November 5, 2021

AIA Baltimore Recognizes GWWO Designs with Top Honors

by Kiersten Howe

AIA Baltimore Recognizes GWWO Designs with Top Honors
Kiersten Howe

Kiersten Howe

Senior Associate / Communications Manager

GWWO is thrilled to announce that AIA Baltimore recognized three projects—the Cahill Fitness & Wellness Center, Jean R. Packard Occoquan Center, and Morgan State University Calvin & Tina Tyler Hall—with four awards during the 58th Annual Excellence in Design Awards ceremony.

The jury from AIA Detroit bestowed Morgan State University Calvin & Tina Tyler Hall with two design awards, including the Grand Design Award, the evening’s top honor. The dynamic new student services building, designed in association with Teeple Architects, serves as the university’s front door graciously welcoming students, visitors, prospective students, and their families.

“MSU’s Calvin & Tina Tyler Hall is a beautifully complex and expressive building. The interior and exterior of the building come together to create interesting spaces for students and faculty. The jury appreciated the warmth and refinement of the interior.”

Receiving the Good Design = Good Business Award, the Cahill Fitness & Wellness Center, a modern rec center that replaced a dreary 1970’s facility within Baltimore’s Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park, was recognized by the jury as:

“a fantastic example of good design being a good business model. It is an attractive, well designed public building that embodies a good business practice for the city and its customers. This project is forward thinking; from the integration of the environment and plan with the surrounding park, to its very community based focus and approach. The jury appreciates the transformation from the old fitness center to a new one that is truly a welcoming wellness facility for the entire community.”

The jury named the Jean R. Packard Occoquan Center as the winner of the Award for Excellence in Sustainable and Resilient Design for its response to the ten measures within the AIA Framework for Design Excellence. Located on Virginia’s Occoquan River, the new center immerses users in the natural environment of the surrounding park and river while minimizing site disturbance, educating visitors about the history of this location, and providing infrastructure for recreation and wellness. Comments from the jury expressed that:

“the center is beautifully done, and is situated successfully into the site. The uncomplicated material palette is a celebration of the material and allows the building to serve as a vehicle for its users to connect from the built environment to the natural environment. The jury appreciated the sustainability measures taken to ensure the building and landscaping integrated positively into the site. They felt that the project achieves its goal to ‘foster an understanding of the relationships between people and their environment.’”

“Receiving three top honors from AIA Baltimore is a true testament to the dedication of our clients and staff to continually push the bounds of design to make a positive impact on our communities and the environment. Good design should be accessible to all, and I thank our clients, Morgan State University, Baltimore City Rec & Parks, and NOVA Parks, for entrusting us to be your partner in building a more inclusive and sustainable world” said Alan Reed, FAIA, LEED AP, GWWO President and Design Principal.

The award for Tyler Hall marks the firm’s third Grand Design Award with the DuPont Environmental Education Center and George Washington’s Mount Vernon Ford Orientation Center previously receiving the honor.

Kiersten Howe

Kiersten Howe

Senior Associate / Communications Manager