comment: “While this project is large in scale, the design concept provides clarity by breaking
down and unifying the distinct programmatic elements. There is a nice use of materials, both inside and
out. The interior spaces are lovely and gracious. The patient room is wonderful – very soothing and
nurturing with a beautiful view. It’s exquisite.”
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2014 AIA Wisconsin Design Awards
Project Descriptions & Jury Comments
Merit Award
Project:
Architect:
Owner:
Contractor:
Hilton Garden Inn Milwaukee Downtown
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Kahler Slater
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
First Hospitality Group
Stevens Construction
Built in the heart of downtown Milwaukee in 1886 and listed on the National Historic Register of Historic
Places, this landmark office building has been restored and transformed into a 127-room hotel. The
Richardsonian Romanesque structure, with its solid granite and limestone exterior and soaring atrium, is
one the best remaining examples of this building type in the Midwest. The project respects and
recaptures the original design features while rejuvenating the building to meet the needs of modern
hotel guests. On the exterior, paint and black soot were carefully removed from the stone façade. Most
of the ground and first floor is dedicated to public spaces, including a restaurant, lounge areas and
meeting space. The upper floors feature unique guest rooms, with 14-foot ceilings and large windows,
positioned around the atrium. The historic details were preserved and restored throughout the
building, including the original multi-colored floor tiles, bank vault doors, wood paneling and trim,
ornamental plaster ceilings, marble and bronze staircases, windows, and the breathtaking atrium. With
great collaboration, the Liberty Building has been beautifully restored, both inside and out, and
repurposed for an active future.
Jury Comment: “You can’t help but love this old building. Looking at the before and after images, this
restoration involved great care, collaboration and thoughtfulness. The atrium is really beautiful. This is a
technical exercise, requiring significant research and problem-solving skills. The architect heightened
the history of a place through the restoration. It demonstrates that a building like this can be put to
very efficient use and that this kind of restoration project offers a sustainable business model.”
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2014 AIA Wisconsin Design Awards
Project Descriptions & Jury Comments
Honor Award
Project:
Architect:
Owner:
Contractor:
Redaction House
Oconomowoc, Wisconsin
Johnsen Schmaling Architects
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Private Residence
Burg Construction
This contemporary and compact home on a small lake in suburban Milwaukee was designed for a fiber
artist and her young family. Nestled among existing houses, it was built on a narrow sliver of land that
had been considered unsuitable for new construction because of its limited size and zoning restrictions.
The main components of the new home are consolidated in a simple two-story wood cube that rests on
a stepped brick podium carved into the site’s existing slope. Exterior materials are limited to locally
sourced wood and brick. The main body of the house is clad in horizontal cedar, complemented by
stained and painted vertical boards between the windows. Approaching the house from the street, a
courtyard path leads to a transparent front door that frames an unencumbered view of the lake beyond.
Inside, strategically placed floor-to-ceiling windows alternate with solid walls to highlight views and
provide privacy. Rooms are grouped along the perimeter of a two-story living hall. The building
envelope yields extraordinary insulation values. The home’s green roofs minimize stormwater runoff,
with any excess collected in an on-site raingarden.
Jury Comment: “This project was beautifully executed. The selection of materials and the overall design
concept are very thoughtful and restrained. The materials work with each other impeccably. In terms
of scale, this is a relatively modest house, but it doesn’t feel like a modest house. Virtually every room
feels like it is on the lake and in the trees. The architect took full advantage of this beautiful site.”
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2014 AIA Wisconsin Design Awards
Project Descriptions & Jury Comments
Honor Award
Project:
Architect:
Owner:
Contractor:
Northwestern University | Technological Institute Additions
Evanston, Illinois
Flad Architects
Madison, Wisconsin
Northwestern University
Pepper Construction
Northwestern University’s Technological Institute is one of the largest academic buildings in the
world and has undergone numerous additions and renovations since it was built in 1942. The latest
expansion involves two infill additions designed to capitalize on space between existing wings. In
addition to housing new laboratory and office facilities, each space features a light-filled interior
atrium. The exterior of each addition blends seamlessly with the existing building. Materials used
on the interior echo the building’s established modern industrial style and sturdy structure. The
design centers around access to natural daylight, with each addition organized around its threestory steel-framed glass-roofed atrium, allowing light to reach into corridors, laboratories and
offices. A glass floor in one of the atriums acts as a unique organizing element in this large building
and allows light to travel even further between levels. The additions are popular meeting spaces for
formal and informal gatherings of students, colleagues and departments outside of the research
environment in a relaxed open community space.
Jury Comment: “From big ideas down to the details, there was a thoroughness that gave this project
distinction. We liked the basic idea of taking this huge interlocking maze of a building and creating these
new public spaces that offer a little relief from business as usual and something memorable and unique.
The interior spaces are filled with light and beautifully detailed. This project has overall excellence. It
upgraded everything. We appreciate the human scale, with the detail brought to eye level. There’s a
coherence and a serenity in the new spaces.”
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2014 AIA Wisconsin Design Awards
Project Descriptions & Jury Comments
Honor Award
Project:
Architect:
Owner:
Contractor:
Elgin Community College | Health & Life Sciences Building
Elgin, Illinois
Kahler Slater
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Elgin Community College
LAMP Incorporated
This new educational center offers real-world hands-on experiential learning opportunities for students
in the health professions and, at the same time, creates a new gateway to an established community
college campus in northern Illinois. The Health & Life Sciences Building also encourages
interprofessional learning and helps to redefine the college as a strong partner within the local
community. A green courtyard was used as a design feature to organize the building’s program spaces
and massing. Exterior building materials of brick and stone reference the traditional campus
architecture. The exterior design elements and details are repeated in the interior to create a sense of
unity between the indoor and outdoor spaces. The design of the building incorporates natural light,
study areas near green space, interior windows to offer views into classrooms, glass walls between
wings to reinforce the feeling of connection and openness, and flexible classroom environments to
encourage collaborative learning. The open glass-clad building offers a striking gateway to the college
and serves as a landmark for the community while raising the bar for health science education.
Jury Comment: “The quality of this building is impressive. It is well done. While the building looks very
high-end, you know it can’t be that expensive. They were able to take a community college budget and
make it feel like a university building. The layout and integration of the courtyard is successful in getting
daylight in all the spaces. It speaks to the value these institutions are providing to their communities.”
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2014 AIA Wisconsin Design Awards
Project Descriptions & Jury Comments
Honor Award
Project:
Architect:
Owner:
Contractor:
Museum of Wisconsin Art
West Bend, Wisconsin
HGA Architects and Engineers
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Museum of Wisconsin Art
M.A. Mortenson
The new museum, located along the Milwaukee River across from West Bend’s historic downtown,
houses the collection, preservation and exhibition of artworks by artists who have lived and worked in
Wisconsin. The unique triangular building, clad in a variegated skin of fiber cement panels in different
shades of white with glass apertures, not only fits precisely into its redevelopment site, but also fits the
program needs of the museum by providing a range of different sized galleries. The acute north tip of
the building is cut away to reveal a monumental stairway and create a dynamic glass wedge that forms
an iconic element for the museum. In the southwest corner, a tall two-story opening provides an
entrance into the atrium as well as views of downtown and down the length of the river. A curving
stairway provides access to the galleries on the second floor. All the galleries have 16-foot tall ceilings,
with tall freestanding wall planes to create a series of galleries and provide mechanical services for this
space. The first floor contains space for educational programs, lectures, curatorial services and
administrative support. The interior is designed with minimal white surfaces and doors, sidelights,
railings and clerestories of transparent frameless glass.
Jury Comment: “This is a beautiful project that was well executed with a limited budget. The architect
was really given a challenge – and the solution is very successful in the simplicity of the plan and the
form as well as the selection of materials. The architect was smart to let the site talk and tell them what
to do. It all works. The site is magical; and the community deserves a lot of credit for selecting it for the
new museum. The materials and palette are refreshingly clean and a wonderful backdrop for the
artwork. The project is diabolically simple.”
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2014 AIA Wisconsin Design Awards
Project Descriptions & Jury Comments
Honor Award
Project:
Architect:
Owner:
Contractor:
University of Wisconsin – Madison | Biochemical Sciences Complex
Madison, Wisconsin
Flad Architects
Madison, Wisconsin
State of Wisconsin
Division of Facilities Development
J.H. Findorff & Son Inc.
Located among modern science and engineering buildings on the UW-Madison campus, this project
involved the restoration and renovation of history-rich buildings for instructional purposes, demolition
of an outdated laboratory facility and construction of a new state-of-the-art Biochemical Sciences
Building research tower. The reorganization of the site opened a pedestrian throughway that was part
of the original master plan, stitching the complex back into the fabric of the larger campus. Although
modern in style, the new tower incorporates aesthetic qualities derived from the adjacent historic
structures. For example, the terra cotta rain screen façade and sunshading elements gesture to the
turn-of-the-century clay tile roofs of the neighboring buildings. Designed to be buoyant, an abundance
of glass and anodized aluminum helps mitigate the shift in scale. The tower’s articulation responds to
the established structures at each elevation. The arrangement of each floor reflects the desire to bring
people together. Laboratories, offices and classrooms are supported by break rooms, a café and
administrative offices – all contributing to collaborative scientific endeavors. The complex has created a
physical environment that fosters learning, research and community.
Jury Comment: “With a very tight site and a large building, this project was very impressive in the way
the design helped to pull the entire complex together. The public space around the research tower
seems very successful – due, in part, to the texture of the façade. The terra cotta is beautifully detailed
and creates energy as this detailing continues into the interior. The use of daylight and public spaces on
every level encourages student interaction. There was a thoughtful use of color and scale derived from
the context materials and transformed into the new building. A technically sophisticated project, it is
still a very humane place.”
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