Design Equilibrium 2019

2019

Design for Growth & Social Impact

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2019 DESIGNER AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Malachi Gordon

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Robert Woodhurst IV, AIA

PHOTOGRAPHER

Brian Reeves, Perfect Day Photos

PUBLISHER’S STATEMENT

Copyright Š 2019 AIA Atlanta. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced, reprinted, transmitted or stored in any form, or by any means now known or later discovered whether digital, electronic, mechanical or otherwise, without the specific written consent of the publisher AIA Atlanta. Opinions expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of AIA Atlanta nor do they accept responsibility for errors of content or omissions and, as a matter of policy, neither do they endorse products or advertisements appearing herein. Design Equilibrium is a trademark of AIA Atlanta.

ABOUT AIA ATLANTA

AIA Atlanta, the Atlanta Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, is a professional membership organization advocating for architects, designers and students. We offer an array of programs and events including continuing education, advocacy and networking to more than 1,700 members in Metro Atlanta.

CONTACT

50 Hurt Plaza, Suite 109 Atlanta, Georgia 30303 (404) 222-0099 aiaatl.org

On the Cover Rendering courtesy of The Beck Group.

Phipps Plaza is celebrating a new phase of development and transformation in its 50year history.

The new development, by The Beck Group, features a Nobu Hotel and Restaurant plus a 13-story office building.

A Life Time luxury athletic and coworking destination, combined with a curated dining and entertainment experience, complete the trio.

These will all be linked by an outdoor event venue and public green space, replacing a former multi-level department store.

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On the Cover

The Transformation of Phipps Plaza CLAYTON DASPIT, AIA Principal, The Beck Group

AN EARLY TRENDSETTER Phipps Plaza debuted in 1969. It was the first fully-enclosed, multi-level mall in Atlanta. It featured a grand central court centered on the single-screen Phipps Plaza Theater, with two wings anchored by Saks and Lord & Taylor. Located across the street from Lenox Mall, which opened a decade earlier, Phipps appealed to a discerning, luxury-oriented clientele.

Phipps Plaza is on the north side of Peachtree Road, which follows a natural ridgeline through the city. It followed planning concepts consistent with 1950s regional suburban malls with the advantage that the falling grades allowed most parking to be placed below the mall. This reduction in surface parking allowed Phipps Plaza to be closer and have a stronger presence on Peachtree Road.

The coming decades brought significant development to Buckhead. Phipps Plaza improved and expanded to meet expectations of modern-day shoppers, cementing its status as the luxury shopping destination in Atlanta and the Southeast.

THE 1990s THROUGH THE 2000s: A PERIOD OF CHANGE The mall underwent a major expansion and renovation in the early 1990s. Shoppers enjoyed a new wing with a food court, 14-screen AMC theater and a 170,000-squarefoot Parisian anchor store. Designed by Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback and Associates (now tvsdesign), Phipps boasted an overall upgrade and facelift, reinforcing its image as an upscale, high-fashion experience.

Simon Property Group acquired Phipps Plaza in 1998, leading to significant changes for the then-40-yearold mall. Simon brought Nordstrom in to occupy the remodeled Lord & Taylor store in 2005. Two years later, Belk replaced the Parisian anchor store.

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In the 2010s, Simon began its relationship with The Beck Group, the integrated architecture and construction firm. Beck led the effort necessary to continue improving the experience at Phipps Plaza, including parking and interior upgrades. There were also dramatic changes to the entrance and façade, allowing for more individuality for tenants’ branding. The new architectural variety and signage also improved visual interest for visitors.

CREATING A LIFESTYLE DESTINATION FOR THE FUTURE Simon is a leader in premier shopping, dining, entertainment and mixed-use destinations and creates innovative experiences across its properties.

The Simon team enlisted Beck to achieve its vision for a new Phipps Plaza and reinforce its reputation as one of the county’s most exciting lifestyle destinations.

The Simon and Beck teams saw untapped potential in the north end of the property, where the Belk department store and its parking deck are located. This area offers prime visibility and access thanks to its proximity to the GA-400 and Lenox Road intersection.

Using 3D modeling and the real-time estimating software DProfilerTM, Simon and Beck explored strategies for maximizing the site’s potential and providing accurate costs for a range of development options. A hotel, office tower and lifestyle/dining building sit on a new, more efficient parking structure. This combination is the ideal orientation for the site.

A solid ROM cost estimate, combined with conceptual design plans and renderings, gave the project a sense of life and achievability. Nobu, the preeminent modern luxury brand, committed to becoming the flagship for the new luxury hotel on the site's most prominent corner.

(Continued)

RENDERINGS COURTESY OF THE BECK GROUP

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THE VISION COMES TO LIFE, DESPITE CHALLENGES Bringing this new vision to life is predicated on removing Belk and the parking deck below and surrounding it. Removing the structures gives the design-build team a new buildable area in roughly the same footprint.

However, existing utilities, pile caps and other structures create a below-grade obstacle course difficult to navigate during planning and construction.

At the same time, attachment to the existing mall creates another set of challenges. Beck’s design team identified the critical conditions and connection points to define the starting parameters of the project.

Before the project could start, the team successfully conquered another challenge: designing and moving an existing fire station, located under the parking deck, to a new location on the property. The City of Atlanta Fire Station No. 3 was designed, built and occupied by its crew all in less than one year.

AN AMBITIOUS DESIGN In late 2017, design began in earnest and the project advanced rapidly, responding to evolving building programs as they became more refined and targeted.

An outdoor event plaza was added to support a variety of events.

The addition enhances the sense of shared public space and links the other program elements. Beck’s integrated process allows for cost checks throughout the design, allowing course-corrections to happen early and reassuring Simon that the project remains on budget.

The ambitious design creates a composition that effectively serves

the hotel, office and anchor building. While each is unique, the three buildings complement one other and define the exterior spatial experienc-

their panoramic skyline views. The lobby is a graceful, transparent space that engages with the shared outdoor event venue and enjoys proximity to

es.

the amenities of its companion buildings.

THE NOBU HOTEL AND RESTAURANT The hotel is inspired by the distinctive style of the Nobu brand’s inventive interiors. Its façade recalls the modularity of Japanese architecture and the recessed cells of bento boxes, with metal, copper and charred-wood materials meant to engage the senses.

As a guest approaches, the design reveals itself in layers from the screened motor-court drop-off to the hotel lobby to the restaurant. The uppermost floor highlights a two-level "super suite" with access to a private pool overlooking sweeping vistas.

ONE PHIPPS PLAZA One Phipps Plaza is the 350,000-square-foot Class A office building of the trio. It is inspired by the simple, elegant lines of mid-century modernism, the architectural era in which the mall was constructed.

The rectilinear form of the building features a series of frames that subdivide the façade. The frames are interrupted at key locations to highlight the entry and upper floors with

A MIXED-USE ANCHOR The anchor building is a true mix of uses. The building’s design evokes a refined warehouse-industrial aesthetic, harkening back to Atlanta's heritage as the major mercantile hub of the southeast.

It features a fully equipped Life Time Athletic and Life Time Work destination, which occupy the upper three floors and the rooftop pool deck. The lower two stories feature curated dining and family entertainment that links directly to the mall common space.

Visitors and shoppers can experience the entire development by walking through this building, which links the hotel to the mall and Phipps Boulevard to Peachtree Road.

With a target completion date of spring 2021, the transformation of Phipps Plaza is one of the most ambitious projects in this region. Its scope alters the legendary Atlanta luxury retail landmark, elevating it to a one-of-a-kind, globally-recognized, mixed-use destination.

Table of Contents

Welcome

Awards

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16

Contributors

Build Something Great

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20

Editor's Note

Honor Awards

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22

Letter from the President

11 2019 Board of Directors

12 AIA Fellows

Residential Design Awards

24 Mixed-use

26 Single-family: Nontraditional

30 Single-family: Traditional

What's New 14 Fit for a Team: AIA Atlanta and AIA Georgia Debut New Joint Offices

32 Renovations/Adaptive Reuse: Less Than 5,000 ft2

34 Renovations/Adaptive Reuse: Greater Than 5,000 ft2

Features

Programs

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76

Features

Programs

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78

Architecture of Growth: NCR

Open House Atlanta

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84

Why Don't I See Myself?

Diversity Pipeline and National Representation

High School Design Competition

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Emerging Voices

Drivers for Change: Architecture as a Tool for Education Reform

58 Designing for Housing Choice

86 88 48 HRS Design Competition

98 Summer Social

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100

Thinking, Building Differently for Diversity

Red & Green Scene

70 Building Connections: Designing for Success in Early Learning Centers

102 Principals Roundtable

104 Programs Directory

Tracy

Ganesh

Tracy has been a leader in educational design for over 25 years and strongly believes that inspired design can have a significant impact on learning, collaboration and resiliency. As managing partner at Collins Cooper Carusi Architects, Tracy leads studio teams in community-driven, award-winning projects. She is LEED accredited and also a member of the United States Green Building Council.

Ganesh is a principal at Metier, Inc. in Atlanta, consulting on sustainable design. An architect with over 20 years of varied experience, he won a Corps of Engineers award for excellence. He has a master’s degree from Kansas State University.

He is father to a teenage son with developmental disabilities. He presently serves on the State Advisory Panel for Special Education in Georgia.

Carusi, AIA

Melissa

Cantrell, AIA Melissa is the principal of CDH Partner’s Education and Research Division.

With a Master of Architecture from Georgia Institute of Technology, she creates impactful buildings that enhance the learning experience and encourage students to thrive. Melissa served on the Georgia State Board of Architects and Interior Designers and the Association for Learning Environments, Georgia Chapter.

Nayak, AIA

Eric

Kronberg, AIA Eric is a zoning whisperer, specializing in breaking down and blowing up zoning ordinances to find ways to make great projects possible and help others navigate through the zoning swamp. He is a principal at Kronberg Wall, leading the pre-development side of the firm’s efforts by combining skills in planning, development, architecture and zoning.

Ralph

Chantal

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Ralph is an associate and architect at HOK Architects in Atlanta. He is an active member of AIA and NOMA, serving on the AIA Georgia Board since 2016 and as the vice president of NOMAtlanta.

He holds both a Bachelor of Science and master's degree in architecture from George Institute of Technology.

Chantal is an architect with over eight years of experience and a strong understanding of housing, modular and technology projects. An advocate for leadership development, she plays an active role in internal mentorship programs.

Chantal holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Tennessee, a certificate in Green Building Design from The Cooper Union and is currently employed at Gensler Atlanta.

Safi, AIA

Contributors

Raymond, AIA

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Victoria

Rice

Victoria is a designer at Collins Cooper Carusi Architects and the senior interior designer on The Arthur M Blank Early Learning Center project. She has extensively researched early childhood development and educational design, understanding the role of biophilic design in fostering learning, wellness and productivity. Victoria is passionate about translating current research into active strategies for early learning centers.

Design for Growth & Social Impact Editor's Note

A

tlanta was recently named the third fastest-growing city in the United States. An expanding population presents new challenges for architects and designers, with an increased demand for housing, transportation, employment and other vital resources.

The design community is tasked with ensuring this thriving city an enjoyable, comfortable place for all.

The "Design for Growth and Social Impact" issue provides insight into new developments, adaptive reuse and other ways the built environment is responding to Atlanta’s expansion. It also explores the social impact of architects, from their roles in diversity and inclusion, to housing choice and education.

Finally, Design Equilibrium showcases the success of AIA Atlanta’s many events and programs, like the Residential Design and Honor awards, Emerging Voices and the 48 Hours Design Competition.

Design Equilibrium is a contribution to the ever-evolving conversation on the built environment, the importance of architects and the value of good design in our communities.

MALACHI GORDON Editor

Malachi is a brand designer and communications strategist currently serving as Director of Branding & Communications at AIA Atlanta. He is also owner of full-service branding agency Gordon Media Company, working with entrepreneurs and small businesses.

AIA Atlanta Staff EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR David Southerland

DIRECTOR OF MEMBERSHIP & DEVELOPMENT Missy Bower

DIRECTOR OF BRANDING & COMMUNICATIONS Malachi Gordon

DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS Chris Yueh

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Letter from the President Chris Welty, AIA

D

esign Equilibrium is our annual publication celebrating the accomplishments of AIA Atlanta, its members, future leaders and partners.

This issue offers unique insight into the growth of our city and how we are shaping the built environment.

We find ourselves at an exciting time in Atlanta. The city continues to grow at a rapid pace and the discourse around architecture and design has never been stronger. As the city experiences this growth, we have been forced to determine the value of our built environment with a greater awareness about the impact of design on our lives and our communities. Over the past few years, the city has begun to embrace its historic architecture and seems to be more committed to its preservation.

I believe we all look for architecture that follows good design principles, uses quality materials, understands how to become part of the urban fabric to improve our lives and stands the test of time. Our city is more than a collection of buildings and spaces; it is the vehicle that elevates us forward into the future. It is the role of architects and AIA to lead and help shape that future.

As we move through 2019, the organization remains strong. Representing over 1,700 members, AIA Atlanta is one of the largest chapters in the United States and we are proud to have members making significant contributions to the built environment locally, nationally and

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internationally. We have a fantastic staff and energetic board members who are working diligently to strategize another successful year.

Around the city, evidence we are doing great things is everywhere. With programs like Open House Atlanta and the High School Student Design Competition, we are increasing public awareness of architects and architecture. These initiatives illustrate how architecture and design can change people’s lives.

We remain focused on strengthening the exposure of our profession and are excited to continue our annual fall insert in the Atlanta Business Chronicle showcasing architecture and design, as well as our events and activities.

Internally, we will focus on how we can attract and retain younger professionals to the organization. They are our future. As an educator, I see first-hand emerging professionals' desire and eagerness to make a difference. My goal is to make sure we welcome them and provide them with the tools they need to be successful. I would like to personally thank all our members and firms who are supporting our young members through licensure and providing them the opportunity to get involved with AIA. This year, I challenge each of you to ask how you can support the profession and the organization, help us promote the mission of AIA Atlanta and bring strong leadership to the built environment.

I am honored to serve as president of AIA Atlanta. I hope all of you will join me as we continue on the path of advocating the power of design and the importance that architecture plays in shaping our future.

From left: Ian Hunter, Joanna Robinson, Simon Martinez, Daniel Dixon, Robert Woodhurst, Karen Jenkins, Jeffrey Collins, Bill Clark, Brandon Chambers, Laura Morton, Desmond Johnson and Chris Welty. Not pictured: Mark Chen, Jessika Nelson and Randy Parrish.

Board of Directors CHRIS WELTY, AIA President

JOANNA ROBINSON, AIA Emerging Professionals & Membership Director

KAREN JENKINS, AIA President-elect

DANIEL DIXON, AIA Advocacy Director

BILL CLARK, AIA Past President

LAURA MORTON, AIA Communications Director

IAN HUNTER, AIA Secretary

ROBERT WOODHURST, AIA Communications Director

GREG MULLIN, AIA Treasurer

JEFFREY COLLINS, AIA Programs Director

SIMON MARTINEZ, AIA Development Director

JESSIKA NELSON, ASSOC. AIA Programs Director

MARK CHEN, AIA Development Director

BRANDON CHAMBERS, ASSOC. AIA Continuing Education Director

DESMOND JOHNSON, AIA Emerging Professionals & Membership Director

RANDY PARRISH Allied Director

AIA Fellows

2019

Founded in 1952, the AIA College of Fellows comprises members recognized with the AIA’s highest membership honor for their exceptional work and contributions to architecture and society. The prestige of "FAIA" after an architect's name is unparalleled and the judging is rigorous.

Architects who have made significant contributions to the profession and society, and who exemplify architectural excellence, can become a member of the AIA College of Fellows. Only 3 percent of AIA members have this distinction.

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Antonin Aeck, FAIA

Winford Lindsay, FAIA

Scott Braley, FAIA

Larry Lord, FAIA

Robert Brown, Jr., FAIA

Ivenue Love-Stanley, FAIA

John Busby, FAIA

L. Vic Maloof, FAIA

Robert Cain, FAIA

Cheryl McAfee, FAIA

Walter Carry, FAIA

Paula McEvoy, FAIA

William Chegwidden, FAIA

C. Andrew McLean, FAIA

Steven Clem, FAIA

Carl Meinhardt, FAIA

Jerome Cooper, FAIA

Linda Michael, FAIA

Gary Coursey, FAIA

Paul Muldawer, FAIA

Jonathan Crane, FAIA

Ivey Nix, FAIA

Stanley Daniels, FAIA

John Portman, FAIA

Ben Darmer, FAIA

William Pulgram, FAIA

Robert Dean, FAIA

Jack Pyburn, FAIA

Michael Dobbins, FAIA

Richard Rothman, FAIA

Dagmar Epsten, FAIA

Edward Shirley, FAIA

James Fausett, FAIA

Michael Sizemore, FAIA

Darrell Fitzgerald, FAIA

Raymond Stainback, FAIA

William Floyd, FAIA

William Stanley, FAIA

Leslie Gartner, FAIA

Preston Stevens, FAIA

Brian Gracey, FAIA

Eugene Surber, FAIA

Peter Hand, FAIA

Robert Svedberg, FAIA

Melody Harclerode, FAIA

Stephen Swicegood, FAIA

Philip Harrison, FAIA

Richard Taylor, FAIA

Helen Hatch, FAIA

Roberta Unger, FAIA

Marvin Housworth, FAIA

Daniel Watch, FAIA

Michael LeFevre, FAIA

Howard Wertheimer, FAIA

Mark Levine, FAIA

Karen Elizabeth York, FAIA

Building Atlanta Together You might say that we were built for each other.

ConstructConnect is proud to support the AIA’s aims and objectives, achieving this through financial support, educational resources, and tools.

In this spirit of collaboration, we ask in turn that you share your project information with us. More accurate data benefits our entire industry.

We get things done better, together.

To learn more about ConstructConnect, visit ConstructConnect.com .

The companies of ConstructConnect :

W elcome

Fit for a Team

AIA Atlanta and AIA Georgia Debut New Joint Offices

PHOTOGRAPHS BY RON HART

T

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he pending sale of the Woodruff Volunteer Center in Downtown Atlanta, where AIA Atlanta’s offices were previously located, prompted a lengthy search for a new headquarters.

After nine months of working from home, the staffs of AIA Atlanta and AIA Georgia seamlessly settled into newly built-out joint offices in the neighboring Hurt Building in late June 2018.

Designed by local firm Houser Walker

under a shared executive director, as well as to accommodate chapter members and the public.

The entrance opens into a gallery space featuring rotating exhibits curated by staff. A flexible conference room and kitchenette host workshops, seminars and board meetings. Adjacent to the conference room, divided by a retractable door, the staff works in an open workspace book-ended by two private offices. The

Architecture and located on the ground floor of the 1906-built building, the 2,550-square-foot space is optimized to balance the needs of two staffs working

original marble floors were resurfaced to compliment the Hurt Building’s historic fabric. Finally, tall windows invite ample natural light and street interaction.

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Build Something Great AIA Atlanta hosted the annual celebration of the Residential Design and Honor awards on Thursday, November 15, 2018, at the renowned Fox Theatre. Tom Ventulett, a founding principal of tvsdesign and chairman emeritus of its board of directors, served as guest speaker.

Guests enjoyed a cocktail reception in the member-exclusive Marquee Club before the ceremony in the Egyptian Ballroom.

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©2018 Georgia Power. All rights reserved.

A wards

Honor Awards

Ivan Allen Sr. Trophy CHERYL MCAFEE, FAIA As the most prestigious prize, the Ivan Allen Sr. Trophy is awarded to the member who has made a deep and lasting impact on peers, AIA and the built environment, thus sustaining the highest ideals of the profession.

James G. Fausett Service to the Profession Award MARC JOHNSON, AIA The James G. Fausett Service to the Profession Award honors a firm, group or individual for outstanding service to the profession, primarily through leadership service in the AIA or a related organization.

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Silver Medal SMITH DALIA ARCHITECTS The Silver Medal is the highest honor bestowed upon an architecture firm for its general excellence.

The recipient has sustained outstanding performance as evidenced by a consistently high level of design quality and demonstrated community, political or AIA leadership in the interests of the profession.

Kwanza Hall Award HEATHER ALHADEFF Named after a longtime public servant in the City of Atlanta, this award recognizes the leadership of a non-architect who, through their professional life, has pushed members of the design community to elevate the quality of our work to improve the livability of our towns, cities and neighborhoods.

John Portman Visionary Award JOHN PORTMAN & ASSOCIATES The new John Portman Visionary Award is named in honor of late architect John Portman, FAIA. The award recognizes noteworthy achievements that express a vision and excellence of design in any one of the following categories; buildings, communities, landscapes, structures, art and sculpture, etc.

Dorothy Spence Citizen Architect Award DAN WATCH, FAIA The Dorothy Spence Citizen Architect Award honors an AIA member who engages the community with a design mentality, seeing their community the same way an architect sees a project: all connected.

This award recognizes contributions made outside of AIA volunteer roles.

John A. Busby Jr. Award CLARA WINSTON, AIA The John A. Busby Jr. Award is given to a young member who has excelled in one or more of the areas that make a great architect: design excellence, AIA leadership, community involvement, a pursuit of lifelong education and engagement in the management of their firm or started their own.

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Residential

Design Awards

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Heading into its sixth year, the annual Residential Design Awards honor excellence in built work designed by AIA Atlanta members and architects registered in Georgia.

A jury deliberated based on criteria including innovative approaches to materiality, use of natural lighting, innovative structural systems, accommodating a wider variety of lifestyles and adaptable design that acknowledges aging and changing physical needs.

Jurors included architects Ankie Barnes, FAIA; Carrie Shoemake, FAIA; and Barry Alan Yoakum, FAIA.

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6 MIXED-USE

Merit Award

AMLI Arts Center Cooper Carry

1

SINGLE-FAMILY: NONTRADITIONAL

Honor Award

Lakeshore House Office of Design

Merit Award

Split Box House DiG Architects

2

3

RENOVATIONS/ADAPTIVE REUSE: LESS THAN 5,000 FT2

5

Merit Award

Heritage House Lightroom

RENOVATIONS/ADAPTIVE REUSE: GREATER THAN 5,000 FT2

6

Merit Award

Tenth & Juniper

Surber Barber Choate + Hertlein Architects

SINGLE-FAMILY: TRADITIONAL

4

Honor Award

West Taylor Residence Sottile & Sottile

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Mixed-use MERIT AWARD AMLI Arts Center / Atlanta, Georgia

Cooper Carry

The project is a 350-unit apartment building located in Midtown Atlanta. Adjacent to Woodruff Arts Center, the High Museum of Art, Piedmont Park and the Arts Center MARTA Station, AMLI Arts Center is situated to provide its residents opportunities to explore life and the city.

Within the LEED Gold-certified and smokefree building, residents will find two designer

PHOTOGRAPHS BY NIGEL MARSON

finish packages in units, a fully equipped twostory fitness center, clubroom with big screen televisions and game tables, a business center with a conference room and bicycle parking.

Outside, luxurious amenities include a rooftop skyline lounge, expansive pool and sun deck, open-air movie theater and a fenced dog park.

AMLI Arts Center's challenges are common to urban projects in Atlanta: A tight labor market along and a tight infill project.

Recognizing these challenges, early BIM coordination provided valuable and timely insight to the team by highlighting potential conflicts, allowing time to research and resolve potential project delays.

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Single-family: Nontraditional

HONOR AWARD Lakeshore House / Atlanta, Georgia

Office of Design

The Lakeshore House investigates the seminal architectural typology of the Primitive Hut. Following the spirit of Laugier’s allegorical model, Lakeshore House utilizes the form of the most basic representation of "house." The extruded, gabled box is the ubiquitous signifier of a child’s drawing. The form eschews ornamentation in favor of simplicity, focusing instead on essentialness and restraint, a minimalist solution to one of man’s most basic needs: shelter.

The house itself is situated on a "throwaway" sliver of land in the sought-after, in-town Lake Claire neighborhood.

In addition to the typical single-family setbacks, the parcel is further restrained by two stream buffers, a sanitary sewer easement and the presence of the 100-year flood plain. These restrictions reduce the quarter-acre site to barely 1,500 square feet of buildable area. The close proximity of neighboring residences combined with challenging topography created additional concerns regarding privacy, sight lines and vehicular access to any new structure.

The project’s clients, an established couple and their teenage child, developed a dense program brief. After a synthesis of multiple schemes, the final plans for the Lakeshore House called for a three-story volume connected vertically by an open riser stair with a screened pavilion located to the rear. Sheltered parking was designed near the street with access to the house provided via a steel pedestrian bridge across an existing stream. The majority of apertures are located at the rear, maximizing privacy and granting views of the wooded hillside to the west.

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PHOTOGRAPHS BY TRAVETTE BROWN

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Single-family: Nontraditional

MERIT AWARD Split Box House / Atlanta, Georgia

DiG Architects

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALEXANDER HERRING

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Split Box House aims to create a quiet, restrained escape from the excessively noisy digital world that overstimulates daily life and is a reaction to the surrounding banal spec homes, each a more jarring spectacle than the last. Simple and clean in its form, the house started as a 22-foot-wide extruded box. That width was chosen based on the distance a reasonable size wood truss can span. The box is subsequently split into public and private functions.

The private portion is rotated 90 degrees around the sky-lit stair hall to maximize views to the serene woods behind the house. A complimentary, warm ipe wood, alluding to the softer interiors of the house, clads the cuts.

The private functions, comprised of the bedrooms upstairs and the guest house on the main level, bridge across a covered breezeway, creating an outdoor room with a view corridor to the woods and access to the main and guest house entrances. The public functions move through a series of low and tall spaces culminating in a double height sky-lit space that provides shifting shadow patterns throughout the day. A series of site walls, carefully nestled into the steep lot, cascade down the front hill from the street to create a terraced entrance garden that becomes the exposed foundation of the house.

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PHOTOGRAPHS BY ADAM KUEHL

Single-family: Traditional

HONOR AWARD West Taylor Residence / Savannah, Georgia

Sottile & Sottile

This contemporary renovation of a historic home in Savannah’s National Historic Landmark District creates a dialogue of contrasts between old and new. While its historic street façade is carefully preserved and restored, crossing the threshold into the interior reveals a dramatic architectural intervention in the form of an interior atrium with operable glass walls that allow one wall of nearly every room in the home to open completely to the exterior. The renovation brings together three major periods of design and alterations into a unified composition that pushes the boundaries of preservation and contemporary design.

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Renovations/ Adaptive Reuse: Less Than 5,000 ft2 MERIT AWARD Heritage House / Decatur, Georgia

Lightroom

The design concept of this project was to place the public functions of the home on the upper levels to maximize the views of the forest. The private functions of the house, bedrooms and bathrooms, were placed on the lower level with access to a private courtyard by reusing an existing stone retaining wall. The house converts into a dance studio for Argentine milonga (tango dancing).

Reclaimed maple wood gymnasium floors from south Georgia and solid core Birch doors from a Demolished hospital in Macon, Georgia, allowed for the creative expression of reused materials.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY WILLIAM CARPENTER

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Renovations/ Adaptive Reuse: Greater Than 5,000 ft2 MERIT AWARD Tenth & Juniper / Atlanta, Georgia

Surber Barber Choate + Hertlein Architects

PHOTOGRAPHS BY PHILLIP SEARS

This project was based on a public and private partnership formed to improve affordable housing options in Midtown Atlanta.

After providing an affordable housing option for senior and special-needs residents for over four decades, Tenth & Juniper received a major update in 2017.

Located at the highlytrafficked intersection of 10th and Juniper streets, the existing 0.7-acre site suffered from an excess of curb cuts, creating unfriendly and confusing pedestrian access for both residents and visitors.

Use of the main entrance and accessible parking spaces required navigation of ad-hoc ramps and sidewalks. New work included the removal of two curb cuts from Juniper Street, creating an opportunity for a new outdoor amenity area for building residents.

Upgrades to the main entry include the replacement of existing ramps and sidewalks with user-friendly walks, ramps and a new front porch.

These renovations improve access for both residents and visitors.

Interior work included renewal of all 149 onebedroom apartments to include new lighting, finishes, plumbing fixtures, appliances and air-conditioning systems; installation of an energyefficient façade system; and upgraded tenant amenities.

Installation of new windows and exterior finishes brought an updated appearance to the building’s exterior while preserving key architectural features such as exposed castin-place concrete walls. The removal of an underutilized driveway made room for a new exterior porch adjacent to community spaces on the main level.

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Features Features Features Features Features Design Equilibrium's feature articles, written by architects and designers, give insight into how architecture adapts to growth and social change in Atlanta. Topics include work, education, housing, diversity and inclusion.

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Architecture of Growth: NCR CHANTAL SAFI, AIA PHOTOGRAPHS BY GARRETT ROWLAND, COURTESY OF GENSLER

In the lobby, the six-story connective volume opens up to the street with its clear glass facade. The building's physical and visual transparency welcomes employees and visitors alike, inviting the neighborhood to partake in the activities within.

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D

ramatic growth and change are nothing new when you are a nearly 150-year old company

like NCR. Success over such a long period of time requires a level of comfort with shifts in identity.

These shifts can come in many forms. They can come as changes in industry: NCR’s foundations lie in hardware with its birth as the National Cash Register Company, though it now encompasses a combination of hardware, software and information technology as NCR Corporation, enabling 700 million transactions daily and spanning 180 countries. They can come as changes in location: NCR was originally founded in Dayton, Ohio, then relocated its headquarters to Duluth, Georgia, and finally Atlanta in 2018. They can also come with changes in workplace design, philosophy and ethos, all three of which are symbolic and highly functional elements of the company’s reinvention and vision for helping to transform Atlanta into the "Silicon Valley of the East."

It is the task of the design and architecture fields to both respond to and drive changes of this nature. It is a two-way street: we design for change that is already underway and requires deft adaptation and we design for change that hasn’t come yet, setting trends for the inhabited space that will become our wider world.

To call NCR’s new Midtown headquarters campus transformational would be an understatement. Indeed, the project touches on so many components of workplace life and community engagement that it can be difficult to know where to begin. The difference with this project — and what makes it shine as an illustration of designing

With state-of-the-art amenities, the fitness center reinforces NCR's commitment to giving back to employees while also attracting top tech talent. The gym is adorned with a large "recharge" graphic referencing the concept of "man versus machine" yet reminding its employees to refresh and re-energize all while overlooking the transportation arteries of Atlanta (I-85/I-75).

for growth — is its dramatic scope. Awarded LEED Platinum for Core and Shell, the first high-rise building to achieve this status not only in the state of Georgia but in the Southeast region, the project’s forward-looking attitude permeates each detail, from the rooftop garden to solar-powered garage lighting. The new global headquarters was a key investment that brought over 5,000 jobs from the suburbs right into the heart of Midtown Atlanta and its groundbreaking design matches the scope of the immense change and the evolution of the city as a whole.

The space’s numerous amenities are an invitation into the project’s design philosophy. It is normal these days for offices to include fitness centers with a few treadmills and yoga mats suitable for a quick workout.

Seldom seen is a two-story gym like NCR’s, a living, breathing testament to employee health and wellness that includes three classroom studios, a dazzling array of professional grade training equipment, locker rooms and a dynamic view of the Downtown Connec-

tor. Some treadmills are even equipped with computer monitors to enable employees to take virtual meetings and get work done if they so choose. And if all of this weren’t enough, the fitness center’s design is also a purposeful expression of NCR’s brand. The interconnecting stair — included to prevent elevator overflow and maintain the overall connectivity of the space — also features a two-story hanging centerpiece art installation made of computer keys.

Again, drawing attention to the project’s scope puts its achievement in context. Few offices use artistic expression of this nature to weave the heart and soul of their company into any part of their space, much less the gym. But NCR Midtown is different. The subtle nod to NCR’s history in a space where employees invest in their own wellbeing solidifies an ethos of purpose, meaning and story while uniting a culture. This is what designing for growth can mean. It is of a far greater scope than just the inclusion of a gym; it is the curation of a lifestyle.

"We design for change that is already underway and requires deft adaptation and we design for change that hasn’t come yet."

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In the same vein, calories burned at the gym means that on-site cuisine options must be robust.

Modern employees have come to expect resources like in-house catering and dining as norms. Unfortunately, however, that often translates to food courts invoking dark, dull shopping malls of yore that do little to promote creativity, connection and wellbeing. Here, NCR Midtown again takes a new approach. Its marché, an indoor-outdoor social epicenter with a wide range of cuisines, serves as both a hub for casual and work-related meetings but also a further opportunity to get away from one’s desk and get a change of scenery for focus work. All seven food providers are carefully

ing reinforce the company’s story and breathe meaning into each option. Importantly, the food service operators also work closely with the fitness studio to provide programs and offerings of healthy grab-and-go options, drawing together the campus’s dual emphases on exercise and diet. One grab-and-go food option is also a testing ground for NCR’s proprietary customer service technology, allowing employees to walk in, make a selection and walk out having automatically paid — no cashier or checkout necessary.

These amenities, while of course not the sole purpose of the space, do inform and frame the work experience. When it is time to get down to

branded and themed as distinct dining experiences that go miles beyond what most campuses provide. This investment in variety is ultimately an investment in community; it keeps employees coming back time and time again as stories and networks accumulate. As with the gym experience, playful environmental graphics and nam-

business, the conscious design of each workplace neighborhood similarly expands the scope of what can be expected from an office. Again, a comparison to the baseline is useful: we hear of plenty of spaces offering additional choices for collaboration and providing the option for sit-stand desks.

NCR Midtown goes much further, offering a 1:1

On the podium roof terrace, the dynamic and angular composition of the towers allow for a strengthened indoor/outdoor marché experience. Positioned between the buildings, employee activities spill onto the podium garden, providing variety during the workday and empowering user control over their environment.

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F eature Overlooking the Atlanta skyline, employees at NCR have completely hackable and free-address environments. This flexibility allows the workplace to become a vehicle for more creativity, greater productivity and enhanced employee satisfaction.

workstation to collaboration ratio (not including amenity spaces) and featuring neighborhoods that are majority free-address with sit-stand capability at every single desk. Each desk is "hackable," enabling adjustment for lighting conditions, project type and individual preference. Every neighborhood has multiple types "Designing of breakout and for growth collaboration space, means ... encouraging choice welcoming and flexible teamchange of all work depending on sorts with the the day’s demand. understand- The result is a work ing that such environment ready change is to adapt and pivot unpredictable on a dime. Designbut ultimately ing for growth manageable means more than with the right designing for the tools." potential for increased numbers; it means welcoming change of all sorts with the understanding that such change is unpredictable but ultimately manageable with the right tools.

NCR Midtown is ready for more than just changes in numbers or team ori-

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entation; it is ready for major shifts in the fundamental nature of how work is done.

Public engagement is another lens through which the project’s unique scope and growth-oriented design shine through. With a lobby floor that takes up nearly an entire city block, the design and real estate teams decided to invite the public in with the breathtaking new coffee shop, Wired. The coffee shop is a catalyst for greater community interaction, especially Georgia Tech students mere blocks away, complete with charging stations and games set up outside. Speaking of technology, an amphitheater-style seating arena known as TechTalk wraps over the coffee shop and serves as an anchor for the community, hosting events and connecting employees with local students and the wider public.

Designing for growth encompasses a broader scope than a company’s internal growth alone; it means embracing Atlanta’s changes with open arms and sincerely engaging the surrounding talent that may someday join the organization. When a workplace can function as a major

recruiting tool, design enters a new sphere of influence. The closed doors of corporate campuses have long been a norm; with Wired, TechTalk and other storefront showcasing design effects, NCR Midtown takes an important step towards changing that. It is a piece of architecture that has both changed the skyline of Atlanta and spurred a walkable urban environment for Midtown.

This commitment to technology and the wider community feeds right back into another element of the project, its technology labs. Such facilities, rarely found in downtown towers, required a number of keen adjustments on the part of the design team, including the implementation of reinforced slabs and a series of hackable workplace elements customized for the unique requirements of both hardware and software lab work. The brand team also established floor demarcations for various sections that allocate real estate carefully depending on each team’s need.

Lab space is also divided up over several floors, keeping those doing lab work integrated with the larger NCR community and to their own neighborhood workstations. Such innovations, along with the building’s striking exterior skin, unmistakable visual presence and kinetic feeling resulting from sloped glass panes speak to architecture’s ever-changing role in redefining urban landscapes.

While this developing technology will engage customers in Atlanta and

NCR Midtown, TechTalk © Garrett Rowland courtesy of Gensler: Located in the lobby, the amphitheater-style stair encourages employees and visitors to connect and congregate. One of the largest in-town headquarter moves in Atlanta’s history, the relocation of NCR required a thoughtful, story-rich design that would inspire emTechTalk: Located in the lobby, the amphitheater-style stair ployees and engage the community.

encourages employees and visitors to connect and congregate.

beyond in the future, the art infused through the space engages Atlanta in the present. All art in the tower is from local Atlanta artists, including the six-story glass "prism" lobby intended for enjoyment by employees and the public, visible right off of Spring Street. All 10 workplace floors feature massive murals with completely different vibes and flairs, slotted to stay dynamic and be refreshed or recreated every few years.

The story goes on and on. NCR Midtown is a testament to what can happen when architects and designers push the boundaries of what it means to work, live and thrive. This is the very purpose of the field: to enable and engage, to provide a launchpad for humanity’s takeoff. Atlanta’s rapid growth demands more of built environments every day. Projects like NCR Midtown recall and articulate our field’s ability to inspire us not only to meet but to overcome these challenges, detail by detail.

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Why Don't I See Myself?

Diversity Pipeline and National Representation RALPH RAYMOND, AIA

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ven the wildest of dreams, the loftiest of goals and the grandest of ambitions start with a fragment of reality. The more rooted in truth that fragment is, the easier that dream is achieved. Once a dream is proven to be feasible, it no longer occupies fantasy, but serves as an indicator of how far one may go. Dreams, however, are not meant solely for children, as they are applicable to adults and individuals of all ages. Better stated, dreams are meant for absolutely everyone; some just call them goals and ambitions. Despite the terminology employed, these ambitions tend to bear on an inkling of reality. Without that inkling of

reality, it is often difficult to know where to start, to see the path one must traverse, or to even know if it is possible. When one is able to see themselves fulfilling a dream vicariously through another, the rooting of that reality begins to take shape. If one is able to then project their own dreams by way of another who looks like them, this further roots itself in reality. This projection of seeing of one’s self makes the task seem less daunting and more attainable. Regardless of the obstacles and hurdles ahead, just this perceived reflection in the mirror, can make and has made a world of difference.

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Kathryn Bedette, Bill Clark and Robert Ivy

Last February, AIA Georgia and AIA Atlanta co-hosted a town hall event with Robert Ivy, FAIA. During the event, Cheryl McAfee, FAIA, questioned the makeup of our AIA National Board of Directors and I was not satisfied with the results of the conversation. I kept thinking about it and felt that the question called for the Institute to be accountable.

Why have there only been two African-American women to serve on the national AIA Board of Directors over the last 25 years and none on the Strategic Council since its establishment in 2015? The leadership talent exists, so why don't we see it at the national level? This is an issue that affects everyone in our profession. After about a month of reflection, I realized

"Why don’t I see myself?" is the question that was quietly yet resiliently posed to AIA CEO Robert Ivy, FAIA during a town hall in February 2018, in Atlanta. The question seemed too easy; worthy of a response almost as simple as the question itself. "AIA is diverse," was the unsatisfying response. The names and details painting diversity in the organization followed shortly thereafter, but to no avail. In an attempt to make her question more specific, the woman asked again, "Why don’t I see myself?

Why don’t I see someone on the AIA National Board that looks like me? Why don’t I see any women of color?"

It was at this moment that Cheryl McAfee, FAIA, NOMA, the woman behind the questions, expounded the fact that there was a void in the presence of women of color on AIA National's board. In fact, there are no published statistics on the number of women of color that have served. Cheryl is the CEO of McAfee3 Architects and the principal of the Atlanta office, with more than 34 years of experience. She was the first woman elected president of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) and in 2008 became the first African-American to chair the AIA Conference on Architecture. She serves as a role model to this very day.

The discussion led to an inquiry from 2018 AIA Georgia President Kathryn Bedette, AIA, who spearhead-

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how AIA Georgia could act to respond to Cheryl's question in a meaningful way and we got to work drafting the resolution.

In that question, Cheryl also noted that the members of the AIA Board of Directors serve as aspirational role models for students and emerging professionals. As an associate professor at Kennesaw State University, the success of students and graduates transitioning into their professional careers, is a high priority for me. That the outcome of the resolution could support and inspire the wonderful and talented students that I've had the pleasure of working with, made it even more important for me.

KATHRYN BEDETTE, AIA

ed many diversity and inclusion efforts. AIA Georgia has been an active supporter of NOMAtlanta and the organization’s mission within the state. For Kathryn to take on this mantle, was just a continuation of those efforts.

Nicole Hilton, AIA, NOMA shared her firsthand account on how the story unfolded, from participating in the original conversation all the way to the June Conference on Architecture, where the resolution ultimately passed. As a member of the Atlanta chapter of NOMA and with her service on the AIA Georgia board, Nicole was keenly attuned to and more than willing to participate.

Ian Hunter

Cheryl McAfee

My architectural experience began under the tutelage of Cheryl McAfee. It was my first job working for her and I know that as a trailblazer, she recognized what it was like to be in my seat. As my mentor, I found what she taught me to be invaluable, especially since she looked like me. However, with Cheryl's question, "Why don’t I see myself?" I initially thought, "Did that question really need to be asked?" After I truly heard the question and understood the voice from which it came, I then realized that, in 2018, that question still needed to be asked. We needed to address this.

Marinating on the fact that I, as young as I am, was still the second African-American woman to graduate from Louisiana State University (LSU) and the first licensed African-American woman architect from LSU, reinforced the need for the question today. I continued to think about the question to myself, trying to gravel with the fact of where we actually were. I further reflected on how Cheryl, who, for decades as a pioneer, helped create the seats which men and women of color sit in today, was not only still paving the way, but couldn’t yet see herself. Kathryn reached out to me sometime after the town hall to ask for assistance as she was unable to find any data or demographics. The only statis-

tics I knew didn’t paint a great picture, because at the time I earned my license, I was still only the 315th African-American woman to do so. It became Kathryn’s mission to do something about it and she asked me to be a part of it. Kathryn brought me in on AIA National conference calls as an observer, so I could train and influence the resolution. After those calls, where they explained some potential pitfalls to the resolution, we began to campaign. We called several chapters, large and small, and heard a recurring critique. Many chapters and individuals felt the verbiage was too direct and limited. They felt that the resolution needed to be more inclusive and opened to other groups. Some chapters, even large ones, stated, 'If this resolution is presented in its current state, we will vote against it.'

Although we considered making the resolution open to include all underserved communities, we decided to keep the original intent. We presented some of the endorsements and obstacles we faced during our campaigning to the boards of AIA Georgia and AIA Atlanta and the outcome from those votes were clear. We needed to focus on this particular community, to really be very intentional with this policy and not dilute our agenda. It might have seemed as if we were taking a gamble with this

resolution, but all parties felt it was vital to keep the verbiage intact. At the Conference on Architecture, I, along with Kathryn, Cheryl and several others from different ethnicities and gender identities, spoke on the floor in support of this resolution. It reinforced the AIA’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Our support was met with some passionate opposition on the floor, even from some individuals that I knew personally. It wasn’t that they opposed diversity, but they assumed that this resolution only sought to 'meet a quota.' In my speech, I boldly reinforced that this is not a game of percentages, but a way to enact change. In 2018, we really need to ask each chapter, "Where do we stand on this?"

Our desire is to be intentional in being diverse. I ended my speech with the "hope that each individual not only vote yes, but to take an active part in the resolution!" After the resolution passed, I was approached and thanked by many individuals to applaud our first steps.

One person who approached me intimated, "I felt compelled to vote for what was right and not for what was comfortable."

NICOLE HILTON, AIA

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The success of this resolution truly came from the joint efforts of key individuals who served on the AIA Georgia and Atlanta boards. Together they were able to garner the support of several chapters and organizations. In all, the supporters were AIA chapters of Austin, Baltimore, Birmingham, Boston, Houston, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, North Carolina, Portland, Seattle, South Carolina and Tennessee; and the Society of Hispanic Professional Architects and NOMAtlanta. David Southerland, Jessika Nelson and Nicole Seekely were other supporters representing AIA Georgia and Atlanta. Jessika, who serves on the AIA Atlanta board, rose to the occasion and not only supported the resolution, but came to action.

"During conversations with AIA National, we were presented with data that substantiated our concerns; only two African-American women had served on the AIA National Board of Directors in the last 25 years and only a handful more female leaders of diverse backgrounds," recalls Jessika.

She felt that the resolution intentionally "expressed the change needed within our organization as architects community leaders, forward thinkers and as problem solvers." Overall, she was still left flabbergasted, "confused and surprised at the lack of leadership positions that women of color have held at a national level, especially given the honor of working in Atlanta." She continues, "I’ve witnessed the success of many

ed in our profession, if there is currently no ethnically diverse leadership now? Where are the Roberta Washingtons, the Ivenue Love-Stanleys and the Cheryl Lynn McAfees of AIA National? We were asking AIA to stand up in support.

JESSIKA NELSON, ASSOC. AIA Image: Sam Morris/Las Vegas News Bureau

I would be remiss not to express the fact that many African-American female architects have served as role models to me. It is a concrete fact that women in this profession are acting as community leaders and activists for social changes, all while possessing an intense passion and strong mastery of design. The questions which arise from this knowledge are: How will the next generation of architects see themselves be represent-

African-American women (and men) in architecture."

In fact, Jessika has not only seen these successes, but has also been able to build her own ambitions upon the feats that women in the profession have completed. Seeing their success feeds her dreams and makes them ever more real.

Ultimately, the resolution passed with 4,266 affirmative votes. Now, therefore, be it resolved, that the AIA will create and implement a plan to partner with local and state components to actively identify, prepare, recruit and encourage a range of ethnically diverse women to pursue election and service on the national board and Strategic Council, to be provided by the 2019 annual meeting.

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Drivers for Change Architecture as a Tool for Education Reform MELISSA CANTRELL, AIA

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The design for McNair Middle School, DeKalb County School District, commemorates the collaboration process with a learning plaza to greet students and the community.

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PHOTOGRAPHS BY CDH PARTNERS, INC.

ducation is the most impactful way to influence social change. It provides the tools to break down the cycle of poverty and oppression through knowledge and skills necessary for success in the modern workforce. Yet, our educational constructs don’t support the way in which today’s youth consume the knowledge that is being imparted on them. World Economic Forum reports that at 2.52 billion people worldwide, Gen Z (born 1995-2015) represents the largest segment of our 7.7 billion population. Spending an average of 17 hours per day on digital devices, Gen Z seeks knowledge, connection and communications through digital platforms and social media.

This reliance on the immediacy of knowledge has changed the future of our workforce. According to Dell Technologies, 85 percent of jobs that will exist in 2030 haven’t been invented. The requisites of our future industries include strategic thinking, soft skills and creativity. It also includes the ability to research information, synthesize it and make something. Employability will be less about what one knows and more about the capacity and desire to learn and apply knowledge.

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The influences of the digital world have holistically changed the way Gen Z consumes information and understands the world. Yet our education model, established at the inception of the industrial age, teaches students facts and figures, organized in orderly rows of desks, with the teacher as the "sage on the stage" of the classroom. This has led to a disturbing trend in today’s schools, as students are becoming increasingly disengaged. Gallup reports that in the

power and privilege to affect the future of our society, supporting our future businesses and transforming global communities.

Responsible for creating the vision for learning, identifying the priority learning experiences and defining the desired space for learning, the teacher becomes the thought leader for the design process. In the new pedagogy of teaching and learning, the design of the facility must support the paradigm

fifth grade only 26 percent of students are disengaged, yet by the eleventh grade this increases to 53 percent.

The education model established years ago to train young minds for factory lines and manual labor worked well then, but is now failing our future leaders. To counter this, the educational paradigm is shifting to the inversion of the traditional classroom, positioning the student at the center of learning and teaching. Student collaboration and exploration of curriculum-based concepts are key to developing the skills to support the future workforce and instilling in them the agency and ownership of their learning.

shift from teacher-centered learning to student-centered learning.

THE ROLE OF THE ARCHITECT: DESIGN LEARNING EXPERIENCES The role of the architect is to define the needs and relationship of the student to the teacher, the teacher to the classroom and the classroom to the school.

The intentional selection of educational strategies creates an acceleration of student learning in their education and becomes an integral component in the design of the learning environment.

During the early phases of design, the project team creates connections

THE ROLE OF THE EDUCATOR: STUDENT-CENTRIC LEARNING Serving as role model, expert and inspiration for learning and collaboration for our young learners, the educator must and will always play a dominant role in the classroom. As the facilitator of knowledge and collaboration, the teacher combines the learning sciences with digital innovation and is charged to create the learning experiences that keep pace with the digital and soft skills demanded by the workforce. The teacher is the mentor of our youth with the

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As the feature entry to each grade level, the maker space celebrates innovation and exploration.

The deconstructed media center in this design offers students opportunities for technological exploration and for independent study area or small group sessions, as well as expansive views of the outdoor classrooms and the enclosed courtyard.

with the educators as stakeholders to identify priority learning experiences and define the student experience. By design, spaces will reflect the instructional vision and learning goals.

As we redesign the way in which we educate our children, it is also time to revisit the journey by which we define the environments for the changing pedagogy.

TAKING OFF THE ROOF "It is time for teachers to see learning through the eyes of their students and

for the student to see themselves as teachers of one another," writes John Hattie in "Visible Learning."

How do we define the intended learning experiences that will prepare students for their futures within the schools that we serve? As architects of learning environments in a changing paradigm, the stakeholder engagement process is essential to establish a collective mindset and develop consistency for the way that the school community visualizes the definition of teaching and learning.

Invert the approach to the design of the school. The process should begin with the student. How does the teacher support learning in the classroom?

How does the classroom facilitate teaching and learning? How does the school become an extension of the classroom?

Collaborative inquiry and learning necessitate the design of spatial opportunities that respond to a range of learning styles. The built environment has the power to support the learning culture of a holistic

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The section through the Learning Commons and Collaboration Stair highlights the connections created in the heart of the school for students to explore various learning environments and opportunities for collaboration.

education paradigm. The integration of color psychology, technologies and a variety of furniture configurations that support different activity, group sizes, sitting/standing configurations and seating arrangements, all of which support the collaboration and student success.

The architect and designer are challenged to look for opportunities outside the walls of the classroom that broaden the learning environment. The design of the residual spaces in the corridors create found places for small group collaboration, maker spaces for exploration and innovation and learning plazas to support non-traditional learning in unique spaces throughout the school.

Leveraging neuroscience and evidence-based design allows the architect to create a tool for learning beyond the integration of technology. Insights of the science of learning influence the psychological, social, cultural and environmental factors of how we learn. Academic models based on interdisciplinary research allow the designers to create effective teaching and learning environments serving as the "third teacher" of the classroom.

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CROSSING THE CHASM The learning environment is only a tool used by students and teacher to establish a successful education model. It is a resource to the implementation of a changing educational pedagogy that is sweeping our schools. Too often the assumption is that the built environment will define success. This postulation has definitively led to the failure of cultural renewal in many of our schools. The modernization of the learning experience must belong to the leadership of the district and the school community.

As key stakeholders in the process teachers and staff; community, industry and foundational leaders; district and school leadership; and initiative champions are essential voices in the design and implementation of a facility plan that aligns with the established vision of learning. As the facilitator of making this vision a reality, the architect initiates the process of creating a collective mindset to align goals of teaching and learning.

The mind shift from traditional to innovative learning experiences must not be relegated to the design of the

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facility. Traditionally, the architectural team designed the new concept school with minimal touchpoints throughout the process. Teachers received nominal professional development immediately prior to occupancy and commenced the school year with high hopes and the anticipation of impacting the educational success of their eager pupils. However, when expecting the design alone would drive change, this model consistently failed the teachers, the students and ultimately the community.

However, as a contrasting process to the development of the design, educational commissioning as a parallel to the design has proven to change the teaching methodologies in a new education model supported by the learning environment. Educational commissioning is a multi-faceted training and coaching program for the educator leading up to and after occupancy in the new space.

Training must include a commitment from academic leaders and school administration to implement and support the changes in the

teacher pedagogy. Professional development for the educator and administrator is critical to the successful evolution of the teaching modals.

Coaching within the learning communities reinforces the initiatives of the change in philosophy and provides the educator with the tools required to change the management of the classroom. Additional one-on-one sessions for individualized training offers the development of teaching strategies to support the styles and personalities of the teacher, while encouraging activities that increase student engagement.

Pilot classrooms become laboratories of design and learning for teachers. These spaces provide opportunities for the teachers to offer insights into the design based on experiences from the classroom. The continued inclusion of the teacher leaders throughout the design and construction process fosters the creation of the classroom and school as a tool for learning. It permits the architect to integrate concepts of the modernized learning environments

Each team of classrooms has its own “living room," serving as small group collaboration space outside the classrooms as found place within the corridors.

Designed as an extension of the classroom, this concept stemmed from stakeholder charettes in which the community coined the name for these break-out spaces.

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and offers the teacher and students emphasis on the professional development received.

Reflective tours of the school prior to occupancy provide educational leaders and teachers an opportunity to explore their new learning environment. Following the tours, planning sessions allow the teachers to utilize the professional development to strategically plan the layouts and utilization of their individualized classrooms to align with the vision and learning goals defined prior to the commencement of the design.

Social impact cannot be driven by architecture alone. It comes through partnerships and engagement with the stakeholder around a collective vision for learning. This vision guides the renewal of the educational model for our communities and our students. The built environment has an immense influence on the learning culture and holistic educational paradigm. In conjunction with our educational leaders, architects are empowered to align the built environment with the impact on our future.

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Designing for Housing Choice ERIC KRONBERG, AIA

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e’ve had a lot of time to think through housing challenges and opportunities facing Atlanta. Atlanta’s La France Walk neighborhood is a unique chance to explore this issue firsthand. From the beginning, the core questions for La France Walk have been, How do you create a place and what type of housing would that place include? Or, from a technical standpoint, What is the most appropriate type of housing to build on a site adjacent to a heavy rail transit station and surrounded by a two-family zoned neighborhood with a single-family feel?

Metro Atlanta is experiencing an ongoing population surge and more people want to live adjacent to transit. Businesses have recognized that proximity to Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) stations has become a critical amenity in attracting talent and are choosing to locate their offices accordingly — making living next to MARTA even more attractive. The old adage that "MARTA doesn’t go anywhere" is becoming less and less valid.

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PHOTOGRAPHS BY GARRETT ROWLAND

Evening street view of La France Walk

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In addition to observing changes in use of mass transit, we are also carefully following the trend in autonomous vehicle (AV) progress and the deployment of these AVs in Transportation as a Service (TaaS).

Uber and Lyft are already filling an important bridge role between mass transit for folks without cars. The cost of Uber and Lyft is very competitive compared to owning a new car if you live in-town. AVs are expected to drive down the cost for these services by 50 to 70 percent, meaning that it will be cheaper to use these services than to own an inexpensive used car, reports RethinkX. This will transform larger urban centers by dramatically decreasing the need to for dedicated parking at individual sites. The projected timeline for these changes is now estimated to start in 2021 — just two years from now. Georgia has already legalized the use of AVs on our roadways.

In the current development paradigm, parking is everything. It determines and limits how much you can build and requires surprisingly large financial and material resources just on its own. TaaS and improved MARTA usability look to significantly disrupt this relationship in walkable, connected places. In terms of immediate transitioning, we are seeing many households shift from two-car families to one car. Even seemingly minor changes like this free up a range of new development possibilities for a project like La France Walk.

Since its original conception in 2002, a lot has changed in the project.

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Street view of La France Walk

At that time, Edgewood was a transitioning neighborhood and there was significant concern that people would require one- or two-car garages. MARTA proximity was seen as a nicety, but not something a majority of people would pay any extra for.

The community was squarely convinced that it needed more detached single-family homes to attract more nuclear families.

Fast-forward 15 years and the demand for detached single-family homes with two-car garages is still high. Part of this demand is due to a general lack of new for-sale housing being built inside the city. Many baby boomers are looking to cash out of their 4,500-square-foot home in the suburbs and downsize to a 3,000-square-foot home in town with

their own set of challenges. The typical three-story solution still ends up with a larger square footage when many folks are looking for less space or simply a more affordable purchase price.

Over the course of the project we have considered all of these factors and how La France Walk could pivot to better address these needs. We recently took the project through another rezoning. The approved proposal takes seven units previously approved as single-family houses and converts them to duplexes. The structures will have the look and feel of a single-family home, but provide a pair of one- to three-bedroom homes instead of one five- to six-bedroom house. The critical component in making this work is a commitment to

a two-car garage. However, there is more demand for alternatives to these larger houses and most developers are only aware of townhomes as an alternative. Townhomes have

only provide one parking space per duplex for some of the units.

As we watch demographic trends, we see that over 70 percent of U.S. households are made up of one

to two people. Some of these households will choose a five-bedroom house because they have the means to afford excess space. However, oversized single-family homes do not respond to the bulk of the housing needs in our city. Smaller units are better tailored to this need and they have more attainable price points based on this smaller size.

The overall housing shortage in our city is driving up prices, making it harder for folks across a range of price points to find housing that meets their budgets.

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We have to find creative ways to provide more supply of housing in more interesting ways than simply single-family homes or large scale apartment complexes.

Studies show that these smaller households are often made up of millennials deferring having children until later in life and careers; divorced Gen Xers (those born between the early 1960s and early 1980s), often with one or two children as a shared responsibility; and baby boomers looking to downsize and move in-town now that their kids have left the nest, according to research by Dr. Arthur Nelson. The majority of all of these people would prefer to live in a walkable community, with some form of amenity within a few blocks of where they live. Of the first four larger houses for sale at La France Walk, one is under contract to a single professional, a second to a profession"We have to al couple with no children, the largest find creative to a family of four and the smallest unit to a couple with one child. ways to We are also pushing the notion provide more of flexible housing within each unit in supply of the community. The majority of the housing ... than simply homes are designed with a separate single-family live-work studio equipped with a sink, toilet and shower. This attached space homes or is designed with maximum flexibillarge scale ity in mind, capable of providing a apartment complexes." dignified space for a compliant home occupancy type of business, a guest suite for an aging parent, or even an Airbnb apartment for income security. First and foremost, it is a space that can transition across all these things over time based upon the needs of the homeowner.

Including this live-work piece has been a critical test, as it comes with the cost of eliminating one garage space. We’ve learned that folks still want garages, but they don’t always plan to store their car(s) in it. They need a place for their stuff — and bicycles, camping gear and yard equipment don’t require an eight-foot-wide

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door facing the street for access like a car would.

We’ve been able to pivot to provide storage for this gear with access from side and rear yards, allowing folks to have a studio and storage simultaneously.

The core challenge in making great places is prioritizing space for people to be and flourish and to minimize space for automobiles. Minimizing space for cars opens up tremendous possibilities in placemaking but it also involves taking risks. We feel taking these risks are both important and much less than perceived by others. People are finally realizing that driving everywhere no longer represents freedom in Atlanta, but instead is a crippling hindrance to happiness.

The first phase of the project is completed.

There is much work left to do, but the course of the community has been charted on a positive, walkable, bikeable course.

Street view of La France Walk

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F eature

The corridors at Hazelwood School DESIGN

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PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDREW LEE

Thinking, Building Differently for Diversity GANESH NAYAK, AIA

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iversity in architecture and culture,

While disability is both apparent and

in everyday conversations, can mean many things to different people. Probably essential to any description of what it means is the idea of "otherness," or "not like us." (In some ways, it’s more "not like dominant us," but that aspect will not be addressed in this article.) To bridge the distance with togetherness, addressing diversity and attaining an understanding of it is essential.

invisible, it is the visual nature of altered bodies that makes up the other in a space that is designed for the rest of us. And it is the experience of the disabled altered body through a space that architects have to imagine with empathy to make architecture with a true social impact.

DISABILITY AS OTHERNESS

It is more than 25 years ago since the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) passed and altered our environments forever — and for the better. However, in that period, thinking in the disability world has evolved. Disability is seen as natural; not a problem to fix, but part of the human experience. There is desire for greater visibility and advocacy for inclusiveness to be seamless and natural, not forced in a patronizing manner.

Accessibility and inclusive design, though, are still taught and practiced in architecture merely as regulatory hurdles that need to be crossed. Accessibility provisions are viewed as an overlay, rather than integral to the design itself — such as an accessible entryway and entrance that need to be added or spaces for disability that are relegated to left-over areas — and in doing so, effecting an implicit segregation.

Disability is a significant subset of the diversity group, along with forms of otherness such as race, color, gender, immigration, class and in some countries, caste. It is probably not the first that comes to mind when we talk about diversity. But, language so often gives cues that nudge us to think in certain ways: the term "differently abled" as a term for people with disabilities itself calls out its otherness.

In the United States, the number of people with disabilities constitutes about 13 percent of the population, according to census figures, though experts put it at closer to 20 percent when definitions are not as narrow as in a census form. With an aging population, and accounting for temporary disabilities, it is a good bet that most of us will experience some form of disability in our lifetimes.

BEYOND ADA AND UNIVERSAL DESIGN

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F eature How can architects see our diverse abilities to interact in buildings to rethink design?

How can accessibility be moved from mere compliance to a basis for design that focuses on visibility of people's diversity, thereby increasing inclusion? Such questions need to be integral to both program and design.

Universal design moved us beyond the accessibility code and got us thinking in making features of buildings that could be used by everyone, regardless of whether they have disabilities. The principles focus on equitable use, flexibility and simplicity. Furthermore, focus on perceptibility, minimal exertion, tolerance for error and appropriate space or size. Broadly, however, they apply to features and practical aspects of a building. How can architects re-imagine spaces from the basics of conceptual design and programming to create architecture that is inclusive, equitable and uplifting to people with disabilities?

At Timber Ridge Elementary, the ramp connecting multiple levels is the primary circulation.

VISIBILITY The main aspect of "normalcy" that people with disabilities cherish, as many express, is being visible in public space. The feelings of being lesser and of shame are accentuated when spaces that are not consciously designed make them less visible and segregated.

An example is the several elementary schools that my son, who has developmental disabilities, attended. Most of them have special ed classrooms bunched together at the end of a corridor. Teachers make an added effort to facilitate mingling with other students outside his classroom by taking their students to the cafeteria or to an inclusive classroom. This isn't accomplished by existing design (that can create meeting opportunities) or program (that can distribute these classrooms instead of huddling them close). However, his earliest school, Timber Ridge Elementary in Marietta, Georgia, was different. Designed in the early 1990s, the multi-level school was connected by a wide

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The ramp at the center in Timber Ridge Elementary.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY GANESH NAYAK

PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDREW LEE

The sinuous plan of Hazelwood School cradle outdoor spaces.

"The main aspect of 'normalcy' that people with disabilities cherish, as many have expressed, is being visible in public space."

ramp that made up the primary circulation in the whole school; stairs were secondary. This ensured visibility for everyone and made it a truly public space. Even now, 10 years after he left the school, his former schoolmates recognize my son in the community and stop to say hello. The overarching reason for visibility and the life-affirming recognition that it imparts to a person with disabilities over years is the re-imagined design of the school.

SLOWNESS Designing for disability is acknowledging the enforced slowness of the movement of the disabled body through space and celebrating it.

The bodily experience is different and movement may be limited: in this difference and in the potential to make movement limitless to the extant possible throughout the building lie opportunities for good design. The Hazelwood School in Glasgow, Scotland, a school for children on a wide spectrum of disabilities, provides an example. It integrates the experience of movement via many gestures such as zig-zagging walls with waist-level contours, floor textures and HVAC grille placements for additional aids in movement, which are not only visual but tactile too. The design at macro level incorporates sinuous forms that

cradle outdoor spaces. Ventilation and light from clerestories, along with the use of color, enhance the sensory experience. With this human-centered approach, it truly becomes a well-designed building for everyone, not only for children with disabilities.

Another example is the House of Disabled People’s Organization in Taastrup, Denmark, an office building designed not only for users with disabilities, but in ways that constitute good design for everyone. The atrium is five-sided rather than a regular circular form, so that people with visual impairments can orient themselves. Varied colors make wayfinding easier, as do guidelines on the floor. Handrails are developed with colors, letters and exalted fonts, helping people with partial sight sense by touch. The railings are perforated, so people in wheelchairs can look through. A separate fire system and evacuation plan was designed to ensure elevators operate in an emergency.

Beyond these examples of public buildings are the more famous examples of private residences designed for clients with disabilities: Laurent House in Rockford, Illinois, designed

by Frank Lloyd Wright; and the Maison Ă Bordeaux in Bordeaux, France, by Rem Koolhaas.

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Atrium with perforated railings at House of Disabled People’s Organization.

PHOTOGRAPH BY MARTIN SCHUBERT

EMPATHY The overarching factor that drives design for disabilities beyond the regulatory requirements of ADA is empathy — the ability to step out of one’s own mind and imagine spaces as possibly experienced by an altered body. Ideally, a person with disabilities could weigh in on the design of buildings in the public realm and, in a way, test and vet it for equity. Buildings should become spaces where we learn from diversity and get a little more in touch with our humanity in all its frailties.

"We can get in the door, but once there, we face a new battleground, a new fog of misunderstanding and disrespect," so said a writer with disabilities. She wrote in the context of social attitudes and policy. The ADA provided the

PHOTOGRAPH BY BRIAN FUNCK

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access and opened the door. As architects and designers, we need awareness and empathy to lift the fog and create whole environments that acknowledge, include and celebrate the otherness of diversity.

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F eature

Building Connections Designing for Success in Early Learning Centers VICTORIA RICE WITH TRACY CARUSI, AIA

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PHOTOGRAPHS BY COLLINS COOPER CARUSI ARCHITECTS

A

renewed focus is being put towards early learning center development and how design of these centers contributes to a child’s success, specifically those in lower socio-economic communities.

National studies have shown that only 18 percent of lower-income American children are getting a high-quality preschool education.

A child’s experience in an early learning center sets a foundation for future academic and professional success. Design has been found to play an important role in shaping this experience. In fact,

an Australasian Journal of Early Childhood report illustrated how the "design of space can foster child development."

Traditionally, early learning classroom design has supported an old pedagogical approach of teacher-led curriculum and emphasized instruction over child-led exploration. This methodology often leads to an efficiency-based layout that tries to maximize square footage by squeezing in as many classrooms, toys, tables, colors and information as possible, resulting in an over-crowded and DESIGN EQUILIBRIUM

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over-stimulating space. With a more progressive, child-centric approach ­— where a child initiates their own learning and interactions through hands-on activities and exploration — early learning center design can help foster interpersonal relationships, spark conversations and connect busy parents.

WHY IS THIS SO IMPORTANT? For the youngest children, those under six, the benefit of early care lies in positive connections, supportive relationships and enhanced community cohesiveness, which are promoted not only through curriculum, but

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also through personal interaction.

Providing a safe place for families and children can have resounding positive effects on a child’s long-term development.

work." Design can foster this network connection by creating spaces that encourage talking and listening and spontaneous encounters.

A CHILD’S MODEL OF SUPPORT

A new concept in early learning center design is a welcoming "front porch." The idea is straightforward: create a space to intentionally allow caregivers and children to transition from home to center. Classrooms designed with a glass fronts help parents and children alike to emotionally prepare for the day. The clear glazed walls of the front porch allow adults and children to see into the

Children who don’t feel safe, secure, loved and nurtured are less likely to thrive in any learning environment. Early learning centers must mitigate insecurity by designing not only a welcoming space, but more importantly a space that encourages communication and connection across each child’s "support net-

TRANSITIONAL SPACE

classroom and encourage positive dialogue as they prepare to say goodbye. The space allows opportunity to prepare for separation and bring awareness to the classroom environment before entering. The "front porch" space allows spontaneous encounters between individuals across the child’s support network and can also be used by the teachers for one-on-one conversations or learning opportunities throughout the day.

CONNECTING YOUNG MINDS Once inside the classroom, it is important that the design continues to support these feelings of connection and communication. Design that allows students to interact with children from other classrooms will help enhance a student’s sense of belonging and allow children to learn and develop through different types of communication. For example, shared spaces such as a learning commons or a piazza bring together children from different development stages in a central space, allowing older children to develop empathy and a sense of mentorship and responsibility, while the younger students benefit from guidance and inclusion.

BIOPHILIA: CONNECTING WITH NATURE Biophilic design leverages the positive effect

nature has on human beings at a biological level.

Humans have an innate love and connection with nature, but the benefits of this connection are often muted though increased urbanization and disconnection with buildings. "Biophilic design can reduce stress, enhance creativity and clarity of thought, improve our wellbeing and expedite healing," reads Terrapin Bright Green's "14 Patterns of Biophilic Design" paper. Progressive early learning design considers biophilia when selecting layouts, finishes and furnishings.

Biophilic design fosters a child’s innate desire to explore nature, express their emotions and communicate with others.

FLEXIBLE SPACES, COLLABORATIVE MINDS Spaces that provide opportunity for collaboration and flexibility are important in designing a successful learning environment and provide an opportunity to put into practice the empathy and emotional intelligence concepts children have learned throughout their experience in the center.

Collaborative spaces encourage impromptu activity and allow children to develop interpersonal communication skills through talking and learning.

An example of a collaborative learning space

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Case Study

ARTHUR M. BLANK EARLY LEARNING CENTER The YMCA of Metro Atlanta is passionate about supporting their community through early learning and have begun development of The Arthur M. Blank Early Learning Center. This center is taking a progressive design approach to improve school readiness and prepare preschool children for success.

Within their new facilities, they are incorporating biophilic design, and replacing the traditional primary color scheme with softer, more natural tones. The finishes will include natural wood and ample glazing and will ensure the children receive plenty of light and views to the outside. The glass will also encourage

could be a "messy room," which is a space where kids are free to play with messy media at-will. This space could be located between two classrooms, connected by glazed walls for visual encouragement and fitted with art carts, water tables, sensory activities or exploratory science bins.

Flexibility is a well-known design concept in educational settings. But the opportunities flexibility of design offers parents and teachers are often overlooked. When trying to maximize square footage, it is easy to forego the seating area by the entrance or the

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accessibility to the natural landscapes. An outdoor exploration area versus a traditional playground will provide both immersive play in nature and opportunities for children to create and manipulate with a variety of sensory features.

Design of The Arthur M. Blank Early Learning Center is taking a child-led pedagogical approach that will allows children to learn via hands-on exploratory methods, in supportive and connective spaces such as learning commons, front porch spaces and messy rooms.

The new educational facility is set to open in Spring 2019 and is located in the YMCA Metro Atlanta’s headquarters.

breakout space by the playground, but these spaces can offer a valuable opportunity. A table and chair can offer a busy dad five minutes to catch his breath before his commute.

A couch can provide two mothers a safe, quiet place to connect. An alcove in the classroom allows a teacher to express how wonderful a student did in art class.

Good design not only considers these chance encounters, but encourages them. It promotes supportive adult/caretaker involvement and the more they become engaged in a

child’s learning, the more likely they are to stay engaged throughout their life. As a result, the child feels safe, secure and cared for.

Design of early learning centers must provide practical spaces while, at the same time, connect and plan for the spontaneous. The design of an early learning center does make a difference in encouraging healthy, creative and resilient children ­— and can have a profound lasting demographic benefit.

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Put us to work for you. Post your firm’s open positions with confidence and connect with 30,000+ highly qualified architecture and design professionals.

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Programs Programs Programs Programs Programs AIA Atlanta offers an array of programming and special events to our 1,700 members.

These include continuing education, advocacy, community forums, networking, arts collaborations and youth initiatives. Our mission is to bring leadership to the built environment and to raise awareness among the public about the value architects and their work bring to our communities.

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Open House Atlanta returned for a second year, welcoming 5,000 attendees on October 20-21, 2018. Organized in collaboration with Midtown Alliance and Central Atlanta Progress, the two-day festival

invites visitors to tour new and historic architectural landmarks throughout the city for free.

OHATL aims to promote a greater appreciation of the built environment through free access to architecturally and culturally significant sites seldom open to the public. The 2018 event fea-

tured nearly 50 sites in Downtown, Midtown, Old Fourth Ward and the Westside.

OHATL returns October 1920, 2019. For more information, visit ohatl.org.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY GENE PHILLIPS

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John Portman & Associates DESIGN EQUILIBRIUM

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United Way of Greater Atlanta

Haus Gables

80 Atlanta BeltLine Center DESIGN EQUILIBRIUM

Saint Mark United Methodist Church

2018 PARTICIPATING SITES ARCHITECTURE FIRMS BLUR Workshop Cooper Carry Gensler HKS John Portman & Associates Praxis3 Architecture + Multi-Disciplinary Design SLAM Collaborative Spacelab Stevens & Wilkinson Surber Barber Choate + Hertlein Architects BUSINESS AIA Atlanta/AIA Georgia Hurt Building EDUCATION OR LIBRARY Atlanta BeltLine Center Constellations United Way of Greater Atlanta HOTELS The American Hotel Atlanta Downtown Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta Georgian Terrace Loews Atlanta Hotel MUSEUMS & GALLERIES AIDS Memorial Quilt Visitor Center APEX Museum Atlanta Contemporary The Breman Museum Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and Monetary Museum The Goat Farm Arts Center Westside Cultural Arts Center

OUTDOORS Piedmont Park Visitor Center Woodruff Park RESIDENTIAL Baltimore Block Haus Gables lilli Midtown Modera Midtown Peachtree Lofts The Ponce Condominium Post Centennial Park Telephone Factory Lofts YOO on the Park RESTAURANTS Octane Coffee Rose & Rye The Temple SACRED Big Bethel AME Church North Avenue Presbyterian Church Saint Mark United Methodist Church THEATER & ENTERTAINMENT The Fox Theatre State Farm Arena

HISTORY Founded in London, England, in 1992, Open House is a worldwide movement dedicated to engaging the public in a city’s architectural legacy. Open House Atlanta aims to promote a greater appreciation of the built environment through free access to architecturally and culturally significant sites rarely open to the public.

Buildings include museums, high-rises, churches, hotels, offices and more. Atlanta, joining New York City, Chicago and San Diego, is the fourth Open House city in the United States, with more than 30 worldwide.

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Hyatt Regency Atlanta Downtown

Peachtree Lofts

The Laughing Skull

Hurt Building

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John Portman & Associates

YOO on the Park

YOO on the Park

Piedmont Park Visitor Center

Federal Reserve Bank and Monetary Museum

Gensler

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P rograms

High School Design Competition AIA Atlanta's 13th Annual High School Design Competition (HSDC), presented in partnership with YKK AP America, saw nearly 200 submissions from students representing more than 20 high schools across Georgia. To accommodate students' varying levels of experience, the competition features two levels: beginner and advanced. For the first time, the advanced level welcomed both individual and group entries.

Following the competition, AIA hosted an exhibition of all the projects and announced the winners during a ceremony at Georgia Tech. First, second and third place winners of the advanced competition received college scholarships. HSDC's mission is engaging high school students in the design process and educating them about career options in architecture, engineering and construction.

Presented by

2018 WINNERS BEGINNER: INDIVIDUAL

ADVANCED: INDIVIDUAL

ADVANCED: GROUP

1st Megan Janssen

Decatur High School

1st Jared Abrahamian

Union Grove High School

2nd Samuel Amick

Decatur High School

2nd Trey Cruz

Union Grove High School

1st Walker Barrett & Ryan McBride

McIntosh High School

3rd Brian Lopez 3

Collins Hill High School

rd

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Robert Hunter Chattahoochee High School

2nd Nikol Lazarov, Max Pakula

& Campbell Wellham

Wheeler High School 3rd Oscar Cleveland, Julian

Daniel & Hank Stocke

Decatur High School

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P rograms

Emerging Voices HONORING JEFFREY COLLINS, AIA

Emerging Voices is a biennial citation awarded to an individual or firm with a distinct voice and demonstrated influence in Atlanta’s design community. Since 2001, the juried series has presented a public forum for the exhibition of local, emerging architects and designers, encouraging the exchange of ideas among these practitioners and the public. Design professionals are invited to submit work of all types, theoretical or real, and executed in any medium. The jury then selects

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work for public exhibition.

Architect and educator Jeffrey Collins, AIA received the 2018 citation and debuted his winning exhibit simply titled, "EV18."

ABOUT THE PROJECT

The opportunity to create an installation inspired two goals. First, digital modeling techniques were introduced to Georgia Tech Master of Architecture students. A series of exercises resulted in the various drawings displayed throughout the

gallery, each of which represents a potential construct for the exhibit.

Second, issues related to digital fabrication were explored through construction of the full-scale centerpiece. The sculptural form was segmented into flat panels for computer numerically controlled (CNC) machining. Pieces were assembled with simple bolts and wire cables in seemingly random patterns, allowing onlookers the opportunity to explore their own interpretations of the surface patterns.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY JEFFREY COLLINS

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P rograms

48 HRS Design Competition Adaptation and Innovation

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The Storehouse

The Case The biennial 48 HRS Design Competition, a program led by the Young Architects Forum of AIA Atlanta, challenges designers, creators and innovators to collaborate in teams to respond to a unique design prompt.

Following the release of the prompt, teams have 48 hours to conceptualize, design and submit their solutions.

2018 marked 10 years of 48 HRS and the creativity of our illustrates their commitment to community-centered and adaptive design. The 2018 prompt challenged teams to design a solution to retrofit the aging model of the conventional indoor shopping mall.

More specifically, Greenbriar Mall in Southwest Atlanta. With online retail growing in popularity, more brick and mortar

stores have shut their doors, leaving conventional indoor shopping malls underutilized.

Competition teams developed prototypes for the future of the dying retail store, designed innovative solutions to retrofit indoor shopping malls and developed unique programming to be housed in the shopping mall. Some of the innovative programming proposed included a sustainable storehouse, an affordable housing community, a high school with a focus on STEM programs and a local food and nutrition hub.

Jurors for the 2018 competition included Ellen Dunham-Jones, AIA of the College of Design at Georgia Tech; David Scott of Davinci Development Collaborative, LLC; and Allen Post of Perkins+Will.

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P rograms The Plaza

WINNER

The Storehouse

JOANNA BIDANI, MELISSA BOOTH, CHRISTIAN AYALA AND LUKE BOOTH

R

etail experience is no longer about a single large destination with a slew of conglomerated satellite stores. Today, it seems consumers are more likely to travel for an experience than to purchase goods that can be delivered to one’s door with little effort. With such easy online access to almost limitless quantities and brands, the retail consumer’s priorities have changed from the once pluralistic experience of procuring objects as the main attraction to seeking out the idiosyncratic shop experience placed around a distinct attraction.

With this trend in mind, our concept is focused on the behind-the-scenes aspects of consumerism and the need for storage of the items we obtain, create or consume. Whether it be data, consumer goods, seeds, art, books, documents or artifacts, we are finding and creating these items in need of distribution or preservation at a faster rate and larger quantity each year. By confronting the mundane and necessary program of storage, whose needs will only increase, we are taking agency to reorganize the sprawling landscape, invigorating a seemingly benign program and envisioning its future role interfacing more frequently with the public.

The Storehouse turns its consumer focus outward, reclaiming the vast, desolate sea of parking. It is a place that attracts people to a previously underused relic of a structure by creating an experience: a large park with

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community events, recreational amenities and gathering spaces. By densifying the park’s periphery with mixed use live/work and retail spaces, the site becomes both a feasible profit generator and begins to meld with its surrounding fabric.

The park as the main attraction starts to break down the scale of the massive building block, creating pockets that invite people to visually interact with the stored items housed in the building. Due to the potential environmental sensitivities of some of these housed materials, the exposure to large groups of people is limited to these pockets where the landscape and building meet.

These areas become "living rooms," creating communal spaces for projection, recreation, performance, meeting and open-air shelter.

Since the requirements for each storage program are so specific, the flexibility and footprint of the large empty retail center makes these structures ideal for retrofitting.

The interior of the shell is easily compartmentalized with a straightforward organization while the façade of the building — the now critical interface with consumers — becomes a customizable canvas each tenant can activate and articulate with added program, signage and other branding opportunities.

The complex also has a focus on energy production since some programs such as data centers require

Living room: Public pocket between store rooms

a tremendous amount of energy for cooling and other mechanical needs. The expansive roof can be populated with solar panels to produce some of the required energy. A double skin façade can act as a heat sink, reducing the amount of mechanical cooling necessary to keep such a facility functioning.

The building becomes a container for fluctuating pieces of storage, much like a museum has its collection changed and distributed as needed. Not only will people come back for the amenities the park offers the suburban dweller, but also to see what is new in the rotation.

The Storehouse tackles the aesthetic concerns of "boring" cookie cutter plazas, the shift in consumer’s preferences and storing the large amounts of byproduct from our society, all in one nexus where a new characterization of suburban density can be defined.

Infinity Room: Data center public gallery

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P rograms

HONORABLE MENTION

Greenbriar Affordable Housing Community

SARA BENSON

Due to their close proximity to transit and urban centers, abandoned malls are the perfect sites to refurbish for affordable housing and transitional housing for the homeless. This scheme creates affordable housing for workers who can easily commute to Downtown Atlanta or the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport via the MARTA transit routes that serve the site. I retrofitted the large-scale Burling-

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ton Coat Factory into a transitional housing center for the homeless. Prefabricated studio units are stacked in open air to provide many housing units for the homeless at low cost. The mall has been sliced open to create pedestrian scale open air streets. A central promenade serves as the retail spine of the site, linking the transitional homeless center at the west end of the site to the community center on the east end.

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P rograms

HONORABLE MENTION

Greenbriar High School

LINDA KOVTOUN AND MAXIM KOVTOUN

With online shopping becoming more and more prevalent, shopping malls are becoming more and more vacant.

Atlanta is a growing city and, with that, the city’s schools will also need to accommodate a growing student body. Greenbriar Mall is an existing building with an expansive parking lot. This makes it an ideal candidate for a vibrant educational campus. What were once two large department stores could instead house an auditorium and a gymnasium. Interior retail spaces could be transformed into classrooms and laboratories. And the underutilized parking lot could make room for athletic facilities.

Greenbriar Mall is closely located to Therrell High School, one of Atlanta’s smallest public high schools that focuses on health science, law and STEM programs. But, it is neighboring Mays High School, the largest public high school in Atlanta, which could potentially outgrow itself.

Keeping Therrell’s focus on health science, law and STEM programs, Greenbriar could conveniently provide college

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preparatory education to the area with an adaptive reuse of the existing mall.

With the ease on online shopping, malls are forced to close their doors. We believe that these buildings can become exciting spaces once again. The footprint of a shopping mall has the potential to transform into an energetic educational facility, not just here in Atlanta but across the country.

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P rograms

HONORABLE MENTION

Feedback

ALEJANDRA LOPEZ, SARA VANDERHOOF AND TRENTON MCGUGIN In our proposal for the revisioning of the Greenbriar Mall, we create a project that is a catalyst for sustainable access to nutritional food as well as jobs, economic growth and strengthened community ties. The holistic proposal brings together food, technology, retail and social interaction in a long-term solution that addresses how current and future community members live and work.

The leasable space of the mall is ripe with transformational opportunity. The heart of the re-imagined Greenbriar community becomes a farming co-op in which farm plots take the place of storefronts, and farmlands perforate the old exterior wall, extending into the parking lot. Visitors are drawn to Greenbriar to wander the park-like spine, stopping at popup farm shops and food vendors

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preparing meals made with ingredients grown on the property. The old walls of the mall are left to remain where they are useful, in other areas they are stripped down to the structure and left as armature for future fit-out as conditions change.

The concept of adaptation of the Greenbriar mall to become a hub of local food and nutrition is only one possibility for the reuse of abandoned malls. Mall real estate nation-wide offers endless opportunities for adaptation and reuse. Where urban farm is appropriate in one locale, a school and affordable housing may be appropriate elsewhere.

Other modes of food production or retail experience can be explored and proposals tailored to meet the needs of specific communities.

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P rograms

Summer Social AIA Atlanta partnered with Circle of Trust Atlanta for the eighth edition of Summer Social, hosted at luxury gaming parlor The Painted Duck. More than 200 professionals attended, representing design, development, real estate, engineering and banking industries. In addition to networking, guests enjoyed duckpin bowling, horseshoes and snookball. Summer Social is held annually in June, each at an exciting new venue.

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P rograms

Red & Green Scene AIA Atlanta, in collaboration with ASHRAE Atlanta, ASID Georgia, CSI Atlanta, IIDA Georgia and USGBC Georgia, hosted its annual holiday celebration at the Woodruff Arts Center Galleria. Attended by more than 400 guests, Red & Green Scene offered a fun night of dancing, drinks and a delectable dessert bar. The event also served as a fundraiser for Sustainable Design Collaborative Atlanta and a toy drive for Toys for Tots.

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P rograms

Principals Roundtable Each month, firm principals and representatives from local AEC companies meet at Principals Roundtable (PRT) to discuss topics relevant to the industry. Meetings include a breakfast buffet, presentation and moderated discussion. Topics include design, best practices, political issues, sustainability and technology. AIA credits are offered for qualifying topics.

From top left: Brent Darnell; Matt Frankel; Cicely Garrett; John Goff; David Haddow; Paul Hart; Chris Heard; Donnie Hunter; Jim James; Scott Jones; Mark Levine; Emily Louchart; Luke McCary; Zach Olsen; David Scott; Stephanie Stuckey.

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Never stop learning aiau.aia.org

Immerse yourself in topics that will boost your skills and portfolio. With courses by 300+ instructors from leading firms, AIAU brings the industry’s best learning to you.

P rograms

Programs

&

Knowledge Communities

Academy of Architecture for Health of Georgia The Academy of Architecture for Health (AAH) addresses unique issues related to improving the quality of healthcare through design. As a forum, it provides the exchange of ideas, concerns, failures, successes and resources to advance the practice of healthcare architecture. Networking and educational events are held periodically to help strengthen the local knowledge base of healthcare design expertise that will ultimately improve healthcare environments within the region and beyond.

AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) Committee on the Environment hosts a lunchand-learn meeting on the second Friday of each month. The one-hour meetings comprise a presentation on various sustainable design topics, including federal regulations, energy efficiency and LEED certifications.

AIA STUDENTS (AIAS) Chapters at Georgia Institute of Technology Kennesaw State University and SCAD hold networking events and job fairs. They also participate in the Freedom by Design program, leading small projects to transform the lives of disabled members of the community.

Design for Aging Design for Aging represents those who share common challenges, opportunities and passion for design for aging. As a knowledge community, this group collaborates to deepen its understanding of our aging society through ongoing learning and knowledge sharing.

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Designers of Tomorrow Designers of Tomorrow encompasses AIA Atlanta's K-12 programming, including the annual Designers of Tomorrow youth fair, the Discover Architecture after-school program and the High School Design Competition.

Wednesday Night Networking

SORTAA

Discover Architecture Discover Architecture was created by Melody Harclerode, FAIA and Phillip Alexander-Cox with a goal of raising awareness of architecture among school-aged children. Discover Architecture is now an after-school program fostering engaging design creativity with classroom and extracurricular activities.

Procrastination Day To maintain licensure and AIA membership, architects are required to fulfill a number of continuing education credits annually. Procrastination Day is a full-day seminar allowing members to catch up on missing credits with AEC presentations.

Spotlight on Atlanta Projects (SOAP) Organized by Young Architects Forum Atlanta, SOAP is a forum where firms make presentations on recent and forthcoming developments in Metro Atlanta to offer the public a better understanding of the built environment.

Learn Over Lunch This series allows education providers from AEC companies to meet with members and discuss the latest trends in the design and construction. Learn Over Lunch is held monthly in Midtown, Marietta and in the Northeast Section.

Slate of Ready-to-Assist Architects (SORTAA) SORTAA was founded in 1989 with the goal to gather architectural knowledge from the "old guard" and share these experiences with the emerging generation of practitioners through mentorship.

Tour and Sketch Tour and Sketch invites middle and high school students to tour a local museum. Following, students break into small groups to sketch drawings with the guidance of volunteers.

Wednesday Night Networking Wednesday Night Networking is a monthly networking event connecting AEC professionals.

WNN travels around the city to different locations on the third Wednesday of each month, exploring new restaurants, bars and food trucks.

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Stay Connected Visit aiaatl.org/subscribe to sign up for our e-newsletter and stay up to date with the latest design news and upcoming events.

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