We are wrapping up Schematic Design on a fast-moving project with Brown University on a gut renovation and addition to the historic Churchill House, home to the Department of Africana Studies and the Rites and Reasons Theatre. Marble Fairbanks teamed up with Huff + Gooden Architects to work on this exciting project located at the crossroads of a new arts district for Brown University.
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New GSA & NPS Projects Underway
Our team recently completed multiple site visits in the Boston area for several projects with the General Services Administration and the National Parks Service. We are continuing work on projects at the Charlestown Navy Yard as well as leading a feasibility study for a regional storage hub for NPS museum collections in the region.
In their last newsletter of 2021, Urban Omnibus named Jason and Acacia Thompson’s virtual tour of Greenpoint Library & Environmental Education Center one of their top articles of the year. Throughout the tour, Jason and Acacia, the Brooklyn Public Library System’s first Environmental Justice Coordinator, discuss the site’s unique history, highlight details of the library’s programming, and discuss the significance of the library within the community as an institution that promotes environmental awareness, education, and activism. Jason noted:
“Why we chose certain materials, why we oriented the building a certain way, why we chose the plants that we chose: we wanted to tell a story. In a lot of these cases, there are actually plaques on the walls and on the glass that describe what’s going on, so that people can understand why things were done the way they were done.”
2021 was an exciting year for Greenpoint Library and Environmental Education Center. After opening to the public in fall 2020, the library continues to be honored with multiple awards in across design disciplines. Most recently, Greenpoint Library received the AIA Tri-State Design Awards Silver Medal, the top award in the Regional and Urban Design category.
Below is a full list of each of the awards and their significance:
AIA Tri-State Silver Medal: Silver Medal, Regional and Urban Design (2021)
The Silver Medal is the highest honor given by AIA Tri-State, which recognizes regional excellence in design and impact on the built environment, considering factors such urban design, regional and city planning, and community development.
AIA New York State Design Awards: Institutional Merit Award (2021)
The AIA New York State 2021 Design Awards highlight works displaying architectural excellence, by New York licensed and registered architects. Submissions were selected over nine categories, with 24 total projects as recipients.
NYCxDesign Awards (Interior Design): Greater Good: Social + Environmental Impact Category (2021)
The NYCxDesign Awards focus on interior design, awarding projects over a variety of major design areas.
Architizer A+ Award: Finalist (2021)
The Architizer A+ Award recognizes the work of top architecture firms worldwide, highlighting architecture and spaces that exhibit great design and demonstrate excellence. Read more.
Fast Company Innovation by Design Award: Spaces and Places category Finalist (2021)
The Fast Company 2021 Innovation by Design Award honors the most innovative architecture by evaluating factors such as functionality, originality, beauty, sustainability, user insight, cultural impact, and business impact across 37 categories.
ASLA-NY: Merit Award, General Design (2021)
The American Society Of Landscape Architects New York (ASLA-NY) Design Award recognizes projects that demonstrate excellence in landscape architecture. Selections were contingent on design quality, design execution, innovation, community impact, and impact on the profession.
In August, Greenpoint Library & Environmental Education Center was highlighted by Shannon Mattern in a New York Daily News piece titled, “Long Live Public Libraries.” Throughout the article, she discusses the importance and relevance of libraries in offering community support and promoting intellectual growth, which was amplified during the pandemic. She also notes that the physical space of a public library can aid in realizing the larger context of public responsibility by providing access to information. As the Greenpoint Library’s physical location closely ties its function, Shannon emphasizes the library’s programming, noting:
“This library, like many others, works with its community to confront difficult histories, to acknowledge injustices, to celebrate resilience, and to imagine processes of remediation. The work that takes place here can repair the physical and social worlds around it.”
Read the full article here.