L.A. homeless center, 29 other projects win AIA honors

Downtown homeless drop-in center Los Angeles, California Michael B. Lehrer, AIA Lehrer Architects

In this story:  •  GALLERY: A sampling of projects Aquatics complex, low-income housing 'Safe, protected' RELATED STORIES, SITES

By Thurston Hatcher
CNN.com Writer

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- When Michael Lehrer set out to design a new homeless drop-in center in downtown Los Angeles, California, he was struck by the organizers' approach to people living on the street.

"The philosophy of the place is, they call them 'guests,' and they treat them as guests," said the architect. "That sort of operational and therapeutic philosophy is also the philosophy we took in the design. You treat people with dignity, and they respond in kind."

That design, featuring an inviting courtyard and comfortable building bathed in natural light, was one of 30 Honor Awards announced Friday by the American Institute of Architects.

GALLERY View some of the projects     AIA 2001 Honor Awards The winners are:  •  Architecture  •  Interior Design  •  Urban/Regional Design

The awards, which recognize excellence in architecture, interiors and urban design, were selected from among 635 submissions by U.S.-licensed architects. They will be presented in May at the 2001 AIA National Convention and Expo in Denver, Colorado.

"As an architect, every project you try to make as fine and beautiful as you can," Lehrer said Friday in a phone interview from his Los Angeles offices. "It's nice for others to recognize it."

Other architecture winners include a New York Times printing plant in Queens, New York, a chilled-water plant at the University of Pennsylvania, a low-income housing project in Escondido, California, an aquatics complex in suburban Detroit, Michigan, and the Benaroya Hall music complex in downtown Seattle, Washington.

Downtown homeless drop in center, Los Angeles, California

Among the interior design efforts honored were a major restoration of New York's Radio City Music Hall, cited as a "contemporary wonder of unmatched distinction and sophistication," and a transformation of the Detroit Opera House from a crumbling theater into a world-class arts venue.

Four urban design projects also were honored, including a "take back the street" project for Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles and the revitalization of Flag House Courts, a public-housing complex in Baltimore, Maryland.

"If there is a trend to be found among this year's winners, it is in the high number of projects whose direct aim is to improve the quality of life for neighborhoods, communities and the citizens that inhabit them," AIA President John D. Anderson said in a statement.

Radio City Music Hall, New York City Hugh Hardy, FAIA, Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates

When they began planning the Los Angeles homeless center -- offering a place to sleep, shower, do laundry and get counseling -- organizers hoped to draw as many as 200 people per day. Since its opening, it has attracted more than 800 daily.

The design of the low-budget project -- judges described it as a "safe, protected and dignified place for the homeless" -- may have had something to do with that.

"We've managed to create something that's a little beautiful for these people," Lehrer said. "The quality of the place and its architectural qualities seem to make a difference."

The AIA represents 66,500 1icensed architects and allied professionals.

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American Institute of Architects
Lehrer Architects
Radio City Music Hall
Detroit Opera House

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