by Brianna Crandall — May 21, 2014—The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and its private sector partners recently honored 20 federal buildings that represent the agency’s best recent efforts in design and architecture at the GSA Design Awards ceremony in Washington, DC. The GSA Design Awards are the hallmark of the agency’s Design Excellence program, showcasing top projects and setting new standards for future federal investment.
“We support the delivery of vital public services to the American people with buildings that are distinct and valued landmarks in their local communities,” said Norman Dong, Commissioner of GSA’s Public Buildings Service. “Our design efforts provide necessary tools to the nation’s federal workforce in high-quality, cost-effective spaces that help agencies achieve their missions.”
GSA holds the program every two years to honor the accomplishments of talented federal employees, architects, engineers, landscape architects, urban designers, interior designers, artists, conservationists, and preservationists who create and preserve the nation’s landmarks. The GSA Design Awards recognizes outstanding achievements in GSA buildings across the country.
More than 80 projects were submitted for this cycle of the Awards in two categories—”completed works” and “designs not yet realized”—and jurors evaluated entries for quality in architecture, preservation, engineering, art, interiors, urban planning, graphic design, and landscape. Projects that were eligible for the awards were those with approved concept designs or construction completed between 2008 and 2013. The program is open to contract design professionals, artists, and organizations that completed projects for GSA.
The following is a complete list of GSA Design Award winners:
HONOR
- U.S. Land Port of Entry, Van Buren, ME
- Peace Arch Land Port of Entry, Blaine, WA
- Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building, Portland, OR
- Jacob K. Javits Federal Building Plaza, New York, NY
- Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Washington, DC
- United States Courthouse, Austin, TX
- Thurgood Marshall U.S. Courthouse, New York, NY
CITATION
- Interiors: Federal Center South Building 1202, Seattle, WA
- Architecture, Engineering, Landscape: Federal Office Building, Miramar, FL
- Architecture, Art Conservation, Interiors, Urbanism: 11 West Quincy Court, Chicago, IL
- Urbanism: 50 United Nations Plaza Federal Building, San Francisco, CA
- Architecture, Construction, Communication Design, Interiors, Urbanism: Dr. A.H. McCoy Federal Building, Jackson, MI
- Interiors: Federal Office Building, Andover, MA
- Construction Management: IRS Enterprise Computing Center, Kearneysville, WV
- Art Conservation: Minton-Capehart Federal Building, Indianapolis, IN
- Architecture, Urbanism: John M. Roll United States Courthouse, Yuma, AZ
- Architecture, Construction, Urbanism: United States Courthouse, Bakersfield, CA
- Architecture, Art, Communication Design, Interiors, Urbanism: United States Courthouse Annex, San Diego, CA
- Architecture, Engineering, Interiors, Preservation: Wayne N. Aspinall Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, Grand Junction, CO
- Architecture, Urbanism: United States Courthouse, Toledo, OH
The Design Excellence Program is the central advocate for design quality in GSA’s real estate portfolio. The foundation of the Design Excellence Program is the Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture, written by Daniel Patrick Moynihan and signed by President Kennedy in 1962. More information about the program and the winners is available on the 2014 GSA Design Awards Web site, as well as a video showcasing the Honor and Citation Award winners with judges’ descriptions and photos.
GSA is also offering the GSA Design Awards 2014 book, and a photo map on Pinterest indicating the location of each winner, along with photos and descriptions of the projects.
