Every year for 11 years AN has celebrated outstanding built and unbuilt architectural projects over a range of categories through our Best of Design Awards. This year, we received the highest amount of entries.
This roster of winners features the most amount of international projects compared to our editors’ picks and honorable mentions. In the program overall, AN noted a 35 percent uptick in entries to the adaptive reuse, building renovation, and restoration and preservation categories, a trend that seems to reflect the growing interest in reusing existing buildings and incorporating more sustainable practices into the industry. The categories that saw the most entries are those concerning single-family homes. Residential work continues to be a typology teeming with imaginative potential, and as the awards suggest, are certainly a point of focus, perhaps reinvigorated by the pandemic.
With a high volume of submissions, our discerning jury took each deliberation with care and consideration to not only each individual project but the community it serves, its location, and its greater context. The result is a robust and diverse roster of 37 projects hailing from around the world. Here are the winners of AN’s 2023 Best of Design Awards.
Jury
Adaptive Reuse
Harvard Law School Lewis International Law Center
TenBerke
Cambridge, Massachusetts
“For such a complicated program and renovation, it is wonderful to see the historic midcentury building facade remain legible. The improvements are really clear, even through the interiors, along with the existing building ”—E.B. Min
Architectural Lighting
Confidential Staircase Project
“It’s such a simple solution that showcases the power and importance of natural light in architecture.”—Meryati Johari Blackwell
Building Renovation
Lobby with Amphitheater
Norman Kelley
Chicago
“It seems this lobby went through an extensive renovation to modernize it. The insertions feel modest in scale but grand in impact and design. The quality is significant, the detailing is beautiful, and the work highly executed. ”—E.B. Min
Civic
Princeton Municipal Center
Perkins&Will
Princeton, Texas
“The goals assigned here and the ambition are all things that we want to reward in civic design. Not only did they talk about all the right things, but they delivered.”—E.B. Min
Commercial—Hospitality
Sequitur Tasting Room
Linden, Brown Architecture
Newberg, Oregon
“The connection between the exterior and the interior was very seamlessly accomplished, but I found the interior particularly welcoming—a spot where you would want to linger.”—Michael Hsu
Commercial—Office
Ascentage Pharma
OLI Architecture
Suzhou, China
“A high level of rigor and talent is needed to bring such a strong feeling of unity throughout an entire campus. Each building is slightly different, yet they’re all connected and floating above the reflecting pools.”—Meryati Johari Blackwell
Commercial—Retail
DIOR Femme
ArandaLasch
Lusail, Qatar
“Dior’s design approach here results in a truly ethereal and elegant, even airy spatial experience. ”—Maria Nicanor
Commercial—Sports & Entertainment
Neil Campbell Rowing Centre
“Of the many projects we have reviewed, this was the one that brought me the most joy. It is simultaneously confident in its presence and its ephemeral absence. ”—Chris Cooper
Cultural
International African American Museum
“There’s so much more to this project than just the architecture. In fact, it seems they purposefully let the landscape and the site speak louder than the new building. The way the form floats above the ground shows respect and allows a place for people to engage with history in a tactile way.”—Michael Hsu
Digital Fabrication
Drape Stair
Future Expansion
New York
“It’s encouraging to see functionality and storytelling coming together in the Drape Stair with its effortlessly cool simplicity, which is rooted in the inspiration derived from the natural processes and foldings of dough making. ”—Maria Nicanor
Education—Higher Education
Sandi Simon Center For Dance at Chapman University
Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects
Orange, California
“It is grand yet humble at the same time, and I just love that kind of tension. Overall, it’s a very warm, inviting place.”—Michelle Franco
Education—Kindergarten, Primary, High School
American School Foundation of Guadalajara | High School
Flansburgh Architects
Guadalajara, Mexico
“The fact that it is net zero is significant: the exterior interiors are so porous and fitting for the climate. It seems like a considered environment that students would actually enjoy both learning within, while also learning about the environment. It feels appropriate, interesting, and nicely melded into its context.”—E.B. Min
Exhibition Design
Scandinavian Design and the US, 1890-1980
Bestor Architecture
Los Angeles
“It’s easy sometimes with exhibition design to overwhelm the ideas and objects on display, but this is an example that strikes a balance between creating surprise and excitement while refocusing the attention on the objects themselves.”—Maria Nicanor
Facades
Houston Endowment Headquarters
kevin daly Architects
Houston
“There’s a strong resolution in everything here. It’s a complete, mature work with a high level of technical execution. ”—Meryati Johari Blackwell
Healthcare
17th Avenue Clinic
5468796 Architecture
Calgary, Canada
“I love the materials. I love the simplicity. I love the proportions. The package brings great dignity to the project. ”—Chris Cooper
Infrastructure
Kendall/MIT Gateway
“The MIT/Kendall Gateway is actually operating as functional infrastructure, not just a public landscape. It is a point of transportation, not just an element leading you to that critical public infrastructure.”—Michelle Franco
Interior—Hospitality
Prime Seafood Palace
Omar Gandhi Architects
Toronto
“The level of sophistication and attention to every detail makes the Prime Seafood Palace a standout here. ”—Chris Cooper
Interior—Institutional
MOCA Workshop
Atelier Cho Thompson
New York
“The MOCA project, though low budget, actually transformed a pocket of space into something with great dignity, which is what makes it both different and cozy. There is also high level use of graphic design and carefully considered choices throughout. ”—Chris Cooper
Interior—Residential
Jackie XU Private Residence - A Love Letter to My Dogs
Office of Goldchild
Shanghai
“The design is refreshing and breaks free of the cookie-cutter expectations for residential spaces. The undulating walls of warm materials showcase the plasticity of plaster while evoking a wondrous sense of fun in the domestic space. ”—Maria Nicanor
Interior—Retail
Garrett Leight California Optical New York
West of West
New York
“The design is full of texture and materiality, and is effective as a retail space because it also takes into account the visitor experience of looking through the glasses on display in a comfortable way that isn’t overwhelming to the senses. ”—Maria Nicanor
Interior—Workplace
Publicis Groupe, Le Truc
“Designers are aware of the changing priorities in work and workplace environments. This design is not only responsive to these trends, but it’s effective due to its simplicity.”—Michael Hsu
Landscape
International African American Museum
Hood Design Studio
Charleston, South Carolina
“The engagement with the history of the site, the nearby residential development, and the new architecture of the museum itself is resolved through a masterful landscape. Serving as the base for the entire project, narrative, and message, it’s a marriage of time, land and sea. ”—Emily Conklin
Library
East Flatbush Library
LEVENBETTS
New York
“In a time when resources for community spaces are being threatened, the reinvestment in space and knowledge represented by the East Flatbush Library is encouraging and inspirational for all. The library is both welcoming and modern with an advanced facade system: a true investment in community.”—Emily Conklin
Residential—Mixed-use
North Campus Housing
KieranTimberlake
Seattle, Washington
“I appreciate the scale at which this was executed. Street level interaction is encouraged, adding to the neighborly feeling, but the responsibly sourced materials and goals for sustainability bring this entire project together.”—Michael Hsu
Residential—Multi-unit
Pacific Landing Affordable Housing
Patrick TIGHE Architecture
Santa Monica, California
“This project has done more than just take on the challenge of affordable senior housing. It’s modern, it’s connected, and the result is an accessible and walkable community.”—Michael Hsu
Residential—Single-unit
Pabellón de la Reserva
HEMAA
Mexico City
“I’m always impressed when an architect starts with rectilinear forms but with iteration you arrive at really interesting interior massing and spatial solutions. I am also very compelled by the connection to the water.”—Michael Hsu
Restoration & Preservation
Oregon Supreme Court Rehabilitation
Hennebery Eddy Architects
Salem, Oregon
“This effort sensitively maintains a historic judicial building while expertly upgrading it to be base isolated to protect the building during a seismic event—a thorough act of care for an important structure.”—Jack Murphy
Social Impact
Watts Works
Studio One Eleven
Los Angeles
“The modular construction and economy of means embedded in this project appeal to me. This is a unique construction concept that makes room to find some design within.”—Chris Cooper
Student Work
The Naumburg Center
Avery Seip (Savannah College of Art and Design)
Hunting Island, South Carolina
“It’s just exquisite. The relationship of building and landscape is quite rich. The images are clearly delineated and propose an exceptional project.”—Chris Cooper
Temporary Installation
Kwaeε
Adjaye Associates
Venice, Italy
“This installation is one form that is doing a lot of things. It’s an occupiable sculpture so it’s active, engaged, and layered in its approach.”—Meryati Johari Blackwell
Unbuilt—Commercial, Cultural, Civic, Education
John Innes Community Recreation Centre
MJMA Architecture & Design
Toronto
“This recreation center skillfully combines the need for improved civic space in Toronto with a compelling scheme that incorporates long-span mass timber elements. I appreciate the patterned facade and wood-lined interiors.”—Jack Murphy
Unbuilt—Conceptual
Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation
WT/GO Architecture
Fayetteville, Arkansas
“This proposal thoughtfully proposes an academic building that is environmentally responsible, showcases forest products, and serves as a pedagogical tool for architecture students. The stepped, pleated form and the factory-like interior are particularly strong aspects of this design.”—Jack Murphy
Unbuilt—Landscape, Urban Design & Master Plan
Hard Core, Park Core
UltraBarrio
Houston
“This master plan finds opportunities to address urban equity: transforming a parking lot or parking structure into a program that can then be a park, a cooling area, and provide an oasis in places and neighborhoods that are otherwise urban deserts. It has ambitions to provide social impact.”—E.B. Min
Unbuilt—Residential—Multi-unit
Sunset Steps
West of West
San Francisco
“Sunset Steps is a blueprint for architecture that is beautiful while also accommodating urgent urban needs like density and resource sharing. Intentional design decisions foster communal living in tangible ways and intelligent massing doesn’t overwhelm the site or landscape.”—Emily Conklin
Unbuilt—Residential—Single-unit
Otoch
“It’s inspiring to see high-level thinking applied to the everyday structures that make up our lives. The Otoch home seeks to optimize an existing structure for new, exciting ways of living that don’t require demolition.”—Emily Conklin
Urban Design & Master Plan
Reimagine Middle Branch Plan
Field Operations
Baltimore
“Reimagine Middle Branch is such a large, serious, and complex project. I really liked the way that they have organized it into these four agendas, or four goals. They have equity embedded in their categorization. I think that helps make it a lot more clear what they’re trying to achieve through that shoreline.”—E.B. Min
Young Architects Award
Studio Ames
New York
“Studio Ames, led by Daisy Ames, simultaneously investigates the spatial organizations of housing and its material construction. The practice translates research into designs that work in the tight urban conditions we know all too well in New York City.”—Jack Murphy
