At the annual AIA Pennsylvania Architectural Excellence Awards ceremony in Harrisburg on September 22, 2009, WRT was awarded three 2009 AIA Pennsylvania Architectural Excellence citations, including one Honor Award.
Blue Ball Dairy Barn — Honor Award, Built Project — The LEED Gold-rated Blue Ball Dairy Barn project involved the careful integration of sustainable building strategies with historic preservation. Reusing an existing structure to create a sustainable building while maintaining its historic character was the focus of the design. A local landmark in northern Delaware, the barn and its new addition are a successful complementary pairing of old and new. The renovations and new addition were designed to preserve and enhance the original character while meeting the owner's modern programmatic requirements for public accommodation. The project is part of a larger master plan and development for the Blue Ball Properties, which focused on regional and local land use, transportation, ecology, and economic development issues. The project also meets the Department of Interior Preservation Guidelines while achieving the sustainable design goals, maximizing the flexible public and private use of the facility, and serving as a learning tool for history, culture, architecture, and sustainable systems.
Downtown Transit Station — Merit Award, Built Project — The LEED Gold-rated Downtown Transit Station in Charlottesville, VA reaffirms the vital role of transit in sustaining and promoting compact development patterns that reinforce community and sense of place. The building and its 43,600-SF urban site reclaimed a dormant car-oriented area to create a gateway to the city's popular pedestrian mall. The transit station is the region's central inter-modal hub, serving a diverse cross-section of users, residents, and tourists. Its design incorporates an airy waiting hall and a mix of transit-supportive and community — building uses such as a cafè, a visitor center and offices, and an art gallery.
The Stevens Center for Engineering And Science Innovation — Merit Award, Unbuilt Project — This 48,000-SF classroom and research facility in Hoboken, perched on a site overlooking the Hudson River with sweeping views of Lower Manhattan, provides a new space for faculty offices, seminar rooms, a computer lab, and 170 spaces of enclosed, structured parking. Aspiring to a LEED Gold rating, the Stevens project features sustainable design strategies, including extensive daylighting, a high-performance envelope utilizing terracotta rain screen cladding, photovoltaics, operable windows, a landscaped roof terrace, and displacement ventilation.
"Not only do these projects speak to WRT's design skills," said WRT Managing Principal Joe Healy, "but they also reflect our collaborative, multidisciplinary approach to problem solving. These projects are wonderful examples of WRT's values and principles, but more importantly they are a reflection of our 'community of practice' and commitment to sustainable design."
