The AIA Bestowed Its 2023 Interior Architecture Awards to Eight Astounding Projects

©Casey Woods

• Architect: Jobe Corral Architects
• Location: Blanco, Texas

This 3,592-square-foot house in Texas’s rugged Hill Country is an observation of the properties of various building materials and their many advantages. The rammed-earth walls enclose the house and serve as its foundation rising from the surrounding terrain. The contrast is provided by large glass panels offering visual and physical access to the outside. The home’s design elements create a profound connection with the surrounding environment.

3) Willis Tower Repositioning

©Garrett Rowland

• Architect: Gensler, SkB Architects, OLIN
• Owner: Blackstone/EQ Office
• Location: Chicago

The Willis Tower became an instantaneous American architectural landmark when it appeared on the Chicago skyline in 1973. This is the most extensive renovation of the building to date, representing a bright new chapter in its luminous history.

Willis Tower was built when many people were moving out of cities, but it has since evolved to become a hub for tourism, residence, and commerce.

4) 800 Fulton Market

©Dave Burk | SOM

• Architect: William Rawn Associates, Inc.
• Owner: Mount Auburn Cemetery
• Location: Cambridge, Mass.

Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of the most significant and complicated American landscapes. It was established in 1831 and named a National Historic Landmark in 2003.

This project has repurposed Bigelow Chapel, the first structure ever built on the cemetery grounds, into a venue for public programs for the first time in decades, in addition to the cemetery’s other uses as a general green area, botanical garden and outdoor museum of funerary art.

In keeping with Mount Auburn’s progressive approach to end-of-life services, a thoughtfully positioned extension also supports a modern crematory that caters to various families and religious organizations.

7) Three Gables

©Matthew Millman Photography

• Architect: Aidlin Darling Design
• Location: Napa, Calif

This house for a family of three, perched in the hills above Napa Valley, is easily distinguished by its three unique gable roofs.

After a devastating wildfire in 2017, this contemporary, fireproof house was built to reflect the agricultural vernacular of the area and its owner’s Welsh heritage. The overall layout strikes a beautiful balance between private contemplation and group activities.

8) Southwest Public Library – Washington, DC

©James-Steinkamp Photography

• Architect: Perkins & Will
• Owner: DC Public Library
• Location: Washington, DC

An area needing a library with modern resources, meeting rooms, and study areas will benefit greatly from this new library’s innovative and eco-friendly design. The library’s remarkable rooftop was designed with the use of dowel-laminated lumber. This new building material mimics the geometries seen all around the Southwest area of Washington, DC.

The creased plate is reminiscent of the forms of 1950s cast-in-place concrete roofs. Still, it highlights how cutting-edge connecting techniques and low-carbon materials can build a captivating massing that conceals a remarkable space.

Chaired by Rudabeh Pakravan, AIA of Berkeley’s Sidell Pakravan, Virginia Beach’s Rebecca Brady, AIA of Clark Nexsen, Memphis’s Joyce Selina Love, AIA of DesignLoveStudio, Boston’s Alejandra Menchaca of Thornton Tomasetti, and Baltimore’s Melanie Ray, AIA of Hord Coplan Macht rounded out the AIA 2023 Interior Architecture Awards jury.