
In existence for nearly half a century, AIA San Francisco’s Design Awards program recognizes the outstanding achievements in architecture and design of Bay Area individuals and organizations as well as celebrates the distinguished work of architects and related professionals from afar who contribute to the framework of our local built environment. The program serves to inform the public of the breadth and value of architectural practice.
Ceremony and Gala
April 20, 6:00 - 9:30 pm
Herbst Theatre, San Francisco War Memorial & Performing Arts Center, 401 Van Ness Avenue
- 5:30 pm - Doors open
- 6:00 pm - Ceremony will begin promptly
- Wine tasting reception to follow in the Green Room
Winning projects will be announced at the ceremony.
Learn More Here
Master of Ceremonies: Jennifer Dunlop Fletcher, SFMOMA
Jennifer Dunlop Fletcher is the Helen Hilton Raiser Curator of Architecture + Design at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, where she has worked since 2008. Recent curatorial projects include, Typeface to Interface (co-curator) (2016); Claudy Jongstra, Aarde (2016) Lebbeus Woods, Architect (co-curator) (2013); A. Quincy Jones: Building for Better Living (2013) The Utopian Impulse: Buckminster Fuller and the Bay Area (2012), and a commissioned work by filmmaker, Mike Mills, about Silicon Valley for Project Los Altos: SFMOMA in the Bay Area (2013). She has published essays on the practice of A. Quincy Jones, Ewan Gibbs, Tobias Wong, and Lebbeus Woods. Dunlop Fletcher earned a bachelor’s degree in Art History from New York University (1993). She received a master’s in Curatorial Studies of Contemporary Art from Bard College (1999), and a master’s in Architecture History and Theory from Harvard University (2004).
Jury
The 2016 Design Awards Jury will take place in Austin, TX.
Burton Baldridge, AIA
Burton Baldridge, AIA, principal at Baldridge Architects has nearly 20 years of experience in the design of commercial and residential projects. With a collaborative, creative and social approach to architecture, his work has earned numerous design awards and been featured widely in both print and digital publications. He has previously taught at the University of Texas School of Architecture and is also trained as a lawyer.
Christopher Cobb, AIA
With over 22 years of practice, Chris has a diverse and broad range of experience that includes everything from large scale commercial architecture to intimately scaled residential work. After founding his own office in 2006, his primary focus has been on high-end residential projects with work not only in Texas, but also in New Hampshire & Northern California. He has an affinity for working with clients who are passionate about design and care intensely about the places they live and work. His work has been featured in book and magazine publications, highlighted on an international television series, and has been displayed on numerous local architecture tours.
In addition to being active in various activities of AIA Austin, his leadership experience includes a two-year term as the Design and Awards Commissioner, Chair of the Honors Award Committee, Chair of the Communications committee, and is currently serving his fifth year on Chapter’s Executive Board.
Coleman Coker
Coleman Coker is the Ruth Carter Stevenson Regents Chair in the Art of Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture and director of the Poetics of Building, a designbuild program for advanced design students there. He is a registered architect and principal of buildingstudio. Coker has taught at numerous schools of architecture and is past director of the Memphis Center of Architecture, an urban design studio sponsored by the University of Arkansas and University of Tennessee, which focused on a deeper appreciation of the art of building.
Coker holds a Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome and is a Loeb Fellow in Advanced Environmental Studies at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. He has a Master of Fine Arts from the Memphis College of Art and received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from there. The Architectural League of New York in 1991 recognized him in their "Emerging Voices" series. Coker has lectured extensively at universities and professional forums and has participated in numerous design juries across the country.
With forty years of experience in design offices - over thirty years as principal of his own firms - Coker founded buildingstudio in 1999 after a thirteen-year partnership with Samuel Mockbee as Mockbee/Coker Architects. With the formation of buildingstudio, Coker sought to blur the boundaries between architecture, art, craft and thinking - rather than separate disciplines, each being essential to the larger realm of building. His work has received numerous honors including National AIA Honor awards, Architectural Record, "Record House" awards and P/A Design Awards. Coker's work has been published widely both at home and internationally.
Robert Harris, FAIA
ROBERT HARRIS, FAIA has established expertise in combining award winning design and sustainable practices in buildings that respect nature, enhance place, and exhibit the craft of construction. He has more than 20 years of experience with a focus on environmental issues ranging from land preservation advocacy to sustainable urban design.
As Lake|Flato’s Partner-in-Charge of sustainability, he oversees innovative design strategies for the firm. Bob is an innovator who pushes sustainability in new directions, finding beauty in sustainable solutions and pioneering regionally based designs for buildings that elegantly do more with less. Under his leadership, the firm has received national recognition for sustainable design including 8 AIA Committee on the Environment Top Ten Green projects.
Bob was the Founding Director of the USGBC Balcones Chapter and formerly served on the national board of the U.S. Green Building Council Board of Directors. He is actively involved in a number of sustainable design and environmental organizations—currently he serves as a National COTE Student Advisory Group Liaison.
Wendy Dunnam Tita, AIA
Wendy Dunnam Tita, AIA, LEED AP is a registered architect and Page principal with a focus primarily on interior architecture and design. Her passion is creating interior experiences that build upon project goals and aspirations. For almost 20 years she has, seamlessly integrated, interior architecture, lighting, furnishings and artwork for intimate spaces in Housing and Hospitality to large scale Corporate and Urban projects. For many Multi Family, Corporate, Retail and Restaurant clients she has proven to be trusted creative partner in developing the brand and brand architecture. Her projects have won numerous awards, for exceptional design, sustainability, and construction quality.
With her clients as the ultimate muse, Wendy creates thoughtful designs that explore opportunities to make the most of budget, scope and schedule. Building upon the foundations of interior architecture, she integrates in-depth research and data to ensure that her projects are built upon a foundation of sustainable, healthy design. In addition to her professional design work she is also a visiting critic and adjunct lecturer at the University Of Texas School Of Architecture, most recently teaching an Advanced Design Studio.
Another aspect of Wendy’s background is her national portfolio, which has allowed her to identify and incorporate regional influences. From the mountains of the Southwestern US to the urban setting of New York City, she has won awards for her projects’ connection with their environments. Most recently, she accepted a national MHN (Multi-Housing News) Gold Award of Excellence on a commercial project in Austin, Texas, on behalf of one of the preeminent multifamily companies in the nation.
Award Briefs
ARCHITECTURE AWARD
INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE AWARD
UNBUILT DESIGN AWARD*
The Design Awards program is structured into categories and concentrations. By highlighting concentrations we aim to give special acknowledgement to projects that further encompass the values of good design within the context of historic preservation, urban design, and social responsibility.
With this format we hope to demonstrate that all of these disciplines explored collectively, rather than independently, strengthen the overall power and scope of architecture to help shape the built environment and enrich the human spirit.
In recognition of the importance of sustainable design, AIASF instituted a separate award category for energy and sustainability in 2003. In the last 13 years, the profession as a whole has transformed the way it designs, builds, and maintains buildings. The Design Awards program now incorporates the fulfillment of sustainable design principles into all categories. Sponsored by PG&E Pacific Energy Center.
Entry Fees
Early Deadline: February 11, 2016 at 1:00 pm
$205 AIASF Member Submission | $385 General Submission | Free for Full-Time Architectural and Design Students (with ID)
Final Deadline: February 25, 2016 at 1:00 pm
$255 AIASF Member Submission | $435 General Submission | $35 for Full-Time Architectural and Design Students (with ID)
*Financial hardship fee waiver available in the Unbuilt category. Fee Waiver Request Form.
Redeem IDP Credit Hours
IDP Candidates can redeem up to 40 hours per experience area (excluding leadership & service). Candidates should fill out the Design Awards Verification form. This form is to certify that the AIASF Design Awards program meets the requirements of completing a design competition for IDP credit as defined in the IDP Guidelines.
For information on IDP Experience reporting, visit NCARB's IDP Guidelines.
Questions
Have a question about your eligibility or the submission process? View our most frequently asked questions or email Karsen Maruca.
California and National award programs
Visit the following websites for more information on state-wide and national design award programs: