Four SOM projects have won five 2016 Architizer A+ Awards, a program that recognizes outstanding architecture and products in more than 100 distinct categories. The Kathleen Grimm School for Leadership and Sustainability at Sandy Ground received both the Jury Award and the Popular Choice Award in the Primary & High Schools category. Additionally, the Environmental Graphics and Branding of American Conservatory Theater’s The Strand won the Jury Award in the Architecture +Branding category, and two projects received a Popular Choice Award: JTI Headquarters in the Office – Mid Rise (5-15 Floors) category, and AMIE 1.0 in the Architecture +3D Printing category. The winners will be recognized at a formal gala in New York City on May 12th, 2016.
The Kathleen Grimm School for Leadership and Sustainability at Sandy Ground is the first net zero energy school in New York City and one of the first worldwide. The project helps the city explore sustainable design strategies and achieve its ambitious goals to reduce global warming emissions. The school’s many sustainable design features include photovoltaic arrays wrapping the roof and south facade, a geo-exchange heating and cooling system, and interiors designed to maximize natural light.
For the Environmental Graphics and Branding of The Strand and American Conservatory Theater, SOM modified A.C.T’s identity to reflect its new building’s focus on new work, emerging artists, education, and community outreach. Existing brand fonts were adapted into stencil letterforms—a staple of backstage labeling—to convey the unadorned immediacy of experimental theater and reflect the gritty, transitional aspects of The Strand’s neighborhood in San Francisco.
JTI Headquarters is the result of collaboration among SOM’s architecture, interior design, and structural and civil engineering practices. Surrounded by parkland and built on a former industrial site, the building is located in a Geneva district that is home to prestigious international organizations. Ranking among the most sustainable buildings in Europe, its design consolidates four existing JTI premises within a single landmark building and demonstrates SOM’s commitment to integrated design, sustainability, and innovative workplace solutions.
The Additive Manufacturing Integrated Energy (AMIE 1.0) demonstration project is a research and design collaboration between SOM and the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Highly energy efficient, the 3D-printed building was designed by SOM to produce and store renewable power and to share energy wirelessly with a 3D-printed vehicle, which was developed by the DOE. The project illustrates the potential of a clean energy future by achieving independence from the power grid during peak-demand times.
Selected from thousands of submissions, three SOM projects were also named finalists in five categories: JTI Headquarters in the Concepts: Architecture +Engineering category and the Building Products: Façades & Glazing category as “Closed Cavity Facade”; Jiangxi Nanchang Greenland Zifeng Tower in the Commercial: Office – High Rise (16+ Floors) category and the Commercial: Mixed Use category; and Jiangxi Nanchang Greenland Central Plaza, Parcel A in the Details: Architecture +Glass category.
Additionally, two SOM projects received special mentions: Al Ahmadi Cultural Center in the Cultural: Unbuilt Cultural category, and Jiangxi Nanchang Greenland Central Plaza, Parcel A in the Commercial: Office – High Rise (16+ Floors) category.