{"id":4015,"date":"2016-11-01T13:38:30","date_gmt":"2016-11-01T13:38:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/montgomeryplanning.org\/blog-design\/?p=4015"},"modified":"2017-12-19T12:43:49","modified_gmt":"2017-12-19T17:43:49","slug":"designed-for-excellence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montgomeryplanning.org\/blog-design\/2016\/11\/designed-for-excellence\/","title":{"rendered":"Designed for excellence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Winning county projects set high standards for developers to follow <\/em><\/h3>\n\"Silver<\/a>\n

The dynamic image of the Purple Line speeding through the Silver Spring Library site convinced an independent jury to choose that building for the Montgomery County Planning Department\u2019s 2016 Design Excellence Award. \u201cThe design makes a statement about the importance of public transportation. It\u2019s a great gift to the community,\u201d said jury chair Yolanda Cole during the awards ceremony on October 20.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s Celebrate Design event, co-sponsored with the Potomac Valley AIA, was held at the Silver Spring Civic Building, just down the street from the new library with its ground-level space reserved for the future light rail station. The first part of the evening program showcased the Design Excellence Award and five jury citations, while the audience of about 200 architects, planners, politicians and design mavens networked and enjoyed refreshments.<\/p>\n

Montgomery County Council President Nancy Floreen introduced the festivities, noting the economic value of design excellence in attracting residents and businesses to the county.<\/p>\n

Planning Director Gwen Wright remarked on the growing appreciation among developers for streetscape designs that improve neighborhoods. She later introduced speaker Edward Feiner, who related his goals and challenges in launching a design excellence program for federal architecture.<\/p>\n

Planning Board Vice Chair Marye Wells-Harley and Yolanda Cole presented the Design Excellence award and citations, all chosen independently from the Planning Department by a four-member jury of architects, developer and landscape architect. Maryland State Senator Brian Feldman, who represents District 15 in western and northern Montgomery County, joined them to congratulate architects Ralph Cunningham and Lee Quill on their winning design for the Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow is the wine?\u201d wondered Cole, after summarizing the project as \u201clovely, understated\u201d and \u201ca respectful response\u201d to an existing barn on the property.<\/p>\n

The Music Center at Strathmore was another jury citation winner, noted for being \u201cahead of its time\u201d in anticipating development next to a Metro station. The cultural venue, designed by William Rawn Associates, was lauded for its concerts, performances and educational programs as much as for its architecture.<\/p>\n

Hospitals are rarely inspiring designs, but the jury picked Holy Cross in Germantown, designed by Smith Group JJR, for a citation. Cole praised its \u201crich composition of forms, proportions and materials\u201d and \u201cforward-thinking partnership with Montgomery College\u201d in sharing the same campus.<\/p>\n

Muse Architects\u2019 traditional Somerset Elementary School earned a citation for its \u201cwell considered design that reflects and enhances its immediate community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The reconfigured outdoor courtyard at the heart of The Crest at Congressional Plaza, a renovation by McInturff Architects, was cited for its \u201cgreat return on a limited investment.\u201d Cole called the design \u201csmall and mighty.\u201d<\/p>\n

The presentation concluded with the Lukmire Partnership accepting the Design Excellence Award for the Silver Spring Library, which opened in 2015. \u201cThe project expresses civic monumentality through large architectural gestures and integration of public transportation,\u201d said Cole.<\/p>\n

This winning project underscores the growing importance of design excellence as urban infill, rather than greenfield development, becomes more prevalent in Montgomery County. Raising the level of design for new building projects in tightly defined locations helps to strengthen communities and meet the changing needs of the county.<\/p>\n

The next Design Excellence Award competition is scheduled to be decided in fall 2017. Architects, developers, designers and property owners are invited to enter their best work in Montgomery County. More information about the program is available online<\/a>.<\/p>\n\"dx-library-winner\"<\/a>\n\"eventpostcard1b\"<\/a>\n

 <\/p>\n\"dx-crowd-shot\"<\/a> \"dx-congressional\"<\/a> \"img_9581\"<\/a> \"img_9439\"<\/a> \"dx-strathmore\"<\/a> \"dx-somerset\"<\/a> \"dx-more\"<\/a> \"dx-more-winner\"<\/a>\n

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Winning county projects set high standards for developers to follow <\/em> <\/p>\n

The dynamic image of the Purple Line speeding through the Silver Spring Library site convinced an independent jury to choose that building for the Montgomery County Planning Department\u2019s 2016 Design Excellence Award. \u201cThe design makes a statement about the importance of public transportation. It\u2019s a great gift to the community,\u201d said jury chair Yolanda Cole during the awards ceremony on October 20.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s Celebrate Design event, co-sponsored with the Potomac Valley AIA, was held at the Silver Spring Civic Building, just down the street from the new library with its ground-level space reserved for the future light rail station. The first part of the evening program showcased … Continue reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3,5],"tags":[507,511,510,509,508],"class_list":["post-4015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-architecture","category-design","category-planning","tag-award","tag-ceremony","tag-design-excellence","tag-dx","tag-silver-spring-library"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/montgomeryplanning.org\/blog-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/montgomeryplanning.org\/blog-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/montgomeryplanning.org\/blog-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montgomeryplanning.org\/blog-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montgomeryplanning.org\/blog-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4015"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/montgomeryplanning.org\/blog-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4015\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4565,"href":"https:\/\/montgomeryplanning.org\/blog-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4015\/revisions\/4565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/montgomeryplanning.org\/blog-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montgomeryplanning.org\/blog-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montgomeryplanning.org\/blog-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}