The Silver Spring Civic Building, winner of the first ever Montgomery County Design Excellence Award, via Machado Silvetti
The Montgomery County Planning Department’s first ever Design Excellence Award Gala on Thursday was an opportunity to honor architects of innovative buildings such as the Silver Spring Civic Building, Somerset Pool House and Eleven55 Ripley apartment in Silver Spring.
It also served as a pep rally of sorts for the walkable, urban and transit-oriented planning concepts that drive many of the county’s land-use decisions.
Christopher Leinberger, a developer, author and professor at George Washington University known for his advocacy of transit-oriented development, was the keynote speaker.
He told the county planners, architects and others in the audience that studies show walkable urban places can result in six or as much as 12 times the tax revenue per acre than that produced by regional malls and business parks.
Thursday’s event was held inside the Silver Spring Civic Building, the $22 million county government-owned building that opened five years ago as the centerpiece of the revitalized downtown Silver Spring. The building’s architects from Boston-based firm Machado Silvetti took home the gala’s top prize.
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Silver Spring Civic Building, via Machado Silvetti
The event was co-hosted by the Potomac Valley chapter of the American Institute of Architects, a professional association for architects based in College Park.
“Design excellence is not just about making buildings look nice because we’d like the neighbors to be happy with the new real estate development that’s happening, but it’s about creating value for all the properties and driving our economic development goals,” Planning Board Chairman Casey Anderson said.
Architects for two other downtown Silver Spring buildings were among the four “jury citation winners” that were also honored. Shalom Baranes Associates of Washington, D.C., was honored for designing the 379-unit Eleven55 Ripley apartment project on Ripley Street. SmithGroup JJR of Washington, D.C., was honored for designing the Cultural Arts Center at the Takoma Park-Silver Spring campus of Montgomery College on Georgia Avenue.
Eleven55 Ripley apartment building in Silver Spring, via Shalom Baranes Associates
The other two jury citation winners were awarded to projects that were decidedly not urban:
The Somerset Pool House, designed by Bethesda-based McInturff Architects, opened in 2012 in Somerset, a town of single-family homes, and incorporates many elements of the original 1960s structure.The headquarters for landscaping company Ruppert Nurseries in Laytonsville, designed by Bethesda-based Muse Architects, features a restored Victorian-style farmhouse and a tree farm.
The Somerset Pool House (left) via McInturff Architects and Ruppert Nurseries (right) via Muse Architects
“We are one of the wealthiest, most progressive and most educated areas in the nation and we really should be building top-quality developments and have communities that really reflect this stature,” Planning Department Director Gwen Wright said. “We don’t want to have projects come in at the minimal, ‘Well, we can get by with this’ kind of level. We want the ‘A game.'”
County Council member Nancy Floreen, who helped hand out awards at the event, said good design of new development was important for another reason.
“If we can make something look good, if we can make someone’s heart sing, we can overcome a lot of community opposition,” Floreen said.
