The Ohio State University's Knowlton Hall wins prestigious award for architectural design

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 29, 2010
Contact: Becky Lonardo, lonardo.9@osu.edu, 614-247-5409

The Ohio State University’s Knowlton Hall wins prestigious award for architectural design
The building was awarded an Architecture Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects

COLUMBUS, Ohio—The Ohio State University’s Knowlton Hall, home of the Austin E. Knowlton School of Architecture, was recently awarded an Architecture Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects (AIA). The award is the profession’s highest recognition of works that exemplify excellence in architecture, interior architecture and urban design. The building was designed by Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects of Atlanta, in collaboration with WSA studio of Columbus.

The AIA Honor Awards program recognizes achievements in a broad range of architectural activity to elevate the general quality of architecture practice, establish a standard of excellence against which all architects can measure performance, and inform the public of the breadth and value of architecture practice. All architects licensed in the United States were eligible to submit entries of buildings or building complexes that have been completed since January 1, 2003.

Of more than 700 submissions from around the world, Knowlton Hall was chosen to be one of the 28 award winners. The building, dedicated in 2004, has been the recipient of awards from AIA Ohio, AIA Georgia, and AIA Columbus. The building design reflects the school’s mission of excellence in education, innovation in design and planning, and the stewardship of a quality environment.

What architect would not have liked to have gone to school here? This project embodies everything I would want in an architecture building. It is full of unique spaces, an open flexible hall that beckons people to participate, and seems to have surprises around every corner. “Our buildings shape us,” as Churchill said, and to have future generations of architects learn and grow as designers within an inspiring building such as this… is exhilarating. –Jury Comment

The 165,000-square-foot facility, located at 275 W. Woodruff Avenue, is home to the three disciplines that make up the Knowlton School of Architecture—Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and City & Regional Planning. The building features six classrooms, four seminar spaces, the 200-seat Gui Auditorium, studio spaces, the Banvard Gallery, a materials/fabrication lab, a roof-top garden, a 30,000-volume library, a café, and a central review space for critiques of student work.

See the rest of the award winners: http://www.aia.org/practicing/awards/index.htm
Visit the Knowlton School of Architecture website: http://www.knowlton.osu.edu

Additional Credits
Architect of Record: Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects in collaboration with WSA Studio as Architect of Record
Landscape Architect: Michael Van Valkenburg Associates
Structural Engineer: Shelly Metz Baumann Hawk
MEP Engineer: HAWA Consulting Engineers
Civil Engineer: Bird + Bull
General Contractor: P.J. Dick, Inc.