On Thursday, the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) unveiled the winners of the 14th annual Charter Awards, which celebrate the year’s greatest accomplishments in architectural, landscape, urban, and regional design. The eleven winners and ten runners-up, ranging from Richmond, Virginia to Luhe, Jiangsu Province, China, were unveiled in Dallas, Texas, as part of CNU’s 23rd annual Congress, a four-day conference exploring walkable development and sustainable cities.
The 2015 Grand Prize went to Iberville Offsites, a New Orleans–based affordable housing project led by Kronberg Wall Architects that restored 46 historic houses as affordable units using environmentally friendly technology and building practices. This year’s Grand Prize for Student Work was awarded to the University of Notre Dame for “Cities of a New Port Metropolis,” a study reimagining Central American port cities as integrated commercial hubs.
“This year’s winners truly embody CNU’s mission to design, build, and restore great places,” said Lynn Richards, President and CEO of CNU. “The organizations, leaders, and individuals behind these projects have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to creating places that are more attainable, economically productive, and livable for everyone.”
The award ceremony began with a keynote speech by Washington, DC–based architect David M. Schwartz, who earlier this year was awarded the Richard H. Driehaus lifetime prize for traditional and classical architecture. Charter Awards Jury Chair and CNU co-founder Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk led the proceedings, introducing and congratulating the award-winning architects, designers, and elected officials.
“This year’s awards highlight the many ways that urban design and architecture enrich people’s lives in a wide range of settings,” said Plater-Zyberk.
As in past years, the winning projects for 2015 represented three geographic scales laid out in the Charter for the New Urbanism—“metropolis, city, & town”; “neighborhood, corridor, & district”; and “block, street, and building.” The work included a tactical urbanist intervention in Texas, two rehabilitated inner-city housing projects, and a new plaza entrance for a historic London cricket ground.
The Charter Awards are given annually to honor outstanding achievement in design and planning by the nonprofit Congress for the New Urbanism, or CNU, a national group devoted to building walkable, sustainable neighborhoods. With more than 2,300 members working in communities across North America—from urban centers to historic small towns—CNU connects and empowers the professionals, leaders, advocates, and citizens creating places people love.
Download the 2015 Charter Awards Book HERE.
The full list of Charter Award winners follows:
Iberville Offsites (Grand Prize)
Firm: Kronberg Wall Architects
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
Category: Block, Street, and Building
Cities of a New Port Metropolis (Grand Prize, Student)
Organization: University of Notre Dame
Location: Guatemala, Central America
Category: The Region: Metropolis, City, and Town
UCLA Weyburn
Firm: Mithun | Solomon & STUDIOS Architecture
Location: Los Angeles, California
Category: Block, Street, and Building
Code SMTX: Tactical Urbanism Intervention and Project Kickoff
Firm: Dover, Kohl & Partners
Location: San Marcos, Texas
Category: Block, Street, and Building
Hunters View
Firm: Mithun | Solomon
Location: San Francisco, California
Category: Neighborhood, District, and Corridor
Pearl Brewery Redevelopment Master Plan
Firm: Lake|Flato Architects
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Category: Neighborhood, District, and Corridor
Transit-Oriented Neighborhood Revitalization
Firm: Torti Gallas and Partners and the Town of Babylon, New York
Location: Wyandanch, Babylon, New York
Category: Neighborhood, District, and Corridor
Aldershot
Firm: ADAM Urbanism
Location: Aldershot, Hampshire, United Kingdom
Category: Neighborhood, District, and Corridor
Virginia’s Capitol Master Plan
Firm: Wallace Roberts & Todd
Location: Richmond, Virginia
Category: Neighborhood, District, and Corridor
30 Years of Scripps College Campus Stewardship
Firm: Moule & Polyzoides, Architects and Urbanists
Location: Claremont, California
Category: Neighborhood, District, and Corridor
Plan El Paso
Organization: City of El Paso
Location: El Paso, Texas
Category: The Region: Metropolis, City, and Town
Micro Lofts at the Arcade Providence (Merit Award)
Firm: Northeast Collaborative Architects
Location: Providence, Rhode Island
Category: Block, Street, and Building
Sullivan Station (Merit Award)
Firm: VOA Associates Incorporated
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Category: Block, Street, and Building
The Oval (Merit Award)
Firm: ADAM Architecture
Location: Kennington, London, England
Category: Block, Street, and Building
Arise (Merit Award)
Firm: Torti Gallas and Partners and the City of South Bend
Location: South Bend, Indiana
Category: Neighborhood, District, and Corridor
Beaufort County Multijurisdictional Form-Based Code/Land Development Code (Merit Award)
Firm: Opticos Design
Location: Beaufort County, South Carolina
Category: The Region: Metropolis, City, and Town
University of Texas – Pan American Campus Master Plan (Merit Award)
Firm: Barnes Gromatzky Kosarek Architects with Michael Dennis & Associates Location: Edinburg, Texas
Category: Neighborhood, District, and Corridor
Luhe City Center (Merit Award)
Firm: Thadani Architects+Urbanists
Location: Luhe, Jiangsu Province, China
Category: The Region: Metropolis, City, and Town
Sulphur Dell (Merit Award, Student)
Organization: University of Maryland
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Category: Neighborhood, District, and Corridor
Master Plan for the Town of LaFox, Illinois (Merit Award, Student)
Organization: University of Notre Dame School of Architecture
Location: LaFox, Illinois
Category: The Region: Metropolis, City, and Town
Visions for Lafayette (Merit Award, Student)
Organization: University of Notre Dame Graduate Urban Design Class of 2013
Location: Lafayette, Louisiana
Category: Neighborhood, District, and Corridor