The American Institute of Architects has named the six winners of the 2009 Honor Awards in the category of Regional and Urban Design. The AIA said the projects “range from singular buildings with an impact on the urban context, to zoning codes and master plan projects, to designs for entirely new cities.” Many of the selections were proposals to renew neglected or overlooked areas, including two—the Orange County Great Park by TEN Arquitectos and The Treasure Island master plan by SOM— that revitalize former military sites.

 

Jury members included: Jury Chair Jonathan J. Marvel, AIA, of Rogers Marvel Architects; Samuel Assefa, Assoc. AIA, of the City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development; Tim Love, AIA, of Utile Incorporated; Ivenue Love-Stanley, FAIA, of Stanley Love-Stanley, P.C.; and Stephanie Reich, AIA, of the City of Glendale, Planning Division.

 

Winners will be recognized at the AIA 2009 national convention, scheduled for April in San Francisco.

 

Regional and Urban Design Honor Awards 

 

With AIA commentary

 

Foshan Donghuali Master Plan, Guangdong, China

 

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP

 

With unremitting high-rise development threatening Foshan’s Old Town, city officials sought ways to conserve the ancient area while simultaneously creating a sustainable, modern central district able to meet the inevitable need for growth of a burgeoning metropolis of 3.5 million. The plan is built at a density able to support a new, transit-oriented, mixed-use downtown, while at the same time defraying the costs of preserving and restoring the vibrancy of the city’s historic Old Town and Temple. The Foshan Plan aims at providing a new model for historic conservation and revitalization that can be applied throughout China.

 

Orange County Great Park, Irvine, California

 

TEN Arquitectos

 

Orange County California's Great Park will bring over 1,400 acres of urban parkland to the city of Irvine and the surrounding region. Planned on the former site of El Toro Air Force base, this large tract of undeveloped land will include a man-made canyon that runs through the park and will support a diverse range of active and passive programs. A great lawn, sports park, botanical gardens, and several arts and cultural facilities, including a large outdoor amphitheater, will be programmed into the park.

 

Between Neighborhood Watershed & Home, Fayetteville, Arkansas

 

University of Arkansas Community Design Center

 

This 43-unit Habitat for Humanity residential project is a pilot LEED-Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) to be built for $60 per square foot, plus infrastructure costs. The objective is to design a demonstration project that combines affordability with best environmental practices as designated by the U.S. Green Building Council. Porchscapes is a Low Impact Development (LID) project funded under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Section 319 Program for Nonpoint Source Pollution. LID is an ecological stormwater management approach that sustains a site’s predevelopment hydrologic regime with treatment landscapes distributed throughout the project.

 

Southworks Lakeside Chicago Development, Chicago

 

Sasaki Associates, Inc. and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, LLP

 

Located on Chicago's historic South side, the former South Works steel mill site is the largest vacant site for redevelopment in the city. At more than 600 acres and with 1.5 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, the site offers a milestone opportunity to create an innovative and sustainable new community that will be compact, pedestrian-oriented, and closely tied to transit, which will connect people to the lakefront for the first time in over a century.

 

The Central Park of the New Radiant City, Guangming New Town, China

 

Lee + Mundwiler Architects

 

The Central Park of the New Radiant City, a suburb of Shenzhen, covers 2.37 square kilometers. Here, families can enjoy open spaces and nature, which is noteworthy given that much of Shenzhen's natural environment was destroyed in the 1980s and 1990s due to industrialization. The park's design concept is sensitive to ecological conditions, reflects the culture of the region, and provides economic opportunities.

 

Treasure Island Master Plan, San Francisco

 

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP

 

Bold moves set the framework for the redevelopment of Treasure Island. A complex and thoroughly articulated urban design and architectural plan establishes relationships among buildings, public open space, transportation, views, and natural forces, creating a compact, transit-oriented community with a commitment to sustainability unparalleled in the San Francisco Bay Area.