The Texas Society of Architects Studio Awards recognize real or theoretical projects that demonstrate excellence in design. The program accepts submissions from students and practitioners alike, and projects of all types are considered together by a jury charged with identifying projects that push beyond the boundaries of architecture to address current critical issues. For the second year in a row, the jurors met virtually, which allowed participation from three countries on two continents. When they met on July 15, the jury selected five projects out of 43 entries.
THE JURY
Roy Cloutier
Patkau Architects
Vancouver, Canada
“The thing I appreciated most about a number of these projects was the combination of attention to the architectural artifact and attention to larger systems, and this ability to blend the specificity of architectural thought and the attitudes toward programming and the public with this attention to the impact beyond the scope and scale of the project, and how to really wed those two together.”
Kyle Coburn, AIA
Höweler & Yoon Architecture
Boston
“A lot of the projects existed either in a beautiful landscape or in suburbia. Not a lot of projects really addressed the city itself. It might be the group trying to deal with, what does the suburban condition mean? How can we improve it? A lot of the projects were housing-based — not super dense housing, either — so I applaud the attempt to think about housing in new formats and using different materials.”
Fokke Moerel
MVRDV
Rotterdam, Netherlands
“It was really nice to see some of the projects we selected are really talking about how to create a sort of new community, maybe not really as dense as what we would have in the Netherlands — but of course that’s your benefit, you have a lot of land — but still to really talk about communities and how to use your piece of earth in the smartest way and still be very social.”
Jonathan Tate
Office of Jonathan Tate
New Orleans
“It was nice to see the range and strength of the material we had to review, but I missed the sort of audacious project — like, where was the one that seemed ludicrous in a way but also compelling, and that needed the support and the compliment that an award like this would provide. And that could be a question of who decides to submit and who doesn’t. The social aspect as well — unfortunately, we didn’t see much of that.”