Perkins + Will: The Latest Architecture and News

As 2023 comes to an end, the future of our landscape is filled with visionary imaginations as a result of a year of forward-thinking design competitions. From revitalizing historical gems to designing new buildings, these global contests have pushed innovation further in the architecture industry. In fact, with each new competition, the boundaries of our living were challenged, reimagining what the future may accommodate or encourage.

This past year has been a showcase of architectural innovation, with award competitions surpassing the boundaries of traditional industry. Winning designs feature a deep embodiment of cultural heritage, communal aspirations, and environmental stewardship. In fact, the three categories of competitions that established firms participated in were cultural landmarks, mixed-use towers, and master plans. In each category, the winning design reimagines what these concepts stand for in 2023 and beyond, designing not just new buildings but new ways of living.

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The Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction has revealed the winning projects for the Holcim Awards 2023 competition, as well as the silver, bronze, and acknowledgement prizes, at a ceremony on November 18 in Venice, Italy. Evaluated by a jury comprising five independent expert panels from around the world, these projects were chosen to highlight contextual and practical approaches to sustainable construction, showcasing diversity across scales, budgets, geographies, and forms. On another hand, Francis Kéré winner of the Global Holcim Gold in 2012 and Laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2022 took the stage at the event to talk about the influence of the Holcim Award on his career.

DnA_Design and Architecture Studio took home the golden prize for Asia-Pacific for an adaptive reuse project of a heritage building, while Husos, Elii, and Ultrazul won for Europe with a 360° co-design process for the rehabilitation of an industrial building. For the Latin American territory, Cano Vera Arquitectura was selected for an urban forest and social infrastructure precinct, and for the MEA region, Juergen Strohmayer and Glenn DeRoché were praised for a youth empowerment and responsible tourism cooperative. Finally, Partisans Architects and Well-Grounded Real Estate won the first prize for North America with a high-tech and low-cost modular housing solution for urban living.

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The Smithsonian Institution selected Perkins&Will to design the Bezos Learning Center at the National Air and Space Museum in located on the prominent National Mall in Washington D.C. Perkins&Will was one of the five shortlisted finalists for the competition. According to the Smithsonian, the selection was based on the architects’ ample experience in designing cultural and educational spaces, the reliability of their management team and the team’s aesthetic approach.

Perkins&Will has been selected as one of the five finalists in the nationwide artistic ideas competition for the design of the new National Museum of the U.S. Navy. The other finalists are DLR Group, Frank Gehry Partners, Quinn Evans, and BIG. Organised by the Naval Heritage History and Command’s (NHHC), the competition’s aim is to create a modern museum for Naval veterans and the public, a new building and ceremonial courtyard to reflect the Navy’s values and legacy. The campus would consist of approximately 270,000 square feet, with 100,000 square feet of gallery space. The Navy’s preferred location for the museum is on a site adjacent to the Washington Navy Yard.

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Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) was selected as one of the finalists in the Naval Heritage History and Command’s (NHHC) competition for the design of the new National Museum of the U.S. Navy. The competition’s aim is to create a publicly accessible modern museum for Naval veterans and the public, a memorial to the U.S. Navy’s heritage, and a center for education and cultural events. The other finalists are DLR Group, Frank Gehry Partners, Quinn Evans, and Perkins&Will.

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The year 2022 was marked by several socio-cultural and economic crises across the globe, from the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the increasing cost of living worldwide, combined with a number of natural disasters such as the devastating floods in Pakistan and hurricane Ian in the US. In these difficult times, architects are stepping up and embracing their role in developing design-based solutions to humanitarian crises, ranging from temporary shelters and affordable housing schemes to centers for protecting at-risk groups such as homeless underage girls, children from low-income environments, or families in need of medical care.

This week's curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture highlights projects submitted by the ArchDaily community that engage with their local communities, offering safe spaces for disadvantaged and at-risk groups. From a sanctuary for homeless girls in Iraq to an affordable housing project in Prague’s first skyscraper, this selection features projects centered around people, their needs, and desires. Many of the projects employ local materials such as clay bricks to lower the construction costs. They also reuse existing buildings and hope to engage the local community in building and appropriating the proposed spaces.

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Perkins & Will has just begun construction on the Gateway Project for the University of British Columbia. The project will serve as the primary entrance point to the campus, as well as the new hub for the Nursing, Kinesiology, Language Science, and the university's health clinics. This project is inspired by the surrounding landscape and is informed by the Musqueam people, who have been occupying these territories for generations.

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As Canada’s most populous location, Toronto has developed into a global powerhouse, both as an economic and cultural hub. This extends to the significant museums and arts facilities across Queen City. With one of the most unique landscapes and ground conditions in the country, Toronto was built on a large ravine system running throughout its urban fabric. Today, the city’s educational, arts, and cultural buildings are thriving.

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Boston architect Brian Healy moved around for his early career, before settling and building in New England. He had studios in Florida, California, and New York, eventually opening his office in Boston. Healy acquired his bachelor’s degree in architecture at the Pennsylvania State University in 1978 and continued his studies at Yale where he encountered such influential professors as James Stirling, Vincent Scully, John Hejduk, Aldo Rossi, and Cesar Pelli, among others.

Healy graduated with a Master of Architecture in 1981 and then used traveling scholarship money from Yale, the Van Allen Institute, and the American Academy in Rome to travel around the world for a year, exploring ancient ruins in Ireland, Italy, Greece, Sudan, Egypt, India, Nepal, and Thailand. Prior to the trip, he had worked at the offices of Charles Moore and Cesar Pelli. Upon his return, he designed and built homes in Florida before working for Richard Meier in New York. In 1985, he started Brian Healy Architects. Parallel to that he taught at over twenty universities across North America, including Yale, Harvard, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania. Healy was the 2004 president of the Boston Society of Architects and, from 2011-2014 he served as Design Director at Perkins + Will.

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Architectural Record has unveiled its list of Top 300 U.S. Architecture Firms of 2022, ranked by revenue for architectural services performed in 2021. Gensler, Perkins&Will, and HDR continued a three-year streak leading the annual ranking of the top 300 American architecture firms, joined by AECOM, which saw one of the largest reported increases in architecture revenue, rising from eighth to fourth place.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has selected 11 projects as winners of its 2022 Architecture Awards. The annual Architecture Award program celebrates the best contemporary architecture, and highlights how spaces can cater to their residents and context and include a sense of place, purpose, history, and environmental sustainability. The selected projects include commercial, residential, and civic typologies, all designed by US-licensed architects.

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