
Second Harvest Community Thrift Store
AIA Pittsburgh Design Award

AIA Pittsburgh Design Award
Second Harvest Community Thrift Store
Social Impact in Design Award, 2022
In the wake of a great loss for Sharpsburg, neighbors came together to respond to the closing of the community’s beloved thrift store. The former thrift store was not only an essential access point to affordable goods for the community’s residents, but it was also a place where locals frequented to meet one another. Concerned community members responded by forming a new organization, purchasing a property, and undertaking a major renovation to transform the existing building into a site that ensured dignity in the second-hand goods retail experience. The pandemic struck but it only deepened the community’s commitment to bringing a welcoming space that served the essential needs of all Sharpsburg’s residents. The resulting place is a signal of a regenerating community building the ground work for a sustainable vision and vibrant hopeful future.
The jury commented:
- We really appreciate the precedent this project sets – that there can be so much life given back to a type of functional building we see all over the country. We also appreciated the resonance of showing pride in reuse as an ethos of the thrift store, but also an ethos of the building. This is an example of how design provides dignity and community.

Ohringer Arts
AIA National Housing Award

AIA National Housing Award
Ohringer Arts
Excellence in Affordable Housing, 2022
The Ohringer, Braddock’s iconic eight-story furniture store from 1941, has re-emerged as an Arts Incubator and affordable Artist Housing. The project follows several attempts to re-inhabit the long-vacant building with arts-based interventions. Now, the building is completely transformed to create places for professional artists to live, work, and exchange. The reactivation of this icon connects two areas of main street redevelopment, builds upon the maker culture of Braddock, and continuously illuminates the heart of community through arts.
The jury commented:
- This is a transformative project for the neighborhood and a spectacular demonstration of design and urban planning. The design team showed great respect for the building. It is a cheerful and witty project.

Ohringer Arts
AIA Pittsburgh Design Award

AIA Pittsburgh Design Award
Ohringer Arts
Social Equity in Design Award, 2021
The Ohringer, Braddock’s iconic eight-story furniture store from 1941, has re-emerged as an Arts Incubator and affordable Artist Housing. The project follows several attempts to re-inhabit the long-vacant building with arts-based interventions. Now, the building is completely transformed to create places for professional artists to live, work, and exchange. The reactivation of this icon connects two areas of main street redevelopment, builds upon the maker culture of Braddock, and continuously illuminates the heart of community through arts.
The jury commented:
- We all saw the merits of this project. It has conceptual strength with a maximized level of execution to create a project that helps restore the historic neighborhood fabric. It simultaneously reimagines and honors the structure, being both familiar and forward-looking for the community.

Ohringer Arts
AIA Pittsburgh Design Award

AIA Pittsburgh Design Award
Ohringer Arts
Honor Award, 2021
The Ohringer, Braddock’s iconic eight-story furniture store from 1941, has re-emerged as an Arts Incubator and affordable Artist Housing. The project follows several attempts to re-inhabit the long-vacant building with arts-based interventions. Now, the building is completely transformed to create places for professional artists to live, work, and exchange. The reactivation of this icon connects two areas of main street redevelopment, builds upon the maker culture of Braddock, and continuously illuminates the heart of community through arts.
The jury commented:
- This is a very strong adaptive reuse that is held together holistically. It was an elegant building when built, and it is elegant again. It anchors a key corner and makes an affirming statement for the community.

Ars Moriendi
AIA Pittsburgh Design Award

AIA Pittsburgh Design Award
Ars Moriendi
Young Architects Competition Studio
The idea behind Ars Moriendi, by Jason Andrews, was largely a religious one, designed to prepare a soul for an eternal afterlife based on his own current experience with his father.
The jury commented:
- The designer portrayed a great understanding of the design criteria while meeting an immediate physical and psychological need for themselves, and a dear family member. The level of clarity and communicating the intent was outstanding. The design provided flexibility and serenity in a quickly changing world and was also representative of the fragility of our transient lives and captured how important our human connections with each other in our surroundings truly are.

Center for Urban Education
AIA Pittsburgh Design Award

AIA Pittsburgh Design Award
Center for Urban Education
Certificate of Merit, 2020
The Center for Urban Education sought to extend the useful life of a large, antiquated building on the University of Pittsburgh’s campus by becoming a model for the feasible adaptive reuse of an office suite located inside. Constructed in an era where human health and wellness weren’t considered, Posvar Hall offered dark, disconnected, and disorienting interior spaces that didn’t reflect the evolving and nurturing culture of the University of Pittsburgh.
Working within the challenging parameters of an existing concrete structure, the Design Team aimed to make physical enhancements to the space that would boost the health & wellness of users. Natural light, warmth and activity were invited into the building, and spaces were reconfigured to reflect the open and diverse culture of the Center for Urban Education.
The jury commented:
- Center for Urban Education breaks away from the rigid geometry of the existing building and boldly resets its rules on spatial interaction within the academic setting.

The Cheswick House
AIA Pittsburgh Design Award

AIA Pittsburgh Design Award
The Cheswick House
Certificate of Merit, 2020
Creating a living environment that is integrated with its’ natural setting requires a strong response to the unique conditions of place. The awareness of the senses to the natural surrounding and circadian rhythms promote human health and wellbeing. This is fundamental to the conceptual planning and follow-through in the home design. A strong environment awareness and biophilic design response enhances the idea of living with nature as part of it. The design works to minimize impact on the surrounding environmental conditions demonstrating a respect for it. The experience is supported through a planned sequence that transitions you into a living environment elevated within an existing tree canopy. The resulting home is one with exceptional performance, promotes health and wellbeing for the occupants, is in balance with its’ natural setting, and provides continual discovery and connection to our natural environment.
The jury commented:
- The Cheswick House stands out with strong consideration for sustainability and thoughtful relationship to the natural site.

In Service to Refugees
AIA Pittsburgh Design Award

AIA Pittsburgh Design Award
In Service to Refugees
Social Equity In Design Award, 2020
On a pro bono basis, our firm collaborated with Hello Neighbor, a local organization that serves refugee families, to support them in a programming, visioning, and stakeholder engagement process.
Their dream for a Clubhouse in which Pittsburghers and refugee families could build community together was envisioned in a series of collaborative workshops. Our volunteer efforts culminated in a 125-page design book that joined our two organizations to address social issues critical to the health of our city.
The jury commented:
- In Service of Refugees demonstrates a series of collaborative strategies for bringing varied constituencies together to vision, plan and fundraise for a common cause.

TechMill 41
AIA Pittsburgh Design Award

AIA Pittsburgh Design Award
TechMill 41
Certificate of Merit, 2020
TechMill 41 is a speculative office building that relates strongly to the unique contexts that surround the building and connects to the rich industrial heritage of the former steel mill site. The project combines new construction with the renovation and adaptive reuse of a former industrial Machine Shop. The site is a former brownfield, adjacent to the 40th Street Bridge and Allegheny River. The site is also adjacent to the iconic structural frame of the Bay 41 Public Plaza. The building rises from the ashes of Pittsburgh’s gritty industrial past. The memory of the industrial heritage of the site became a powerful inspiration for the design. Forms and materials relate to the former steel mill buildings and connects history with the present.
The jury commented:
- TechMill 41 Office Building relishes in the industrial past along the Alleghany River while introducing a contemporary building language and new density of use for the site. Efforts to integrate textures, artifacts and parts of old buildings with new interventions recontextualize the entire development.

Unitarian Universalist Church of the South Hills
AIA Pittsburgh Design Award

AIA Pittsburgh Design Award
Unitarian Universalist Church of the South Hills
Certificate of Merit, 2020
The Congregation previously converted this single-family hilltop home into their place of worship. Due to suburban housing growth around the originally expansive English-cottage style estate, the site area had been reduced and constrained over time, which limited the options for expansion. The thriving Congregation needed an expanded facility that better represented their spirituality, beliefs, and community.
The new outward-focused sanctuary is a beacon atop Sunnyhill. The constrained site boundaries are overlapping and reconciled, like the Unitarian and Universalist religions had come together to create a unified whole. The resulting new site axis creates a dynamic space that unifies the geometry of the existing building and the site, harmonizes the manufactured steel and natural wood materials, and focuses the dual outward and inward unity of the Congregation. Additionally, the original inward-focused sanctuary was converted into a new Social Hall. These meaningful design drivers culminate in the uplifting and inspirational new Sanctuary.
The jury commented:
- Sunnyhill Unitarian Universalist Church presents a thoughtful juxtaposition between old and new, inside and outside. The modest material palette combined with elegant form are a breath of fresh air.

Sandstone Quarry Apartments
AIA Pittsburgh Design Award

AIA Pittsburgh Design Award
Sandstone Quarry Apartments
Certificate of Merit, 2020
Seeking to improve the quality of life for their residents, the Housing Authority engaged the development team to re-envision the Allegheny Dwellings Community on multiple sites over time with the goal of connecting to the surrounding community with a mixed-income development over multiple phases.
Sandstone Quarry, the first phase of development, transforms the isolated “barracks” style housing into a connected site with apartment and townhomes that take advantage of the spectacular city views opening up the site with a central park space.
The jury commented:
- Sandstone Quarry Apartments design presents a fresh vision for the mixed-income site. The reconfigured building orientation helps establish new connections and potential for vibrant community development.

Women’s Center and Shelter
AIA Pittsburgh Design Award


AIA Pittsburgh Design Award
Women’s Center and Shelter
Social Equity in Design Award, 2019
The jury commented:
- We appreciate the process the firm went through to deeply understand the specific needs of this vulnerable and underserved population and integrating those needs into the sanctuary-like design.
- The shelter is equitable and accessible for women – and their children – of any background or circumstance. The project was executed with great sensitivity to the full spectrum of needs, with safety and building trusting relationships at the forefront.

The Foundry at 41st
AIA Pittsburgh Design Award


AIA Pittsburgh Design Award
The Foundry at 41st
Citation of Merit in Architecture, 2017
The jury commented:
- This project handles its public spaces really well. The folding doors in the interior shared space are a really nice connection to the outside space, the courtyard and patio.
- The common roof deck is a great amenity given there is already an attractive outdoor space on the ground floor.
- The steel bay mirrors the nearby bridge system nicely, and makes the development mirror its surroundings.
- Overall the project sets a good precedent for whatever comes next in the neighborhood; it’s an invitation to quality.

501 Braddock
AIA Pittsburgh Design Award


AIA Pittsburgh Design Award
501 Braddock
Honor Award in Regional and Urban Design, 2017
The jury commented:
- The process and respect for the existing neighborhood is apparent. This is meaningful community engagement – which resulted in a project that translated community needs and desires into a new built environment with good spatial configuration and a program that provides more community services than what was there before. A project like this is not easy to pull off on a lot of levels.
- The process, problem solving, planning and the architecture are all well done. It feels so complete.
- The project is as much about transforming a community environment as it is about the buildings. The project team cared a lot about the process of community engagement; this comes through clearly.

The Discovery of Bay 4
AIA Pennsylvania Award for Architectural Excellence


AIA Pennsylvania Award for Architectural Excellence
The Discovery of Bay 4
Citation of Merit in Regional and Urban Design
The jury commented:
- Transformative! Less is more. An intervention that will re-engage the edge of the city and make a strong urban connection.
- Simple idea with transformative change. Successful subtraction.
- Great vision and urban planning intervention.
- Simple and ingenious public amenity. Iconic.

The Discovery of Bay 4
AIA Pittsburgh Design Award


AIA Pittsburgh Design Award
The Discovery of Bay 4
Certificate of Merit in Regional + Urban Design, 2016
Jury comments: “This is a wonderful narrative and discovery of a purpose built structure and its transformation. Utilizing an internal armature as a ‘bridge’ to the river—an urban stitch enabling public connection through a future development— it became a powerful icon of the past as a vision to the future. It’s an interesting tenant and study for how we define and value existing conditions for future development.”
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Sant Lespwa, Center of Hope
AIA National Honor Award


AIA National Honor Award
Sant Lespwa, Center of Hope
Architecture, 2015
“The representation of what design can do and how it can build community is evident for this climate and this community. The way this project sustainably translates energy and architecture to this community is praiseworthy. This building does things that do not always get done, let alone done well, and the architects did a lot of those things nicely, elegantly and simply. This is a very simple yet beautiful design—it is also pragmatic, fundamental, and responsive. The butterfly roof and the articulation of the trusses are particularly worth noting.”
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Butterfly Balconies
AIA Pittsburgh Design Award


AIA Pittsburgh Design Award
Butterfly Balconies
Award of Excellence, 2014
The jury was impressed with how this project transformed and greatly enhanced the existing building. The project stands on its own, and enlivens the entire site. This solution leverages an aged building failure to be much more than a simple in-kind repair.
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Gateway Youth Center
AIA Pittsburgh Design Award


AIA Pittsburgh Design Award
Gateway Youth Center
Certificate of Merit, 2014
The jury commented that “We liked how this building reflects the hillside. The architect took care to leverage the view. There is a simplicity, but clarity to the composition. The panels add a textural quality to the building. The interiors have a nice use of daylight.”
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The Overlook
AIA Pittsburgh Design Award


AIA Pittsburgh Design Award
The Overlook
Certificate of Merit, 2014
With this development, the architects knit together the community, helping to heal the wound created by the demise of the hospital. Organized around a new public space, the jury liked that the building design puts a lot of entrances on the street and enhances the pedestrian activity. The architects should be applauded for their bold moves that led to an attractive and well-scaled subsidized housing community.
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Sant Lespwa, Center of Hope
AIA Pittsburgh Design Award


AIA Pittsburgh Design Award
Sant Lespwa, Center of Hope
Honor Award, 2013
The jury was impressed with the degree of design quality that the architects achieved while involving members of the community in the design and construction process. The project clearly acknowledges the vernacular architecture of the area while elevating the aspirations of the community.
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Almono Vision
AIA Pittsburgh Design Award


AIA Pittsburgh Design Award
Almono Vision
Honor Award, 2012
This is a very thoughtful plan that considers the diverse challenges to bringing back a community in decline. The architect successfully transforms the challenges into opportunities by presenting a doable vision, which would bring value to the existing community and its people as well as the region.
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South Hills Retirement Residence
AIA Pittsburgh Design Award


AIA Pittsburgh Design Award
South Hills Retirement Residence
Award of Excellence & Green Citation Award, 2012
This adaptive reuse project exemplifies our societal contract to be good to each other. The architect skillfully takes a building built by and for the public and transforms and recycles it to serve the elderly. It shows a nice synergy of life expectancy. This is a valuable addition to the neighborhood.
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The Avenue Apartments
AIA Pittsburgh Design Award


AIA Pittsburgh Design Award
The Avenue Apartments
Certificate of Merit, 2011
The jury was impressed with the architect’s efforts to engage the community in developing their history, which is represented graphically in the testimonial wall. This soulful project has a certain scale that works and an industrial layer that makes it quite interesting. Very well done on a very low budget.
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Chatham University, Mellon Hall
AIA Pennsylvania Design Award


AIA Pennsylvania Design Award
Chatham University, Mellon Hall
Certificate of Merit, 2011
“This rehabilitation is very well done. We particularly liked the adaptive reuse of the old swimming pool space to a meeting room. This is a beautiful interior with the tile ceiling preserved. The excavation of the facade was handled well. We loved the exterior wall treatment with the exposed stone base.”
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Chatham University, Mellon Hall
AIA Tri-State Design Award


AIA Tri-State Design Award
Chatham University, Mellon Hall
Certificate of Merit, 2011
AIA New Jersey, AIA New York State and AIA Pennsylvania held the 2011 AIA Tri-State Design Conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The goal was to unite members of the profession and explore intellectually stimulating and thought provoking topics. The design awards were a central part of the event. Awards submissions were the most recent year’s winners from the three states awards programs. The Excavation of Mellon Hall at Chatham University was selected as one of only two Honor Awards from Pennsylvania.
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Penn at 29th
AIA Pittsburgh Design Award


AIA Pittsburgh Design Award
Penn at 29th
Certificate of Merit, 2009
“The jury admired this modest adaptive reuse that transformed the existing building into a vibrant part of a new urban street fabric while keeping the utilitarian nature of the original garage intact. The jury found it both skillful and lively in the weaving of the large scale and the intimate scale, and of urban and tectonic gestures. In this same light, it is a model for renovating buildings that can express a respect for the tradition of simple and honest structures alongside the complexities of new programs and urban roles.”
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Master Builders’ Association
Master Builders' Association of Western Pennsylvania


Master Builders' Association of Western Pennsylvania
Master Builders’ Association
MBA Building Excellence Award for Special Recognition, 2009
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Sarah Heinz House
Master Builders' Association of Western Pennsylvania


Master Builders' Association of Western Pennsylvania
Sarah Heinz House
Best New Construction Under $10 Million, 2009
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Laurel Highlands Village
Smart Growth Planning Award


Smart Growth Planning Award
Laurel Highlands Village
2009

Chatham University, Mellon Hall
Western Pennsylvania Golden Trowel Award


Western Pennsylvania Golden Trowel Award
Chatham University, Mellon Hall
Best of Category: Restoration, 2009
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National Cemetery of the Alleghenies
Western Pennsylvania Golden Trowel Award


Western Pennsylvania Golden Trowel Award
National Cemetery of the Alleghenies
Best of Category: Municipal / Institutional, 2009
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Chatham University, Mellon Hall
AIA Pittsburgh Design Awards


AIA Pittsburgh Design Awards
Chatham University, Mellon Hall
Architecture, Honor Award, 2008
“This is a beautiful restoration of an existing space. The architect made the space come to life. Unearthing the pool was a great concept, and then the architect took it a step further by using and respecting the original architecture, which they uncovered. They did an exquisite job of adding new elegant details, such as windows and doors, which are in the spirit of the old building but beautiful in the world of today. The level of craftsmanship on these newly inserted pieces is extraordinary. The architects practiced great restraint and left the building real. The result is a gem of a building for this campus.”
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Sarah Heinz House
AIA Pittsburgh Design Award


AIA Pittsburgh Design Award
Sarah Heinz House
Architecture, Certificate of Merit, 2008
“We liked the way the architect used sunlight to activate the function of the building. This project energizes a whole neighborhood. The barriers that kept the community away were broken down by letting the neighborhood see what was happening inside the space. The jury liked the sophisticated use of materials in the interior spaces. The spaces are sturdy and durable as they should be, but are treated with care and sensitivity.”
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Rediscover History! High Street District
AIA Pittsburgh Design Award


AIA Pittsburgh Design Award
Rediscover History! High Street District
Urban Design, Certificate of Merit, 2007
“Newark is an American city most in need of planning and renewal, which is tough given its history. The project demonstrates a political planning process that was completed very successfully. A number of social stalemates came to an end as a result of the planning process. The graphics are lively, and contribute to the sense that we are looking at separate interventions. The architects show a genuine interest and concern for the development of place. The project demonstrates the efficacy of political planning as an important strand within the design discipline.”
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The River’s Edge of Oakmont
AIA Pittsburgh Design Award


AIA Pittsburgh Design Award
The River’s Edge of Oakmont
Urban Design, Honor Award, 2007
“This is a very nice juicy urban design task, a discreet site in a well-shaped context. A planner’s tools are graphics, and this plan has precise and intuitive graphics. The architect practiced great restraint. This project is lucid, very well executed, and integrates a great site into a larger context.”
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Riverview Canopy
AIA Pittsburgh Design Award


AIA Pittsburgh Design Award
Riverview Canopy
Open Plan, Award of Excellence, 2007
“Among the several reasons to admire the Pittsburgh AIA Chapter, the jury appreciated this “Open” Category to recognize good work subgenres. The Riverview Canopy seems just such a category buster. The simple task, which could be seen as an adjustment to a building without a weather protected entry walkway, instead took on a poetic program in an articulate form and a robust engineering aesthetic. The result provides a lovely place to wait in the rain, hearing and seeing it fall.”

Laurel Highlands Village
Associated Builders & Contractors of Western Pennsylvania


Associated Builders & Contractors of Western Pennsylvania
Laurel Highlands Village
Award of Merit, 2007

Fairmont
AIA Pittsburgh Design Award


AIA Pittsburgh Design Award
Fairmont
Architecture, Certificate of Merit, 2006
“This is a very smart project. It employs many sound traditional urban strategies while managing to keep the design fresh and modern. Nice detailing in spite of a very tight budget. Kept it simple with correct proportions. The architects achieved a design that accomplished much more than its budget might have implied. The use of geometry is very purposeful in breaking up and scaling the buildings. It is a restrained but thoughtful response to the precedent set across the street without being slavishly historic. Simple gestures in the rhythm and the palette.”
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Penn-Fairmont Master Plan
AIA Pittsburgh Design Award


AIA Pittsburgh Design Award
Penn-Fairmont Master Plan
Urban Design, Certificate of Merit, 2006
“The architectural project was worthy of more recognition because of what they accomplished from an urban design standpoint with a very limited budget. The design plan is a hopeful expression of what it means to have an urban community.”
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A Vision for the Center of East Liberty
AIA Pittsburgh Design Award


AIA Pittsburgh Design Award
A Vision for the Center of East Liberty
Urban Design, Certificate of Merit, 2005
“The plan deals with the convergence of a number of street systems. It is a very important strategy for the neighborhood. Each road spoke is identified, and recommendations are made for redevelopment. The plan identifies the character of each corridor and works to strengthen its identity. This project takes a large neighborhood and figures out the pieces.”
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Chatham College Center for Art & Design
AIA Pittsburgh Design Award


AIA Pittsburgh Design Award
Chatham College Center for Art & Design
Interior Design, Certificate of Merit, 2005
“It is interesting as an insertion and a reuse of a space. It is a successful adaptive reuse and celebrates a system of elements, they are appropriate and well detailed. The elements totally reveal what was there before. The spirit of the original space is still there.”
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Univ. of Pitt Honors College
AIA Pittsburgh Design Award


AIA Pittsburgh Design Award
Univ. of Pitt Honors College
Interior Design , Certificate of Merit, 2004
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Univ. of Pitt Honors College
City of Pittsburgh & The Historical Review Commission


City of Pittsburgh & The Historical Review Commission
Univ. of Pitt Honors College
Historic Preservation Award, 2004
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Univ. of Pitt Honors College
Master Builders Association of Western Pennsylvania

