The American Institute of Architects has named 11 winners of its 2022 Architecture Awards, which include Olson Kundig's Space Needle renovation, Kieran Timberlake's US Embassy in London and The Shed in New York.
Aiming to "celebrate the best contemporary architecture" designed by US architects, this year's AIA Architecture Awards winners include projects that were completed as far back as 2017 due to the impact of Covid.
The winning projects can be located anywhere in the world, but the only project not in the US to win was Kieran Timberlake's US embassy in London.
Completed in 2017, the glass cube on the banks of the Thames river sparked controversy in 2018 when former president Donald Trump cancelled his visit to open the building.
According to the AIA, the "embassy embodies the country's relationship with the United Kingdom and the central tenets of democracy".
Another extremely high-profile project to win an award was The Shed in New York, which was designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with Rockwell Group.
Built as part of the city's Hudson Yards development, the building was named one of the world's 100 greatest places of 2019 by Time magazine.
The renovation of Seattle landmark the Space Needle by Olson Kundig was also recognised.
Alongside these landmark structures, four educational facilities were recognised. The Menil Drawing Institute in Houston by Johnston Marklee, noteworthy for its multiple courtyards and steel roof, and the Marine Education Center at the University of Southern Mississippi by Lake|Flato both won awards.
The Billerica Memorial High School by Perkins & Will and the Home Building at the Thaden School designed by EskewDumezRipple were also among 2022's winners.
Several projects designed to focus on sustainability were also named winners. These include the Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design at the Georgia Institute of Technology by Miller Hull Partnership in collaboration with Lord Aeck Sargent and the Andlinger Center for Energy & The Environment by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects in New Jersey.
The final winners were the Owsley Brown II History Center by de Leon & Primmer Architecture Workshop and Deborah Berke Partners's transformation of Richardson Omsted Campus in Buffalo into a boutique hotel.
The AIA was founded in 1857 and includes more than 200 chapters that advocate for excellence in architecture and work towards public policy.
In 2019 the AIA began using a new set of criteria for evaluating structures called the Framework for Design Excellence. According to the AIA, this framework presents a "holistic approach addressing the interdependence among people, buildings, infrastructure, and the environment".
Previous winners of the AIA Architecture Awards include Patkau Architects Inc. and Beyer Blinder Belle.
The main photo of the US Embassy is by Richard Bryant.
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