North Texas’ top architects gathered recently at the Modern Museum of Fort Worth as the American Institute of Architects’ local chapter gave nine prestigious design awards. Projects included a college, a nonprofit theater, and private homes.
Top Honor Awards went to architects Greg Ibañez, Tommy Stewart, and Norman Ward.
Four Merit Awards were given out, three of which went to VLK Architects, and one to Greg Ibañez.
Two Studio Awards went to Bart Shaw Architect and Marta Rozanich of Konstrukcio Studio.
This year’s jury was led by Randy Brown of Randy Brown Architects in Omaha, Neb. with Emily Little of Clayton & Little in Austin and Bill Aylor of Lake Flato Architects in San Antonio. The three looked at 31 entries, and were free to give as many awards as they deemed merited.
Here are details of the top awards:
- Greg Ibañez of Ibañez Architecture for Amphibian Stage Productions, a theatre company on Fort Worth’s emerging South Main Street area. The company acquired half of a former nightclub and Ibañez provided pro bono services for the project. Using material from Home Depot, such as cement board siding, drywall, donated carpet and ceiling tiles, and generic light fixtures, the project was completed for $50 per square foot.
- Norman D. Ward for the Huynh Residence, with Norman Ward and Ernest Curry architects.
- Tommy Stewart with Architecture West and Architecture for Humanity for Cévérine School in outside of Maissade, Haiti. Other team members included Eric Cesal, Regional Program Manager, and Darren Gill, RIBA Architect of Record, both of Port au Prince, Haiti. The client was Save the Children and Stiller Strong.
“I admired the clarity and thought that went into every wall and every detail with very little money to spend,” Brown told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram about the Amphibian Stage Productions project designed by Ibañez.
The Cévérine School was built using available materials, as well as community volunteers. Little told the Star-Telegram, “This project was very touching on so many levels, to see what they started with, and what they ended with, it made your heart sing. There were submissions that talked about how architecture was going to help the community, but this project was so far above the others. This was the most amazing project we saw today.”
Of the Huynh Residence designed by Norman Ward, Little said, “There were a lot of really nice houses submitted this year, but this project rose up to the top right away. The simplicity of the detail, the absolute sublime use of materials and placement, it was a beautifully composed project.”
