Masonry Magazine October 1985 Page. 28
AIA Jury Designates Four Firms to Receive
Top 1985 IMI Awards
The Regional Office of the International Masonry Institute recently awarded its four highest distinctions for New England masonry design to four Massachusetts-based architectural firms. Selection of winning designs was conducted through the auspices of the Boston Society of Architects. The 30 submissions were judged by an independent AIA jury. The six jurors were nominated by the BSA, and all are actively engaged in local practices.
The four awards were submitted in specific categories such as overall design, contextural design, restoration and "new departures." This latter category is a designation awarded to an architectural firm whose innovative design of a structure has employed its masonry elements in a manner previously under-utilized. The winning entry in this category should combine the best elements of design while regarding its masonry materials in a novel or non-traditional context.
The jury's choice for this award was Two Westborough Office Park. This building, developed by Hines Industrial Properties and designed by the firm of Drummey Rosane Anderson Architects, is a distinctive office building with a skin of high-fired ceramic tile and translucent reflective glass block which both wrap the building's exterior. Used extensively in Europe, this application of masonry elements is clearly a new departure for New England masonry design. Quality application and craftsmanship of the tile and glass block installation was critical to the elegant image desired by the developer.
The 1985 restoration award was given to Harvard University, the client, for the restoration of the "Adams House Dormitory." Located on Harvard's campus, the Adams House was built in 1897 and is actually a five-building complex. Water penetration over the years had badly deteriorated the limestone detailing and nearly all of it was replaced. Forty-five dormer faces and 16 chimneys were extensively rebuilt. Seventy-five percent of the five-building complex was repointed. Total construction time was six months and the owner had use of the buildings at the projected completion date.
Some of the firms who participated as technical consultants were A. M. Fogarty Associates Consulting Engineers, Donham & Sweeney Consulting Architects, and Souza & True Structural Engineers. Herman Proetz was the stone consultant, and Roger Cayer of Harvard the project manager.
The Cambridge firm of Symmes, Maini & McKee won the award for contextural design for 1280 Massachusetts Avenue. It was the thinking of the jury that this new building was creatively sympathetic to its neighbors and "compassionate" to its location and surroundings.
The jury commented: "The attention to the granite work distinguishes this design. Granite accents are used effectively in the brick wall to knit together the very different masonry buildings on either side. The massing of the building also related particularly well to its site. Its granite base is designed in a way that adds richness and decoration to a masonry veneer.
The fourth award, the 1985 New England Masonry Design Award, is given for the overall architectural program of a masonry building. Jung/Brannen Associates of Boston won this year's award for its design of the Mayer Center at Tufts University. (See "Our Cover" story.)
Architect/Engineer Award Winners-(from left) IMI Massachusetts regional director Robert Rhault; Robert Hsiung, vice president, Jung/Brannen Associates (1985 New England Masonry Design Award for the Mayer Center at Tufts University); Drummey Rosane Anderson, Inc. (New Departures In Masonry Design Award for Two Westborough Office Park); James Dabrowski, associate engineer, A.M. Fogarty Associates Consulting Engineers (Restoration Award for the Adams House, Harvard University), and John McKee, principal, Symmes, Maini & McKee (Masonry Design Award for Context, 1280 Massachusetts Avenue project).
Award-winning Mason Contractors-(from left) Robert Rhault, IMI's Massachusetts regional director; Charles Velardo, principal, G. Salvucci & Co., Inc. (1280 Massachusetts Avenue and Two Westborough Office Park projects); Hank Mase, principal, Stronghold Masonry, Inc. (Mayer Center, Tufts University), and Miro Pizzotti, principal, Pizzotti Brothers, Inc. (Adams House, Harvard University).