June 15, 2023 | Memorial Art Gallery
Design Award
PLAN Architectural Studio
Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery Building & Sanctuary - Interior Architecture & Design
Merit Award
PLAN Architectural Studio
West End Heights - Supportive Housing
Citation Award
PLAN Architectural Studio
Barrington House
Design Award
Edge Architecture
Rochester Prep High School
Citation Award
Passero Associates
APEX Student Housing
Community Impact Award
In.Site: Architecture
Local Mash
Merit Award
Bero Architecture
Mary Clark Thompson Chapel Rehabilitation - Woodlawn Cemetery
Citation Award
PLAN Architectural Studio
FLCC - Center for Allied Health
Designers Unleashed Competiton
2023: Roc the Riverway Edition
Adam J. Badura
Garden
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS
Silver Sponsors
Bronze Sponsors
Post-Show Toast Sponsor
Bar Sponsors
Dessert Sponsor
Cocktail Slide Sponsors
Student Scholarship Winners were guests courtesy of the Rochester Architectural Foundation (RAF)
Thank you to the 2023
Design Awards Committee
2023 Design Awards Committee Chairperson
Christina Fluman, Associate AIA
​
2023 Committee
Adam Badura, Associate AIA
Lisa Fingar
Danielle Rupert, AIA
Linda Hewitt, Hon. AIANYS
Michelle Murnane, AIA
​
Videos recorded and edited by Christina Fluman, Associate AIA, Chair of the Design Awards Committee
Design Award Winner
Rochester Prep High School
Edge Architecture
Walking through the halls of Rochester Prep High School you can feel the dynamic energy of the space and its students. Inspirational quotes and the school’s motto “Change History” are ever present. They aren’t just hollow words. Rochester Prep truly intends to change history. Established as a charter school in 2006, Rochester Prep aims to prepare students from low-income communities to graduate from college. In a city with a graduation rate of only 71%, they are not only graduating 100% of their students, 100% of their students receive college acceptances. To meet their growing needs, they needed a larger high school. They chose an area ripe for urban revitalization – an impoverished neighborhood full of abandoned and run-down homes – and purchased a building that was originally built as a catholic school in 1928, with an addition built in 2016. The building needed not only a renovation, but also another addition. Their goal was to create a campus that would honor the character of the historic brick school building while greatly improving functionality, accessibility, and interior circulation. The new campus would demonstrate their commitment to the underprivileged and hope to elevate the community with each successfully graduated student.
Allen Rossignol, AIA
The renovation and new addition needed to solve three key challenges of the original space – entry, circulation, and organization. The architecture needed to address design and scale with a unique approach.
The original entry into the building was elevated from street level and continued directly into a staircase and main hallways, not ideal for controlling visitors nor for accessibility. The school needed an entry that provided security, transparency, and an immediate sense of the school. The solution was a modern glass entry that showcases an ornamental, colorful three-story stairwell. The hub connects the new to the old, with exposed brick from the original building on one end, glass on the other and connects the student population and programs vertically with a statement. The transparency of the entry gives the immediate feeling of a vibrant learning hub, accessible to all.
The rhythmic exterior massing of the addition with the existing building now echoes the internal organization of the school. Gone are the undesirable maze-like corridors, common to older schools with ad-hoc additions. Global organization of circulation flows ensures efficient movement, sight lines, and security, with minimum disruption. This includes the creation of a main circulation hallway.
The program layout was simplified and organized. Distinct building zones organize the school into classrooms, administration & support spaces, and multi-purpose gym & cafeteria areas. School offices were centrally located at the entry. Learning spaces were transformed into modern, high tech learning environments that promote creativity and productivity. With the community in mind, a separate entry into the cafeteria and gym/event spaces offers an invitation to attend events.
While they have only been at their new location a short while, they are already seeing a difference in the community they now call home. The Rochester Police Department told school officials they haveseen a significant decrease in the number of police calls in the immediate area. Higher graduation rates, lower crime. They are indeed “Changing History.”
Owner: Uncommon Schools/Rochester Prep
Contractor: LeFrois Builders & Developers
Civil Engineer: Marathon Engineering
M/E/P Engineer: M/E Engineering
Structural Engineer: Jensen/BRV Engineering
Landscape Architect: McCord Landscape
Interior Design: Design Space Studios
Photographer: Tim Wilkes Photography
​
Design Award Winner
Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery Building and Sanctuary - Interior Architecture & Design
PLAN Architectural Studio
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: The Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery is located on one of the most significant military sites in New York State’s Finger Lakes Region. On the eastern shore of Seneca Lake, it was initially developed as a World War II Naval Training Station, and later rededicated as a Korean War Era Air Force Basic Training Center. The Cemetery site is located on 162 acres in the southern part of the property. In 2011, Seneca County secured just enough funding to stabilize and renovate the building shell of the base’s original firehouse so that it could serve as the future Cemetery Administration Building and Sanctuary. The interior of the building was mothballed until additional funding could be obtained.
EXTERIOR RENOVATION: With available funding from the County and the State, our firm was commissioned to renovate the exterior shell of the original firehouse. It as completed in 2012. This project enabled the stabilization of the structure. After 8 years, in 2020, the County was able to secure enough funding to complete the project, renovate the interior, and put the building into use to serve the cemetery.
Chris Lopez, AIA
INTERIOR RENOVATION: The building program was established by adhering to the National Cemetery Administration (NCA) Facilities Guidelines. The original firetruck bays were redesigned as a multi-functional space to serve as a formal entry foyer and an assembly space for interment ceremonies. Also located on the first floor, a reception area, honor guard prep room, restrooms, storage and mechanical spaces were arranged. The building’s hose tower was repurposed as a shaft for a new elevator and carillon system, and the remaining stairwell was restored. The second floor houses the operations center, offices, record storage, and meeting spaces for the cemetery staff.
DESIGN: A natural palette of interior materials was selected to complement the building’s exterior, while providing durable surfaces for ease of maintenance and longevity of design. A primary design theme was the use of transparent window walls to strategically separate space, while allowing natural light to fill the interior. The transparency also provides views for the staff out to the surrounding cemetery grounds. The design team worked closely with a local stained-glass studio to develop colorful windows that integrate the US Armed Forces emblems with abstract landscape shapes evocative of the Finger Lakes Region. The custom designs were developed by close collaboration with the artist and the Owner. Specific glass pieces were selected based upon their unique color-profile and depth. The stained-glass windows were integrated with interior storms, and installed in the west-facing openings. This orientation promotes a dramatic permeation of color throughout the ceremonial space in the afternoon.
“The hope is that the adaptive reuse of this artifact structure
will provide a peaceful, warm, and restorative space for
future generations to remember their loved ones,
while experiencing the physical memory of the site’s rich history.”
Owner: Seneca County
Contractor: Iverson Construction
Design Architect, Interior Design: PLAN Architectural Studio
Architect of Record & M/E/P Engineer: T.Y. Lin, International
Photographer: Tim Wilkes Photography
​
Merit Award Winner
Mary Clark Thompson Chapel Rehabilitation - Woodlawn Cemetery
Bero Architecture
In 2015 this muti-phase project began with a feasibility study for the stabilization, rehabilitation, and adaptive reuse of the 1910 chapel located in a picturesque cemetery. The chapel was closed in 1960, as a result of changing funerary customs. The Chapel sat vacant for several decades and suffered from persistent leaks that compromised its heavy timber roof structure and sandstone masonry walls.
The result of the study included an exterior and interior conditions survey and the development of the building’s new program. Using the study as a guide a multi-phase project was developed to stabilize the building and plan for a full rehabilitation project. The project phases included:
• Stabilization and limited reconstruction of the timber roof structure
• Full restoration of the slate and copper roofing system
• Full rehabilitation of the Chapel including:
– Handicap Accessibility
– Restoration of all interior finishes
– Restoration of the Hook and Hastings organ
– Restoration of all stained-glass windows
– Restoration of limestone and Medina sandstone walls
– Reimagining the Chapel’s receiving vault as a new community space
Lindsay Yoder, AIA
Retaining the integrity of the historic building envelope was an important project goal so expansion on the site was not considered. The program goals of a community space, handicap-accessible toilet room, kitchenette, and modern HVAC all had to be realized within the existing compact building envelope. The resulting design thoughtfully incorporates the mechanical systems and programmatic amenities without compromising the original character of the building. To create an open community space within the receiving vault, the masonry walls were removed while suspending the barrel-vaulted ceiling in-situ and a new leaded glass window was installed within an existing false opening to provide natural light. The Chapel was a forgotten community resource, but it’s adaptive reuse has successfully reconnected the community with the cemetery’s history and reestablished it as a place of shared memory.
Owner: Canandaigua Cemetery Association
Contractor: Frank J. Marianacci, Inc.
Structural Engineer: Jensen/BRV Engineering
M/E/P Engineer: CW Engineering
Civil Engineer: Professional Engineering Group
Photographer: Lindsay Yoder, AIA​
Merit Award Winner
West End Heights - Supportive Housing
PLAN Architectural Studio
In response to the need for safe, affordable housing in the City of Ithaca, NY, this new 60-unit mixed use apartment building is located on a 3⁄4-acre site in the West End District, serving a mixed population of individuals. 22 of the units will be available to the general community with limited income, while the remaining 38 will house individuals who have experienced low/no income, homelessness, and/or are recovering from serious mental illness, substance use disorders or HIV/AIDS. The one-bedroom units provide those with special needs the opportunity to live in a supportive environment, near essential community services in an established, walkable neighborhood.
The 5-story L-shaped building is designed to maximize the tight urban site. This is accomplished by locating the building close to the street, with reduced surface parking in the rear. The building wraps a south-facing courtyard, strategically placed to connect with the light-filled Community Room. Therapeutic landscaping enhances the exterior spaces.
Cortland Knopp and Mark Pandolf, AIA
The main entrance addresses the street corner, with a terra cotta-hued tower. The cantilever provides shade and protection from the elements, with a natural wood plank soffit. Large windows wrap the corner in the apartment living rooms above. The red-orange banding activates the facades at different elevations. Tall transparent storefront glazing provides views into the main lobby. Ground-face masonry, and a charcoal-hued band wraps the perimeter, with mottled insulated aluminum panels above.
The building’s circulation is straightforward, with corridors running east-west, terminating at large windows on each end. This allows natural light to permeate the interior and provide views out to the street and to Cornell University’s campus on the hills beyond. Each floor has a central common lounge with transparent curtainwall cladding, contributing to the bright, welcoming interior. The apartments have high ceilings and open plans that enhance the feeling of comfort and spaciousness in modestly sized units. The color palate of the interior and exterior includes warm, natural hues to provide a therapeutic environment. Wayfinding is reinforced with supergraphics on each floor level near the main stair and elevator.
The all-electric HVAC systems with individual controls, highly insulated building envelope, and natural ventilation contribute to the building’s LEED for Homes Gold status, Energy Star certification, and Ithaca Green Building Policy compliance.
Owner: Lakeview Health Services
Contractor: LeCesse Construction
Structural Engineer: Elwyn & Palmer Consulting Engineers
M/E/P Engineer: Turner Engineering
Landscape: TWMLA
Civil Engineer: T.G. Miller, PC
Sustainability Consultant: Sustainable Comfort
Photographer: Tim Wilkes Photography
​
Citation Award Winner
APEX Student Housing
Passero Associates
Colony Manor housing serviced the students of RIT for over 50 years but had fallen into disrepair by 2018. RIT expects students to have the opportunity to live in the highest quality housing environment possible. As a result, the design team worked with the developer and contractor to demolish Colony Manor and design a state-of-the-art purpose-built student housing facility to replace the old structures. The new structure is seven stories tall and provides housing for 1,250 students.
The primary goal was to maximize the number of units built near RIT. The Town of Henrietta has experienced pressure to satisfy the increased housing demand along the East River Road Corridor and the Southwest Quadrant. As a result, new developments have been proposed and constructed over a mile from campus leading to increased traffic. Single-family homes turned rentals often undermine the fabric of the surrounding communities. The development of this student housing meets the Town’s goals of directing students to a safe, well-manicured, and quality-built housing environment. The design team worked closely with the Town to maximize the project density, limit environmental impact, and provide a strong asset for the community.
Dustin Welch, AIA and Mira Mejibovsky, AIA
The inside of the building balances cultivating student connection through various amenities while protecting students from cross-contamination, in response to the pandemic.
Owner: The Michaels Organization
Contractor: Christa Construction
Structural/M/E/P/ Engineer, Interiors, Landscape: BKV Group
Photographer: Don Cochran / Park Ave Photo
Citation Award Winner
Barrington House
PLAN Architectural Studio
The first of its kind in Monroe County, NY, Barrington House is a 28-Bed Community Residence accommodating women in recovery and their children. The new three story, 13,000 square foot building sits on a tight half-acre site in the City of Rochester. The program has a positive impact on the community, as it provides a safe place for women who do not have to make the difficult choice between seeking treatment for alcohol and substance abuse or staying home to care for their children.
The L-shaped building addresses the main street corner and wraps around a south-facing exterior courtyard. The project team pursued a zoning area variance to bring the building 35-feet closer to the street. Reflecting its urban location, this allows for strategic but reduced rear yard parking, and significantly increased the sun-lit green space to accommodate a secure children’s play area. The building is within walking and biking distance of essential services.
Cortland Knopp and Mark Pandolf, AIA
The building’s massing is representative of its function, with a three-story volume running north-south housing resident sleeping rooms, counseling offices, and group social rooms. A high bay dining room wing anchors the west end of the site, and the two volumes are linked with a transparent glazed entrance lobby. At the northeast corner, full-height glazing in the group rooms allow for views out to the street and brings in abundant natural daylight, contributing to the therapeutic design. The facade is wrapped with horizontal ship-lap siding. Its two primary hues reinforce the main masses, with terra cotta toned accent ribbons activating the perimeter. A ground-faced concrete masonry water table wraps the base, and front and rear canopies define the entrances and provide shelter from the elements. The building glows like a lantern at night, a testament to the amount of glazed fenestration.
The building’s circulation is simple, with large windows at the west terminus, to aid in way finding and provide exterior views and natural light. Sleeping rooms have oversized operable windows and natural hued finish materials. The HVAC systems are all electric with individual controls, and the building envelope is highly insulated for energy efficiency and residents’ comfort, exceeding the energy code by 16 percent. Barrington House is a welcome addition to its urban neighborhood, and provides a positive impact on its adjacent properties, and the community at large.
Owner: Catholic Charities Family & Community Services
Contractor: Christa Construction
Structural Engineer: Popli Design Group
M/E/P Engineer: Turner Engineering
Photographer: Tim Wilkes Photography
Citation Award Winner
FLCC - Center for Allied Health
PLAN Architectural Studio
Responding to a regional and national shortage of skilled health care professionals, Finger Lakes Community College (FLCC) set out to create a new Center for Allied Health. Seeking to expand and update the existing Nursing Program, a renovation and additions project was conceived to triple the amount of space.
The instructional program elements included: simulation hospital patient bays, control rooms for instruction and testing, debriefing rooms for analysis, simulation medicine rooms, a laundry room, a classroom, and two large flexible skills labs. In addition, a state-of-the-art hololens lab for medicine-based augmented reality instruction, was also developed. Support spaces such as offices, staff workroom, storage areas, and lounges were intermixed with the instructional spaces.
Referencing FLCC’s Master Plan, a new entrance and lobby, providing a much-needed accessible path from the south parking lot, was incorporated. Replacing a decades-old ‘temporary’ trailer, a building addition, with a canopied focal point, terminates a curving sidewalk that leads students, faculty, and guests into the campus.
Chris Lopez, AIA
Once in the lobby, a stairwell, that aligns with the primary north-south circulation spine, allows sunlight down to the lower level. The lobby provides gathering and meeting opportunities, restrooms, and a future connection to later-phase instructional space.
The material palette is contextual, neutral, and accented by biophilic elements. Cast-in-place concrete, prevalent with the original Brutalist-style building, was used for the foundation and main stair. The curtain wall is designed with deep mullions and sunshades to control natural light. Ceiling clouds, constructed of wood slats, hang below linear light fixtures to provide diffused artificial light. The subterranean, lower-level instructional spaces feature large-scale murals. The images were obtained from FLCC’s Fine Arts Program through a student competition themed upon Finger Lakes nature.
The overall layout allows for flexibility of instruction and adaptability of curriculum, offering a ‘real life’ hospital wing experience, while promoting spontaneous breakout meetings, discussions, and interactions.
With this significant capacity increase, FLCC has responded to its growing nursing enrollment, and the Center for Allied Health is poised to prepare future healthcare professionals for the workforce in this critical field.
Owner: Finger Lakes Community College
Contractor: G.M. Crisalli & Associates
Structural/Civil Engineer: Stantec
M/E/P Engineer: Turner Engineering
Photographer: Tim Wilkes Photography
Community Impact Award Winner
Local Mash
In.Site: Architecture
In many ways the Silver Lake Brewing Project is the zeitgeist of downtown Perry’s larger and on-going revitalization. The project took a blighted, woefully underutilized building with a rich history and transformed it via local money and labor-pooling into a popular destination for locals and visitors. With a shoestring budget, a plucky band of problem-solving locals used historic artifacts and donated materials to accomplish what had been considered impossible for so long - a craft brewery succeeding in little ol’ Perry.
The three managing owners were active in the community, planning out events and developing the Silver lake Trail for years - seeing their efforts slowly gain traction as downtown Perry became more and more of a destination for visitors AND locals. While the idea for a brewery had been floated for years and the business plan cooked up and shelved numerous times, the original members finally had sufficient peer-pressure to team up and open the project to community investment. With capital sufficient to proceed, the project began.
The effect is something urban communities take for granted but rural communities desperately want: options and variety. There are places in Perry to get a beer, bring your grandmother for a trivia night, have a wedding reception, book club or knitting group, see quirky re-purposed details, or enjoy brunch. But there isn’t any other single place in Perry where you can do all of those things.
So, community impact here is deeply rooted in the design process and execution - a community-wide business model, community participation in the design and guiding the execution, community money and in-kind, and now community use.
The brewery design, itself a local mash of 150 years of local history, embeds itself in its hometown through unburying, re-purposing and incorporating artifacts from its own past and from other notable buildings in the area - old barn siding, old school chalkboard slate, old knitting mill table, old signs.
From conception, business model, funding, design, artifacts and execution, this synergy between the community and the brewery is the secret sauce to its success. Luckily, it’s a recipe that Perry is willing to share.
Owner: Silver Lake Brewing Project, LLC
Contractor: Mike Laurie Construction
Photographer: Tim Wilkes Photography
Designers Unleashed: Architectural Ideas Competition Winner
This pedestrian bridge design for the Broad Street Bridge encompasses many features meant to enhance the pedestrian experience. The innovative function of the design is how it removes pedestrians from the urban landscape and provides a haven from the hustle and bustle of city life. The bridge serves as a beautiful and sustainable means of crossing the Genessee River, while also enhancing the
natural landscape.
The design incorporates sustainable materials and construction techniques, such as the use of recycled materials and renewable energy sources. Also, it maintains the grading of the subway, which allows for the program to be situated well below the grading for the rest of the city, reducing noise pollution. It also includes features that promote accessibility, such as ramps and wider pathways for people with disabilities.
Furthermore, the design incorporates community-focused elements, such as seating areas and interactive installations that encourage social interaction and engagement. This includes the cultural preservation of the original subway graffiti which is now installed in the scenic garden. The garden path also uses dogwood trees and lilac bushes to provide another location for the Lilac Festival tradition in Rochester. The design also incorporates lighting elements that add to the bridge's aesthetics and make it a memorable experience for users, day or night.
Overall, this pedestrian bridge design impresses visitors with its aesthetic beauty, sustainability, accessibility, and community impact. It is a functional and innovative solution that seamlessly blends into the surrounding environment while enhancing the experience for pedestrians.
All of the eligible projects are displayed below. Take a look and click the VOTE button to cast your ballot for your favorite. The winning project will be awarded in late 2023. Follow us on social media to learn the results!
Photography by Sydney Majka
