The American Institute of Architects (AIA), Colorado, recognized its 2009 architectural design, honor and president’s awards recipients during a ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 17, at the Keystone Resort and Conference Center (Keystone, Colo.). The following architectural design awards were selected from 120 entries submitted by Colorado architects who are members of AIA Colorado. These were presented by AIA Colorado 2009 Design Awards Jury Chair Deborah Berke, FAIA, of Deborah Berke & Partners Architects in New York.
Chapel of the Sky
Honor, Built Architecture
Anderson Mason Dale Architects (Denver) for Chapel of the Sky (Granite, Colo.)
Armstrong Oil and Gas
Honor, Built Architecture
Bothwell Davis George Architects (Denver) and Lake|Flato Architects, Inc. (San Antonio, Texas) for Armstrong Oil and Gas, Inc. (Denver)
DEA
Honor, Built Architecture
Gensler (Denver) for DEA – Centennial Station Office Building (Centennial, Colo.)
Additionally, Brian R. Klipp, FAIA of klipp (Denver) was named Architect of the Year and Studio B Architects (Aspen) was named Firm of the Year.
I have officially opened David P Goode Architecture for business!
After 22 years of being an employee of other architects, I have opened my new firm and I am in complete charge of my future. This is kind of scary…but it is really exciting! It’s a very liberating feeling to know that success and reward is directly tied to my efforts.
Some people have called me crazy for voluntarily leaving a company to do this during the worst economy in 70 years. Others think its a brilliant move and timing, and I’ll ride the country’s economic recovery into prosperity. The client response has been overwhelmingly positive, which, I suppose, bodes well for the bank account. But there’s more to it…
The underlying fundamental reason for launching my own firm is this: there is a better way.
I certainly have goals to grow my business to a handful or so of employees. But, one thing I want to hold on to is being involved in every project. Too often, principals sell a project to a client and then turn it over to junior staff, never to be seen by the client again. The client is not buying the junior staff, they are buying the principal and his reputation.
Design can be great within the confines of a budget and a jurisdiction zoning ordinance. I believe there is more challenge in creating worthwhile architecture within boundaries than without. I believe the most skilled architects are those who truly understand the building process and don’t just create a pretty picture.
Regardless of whether a project is a simple warehouse or an icon in a skyline, the project and client deserve the architect’s full attention and effort. There are too many projects that tend to float to the back of the drawing board and do not get the proper attention they deserve.
There is a better way for architects to service clients. There is a better way to produce construction documents. There is a better way to communicate. There is a better way to manage projects.
Success lies in these simple beliefs….not on the cover of a magazine.
