News from 05 / 2010
GROGAN NAMED VALEDICTORIAN OF BOSTON ARCHITECTURAL COLLEGE
KRA’s Andy Grogan was recently named 2010 valedictorian of his graduating class at Boston Architectural College (BAC) and was awarded the AIA/Henry Adams Medal and Certificate.
In 2004, Grogan began his Master’s of Architecture after almost ten years of construction experience. He completed his Master’s thesis in December 2009. His thesis—a new public library for Holyoke, MA—examined how architectural precedent and traditional library program can be used to redefine a library’s relationship to community.
Grogan has been a standout in the Master’s program from early on, winning a number of awards including the “New England Home” Design Hall of Fame scholarship and the Dean Archangelo Cascieri Scholarship. In 2006, his academic work was included in a juried exhibit at BuildBoston.
The 2010 BAC commencement will occur Saturday, May 29 at Boston’s Old South Church. The BAC is well known for its learning model of academic curriculum run concurrently with practical experience in the field.
KEN BURNS WING OF HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE’S LEIBLING CENTER RECEIVES LEED GOLD
The Ken Burns Wing of Hampshire College’s Leibling Center for Film, Photography, and Video has received LEEDGold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
As the college’s first LEED-certified building, the modern facility meets the needs of faculty, students, and staff while also pushing forward the college’s broader goals for a sustainable campus.
“Hampshire recognizes global warming as one of the defining challenges of our time, and we have pledged ourselves institutionally to a commitment toward climate neutrality and reduction of carbon emissions,” said Hampshire College President Ralph Hexter recently.
Kuhn Riddle, the design team - which included Lindgren & Sharples, P.C., Gibble Norden Champion Brown Consulting Engineers, Inc., and William Canon, Landscape Architect - and general contractor,Thayer Street Associates, Inc., worked with the college and its project representative/LEED AP, Strategic Building Solutions, to document and verify project components that met LEED criteria.
LEED certification recognizes environmentally-conscious building projects by using a specified list of qualifications across categories including sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation in design.
Photo by Ned Gray.
KRA RECEIVES MULTIPLE AWARDS FROM HABITAT COMPETITION
As part of their 20th anniversary celebration, Rhode Island’s South County Habitat for Humanity held a competition in which teams were asked to design an affordable LEED-rated home.
We couldn’t resist the opportunity, so we entered. Twice!
Winners were announced earlier in May, and our “Gable House” entry was named winner for the 4-bedroom category, while our “Corner House” was named a finalist for the 3-bedroom category. Kuhn Riddle was named “Overall Winner” for the entire competition.
“Gable House” team captain Jonathan Salvon, AIA, had this to say about our 4-bedroom winner: “Energy efficient small homes are not new to the New England landscape. In fact, three centuries ago, it was critical that we responded to (and contended with) the world around us. Limited by local resources and responding to the local environment, the “capes” and “colonials” from this era have influenced residential design ever since. The “Gable House” was inspired by the forms and efficiencies of these homes while also responding to the ways people live today.”
“Corner House” takes its name from the transparent southwest corner of the house that allows a small floorplan to visually “capture” outdoor space. “The simple shed roof shades sun in the summer months and allows light to penetrate deep into the space in the winter,” says team captain Elizabeth Morgan, “while the interior layout balances the desire for visual unity and the need for physical privacy between public and private zones of the house.”
All competition entries will be on display for the next two weeks at the South Kingstown Neighborhood Guild, 325 Columbia Street, Peace Dale, RI 02883.
In related news, our third “Stanley Street House” was recently completed by Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity in South Amherst.
ARCHITECTURE & FILM
On Monday, May 3, the final film of the Spring 2010 Architecture thru Film Series will be shown at Amherst College’s Fayerweather Hall. “Spaces: the Architecture of Paul Rudolph” is the Oscar-nominated (1983) short film that examines the work and life of the often controversial architect.
After the film, KRA’s Erica Rioux Gees, AIA, will act as moderator for a panel discussion with University of Massachusetts Professor Timothy Rohan.The screening is free and open to the public and begins at 6:30 pm at Amherst College’s Pruyne Lecture Hall in Fayerweather Hall.
The photo above shows Rudolph’s Yale Art and Architecture Building, thoughtfully embellished for an event by Yale’s Women in Architecture, a group founded by KRA’s Elizabeth Morgan during her days at Yale.
Check out photos of Rudolph’s projects and find more information about the film series from WMAIA.