competitions & awards - inspiration awards

Contract 's 2010 INSPIRATIONS Awards

Recognizing social responsibility in commercial interiors

Sponsored by

More and more, the commercial design community plays a leadership role in furthering global efforts for social responsibility. In response to these accomplishments, and true to our mission of inspiring commercial design solutions, Contract magazine presents its second annual Inspiration Awards in 2010.
Contract magazine announced the winners of its second annual Inspirations Awards competition last night (April 8) at a gala ceremony at the new San Francisco Public and Urban Research Center. Sponsored by Tandus, the Inspirations Awards celebrates leadership in socially responsible design among commercial interior designers and architects.

This year Inspirations recognized two top winners in the built environment category, each of which will receive a $5,000 cash award from Tandus as a donation to the cause that their project work supported. There were also three honorable mentions in the built environment category. No top winner was awarded in the cause-related work category, but that category did receive one honorable mention.

Jurors were John Cary , executive director of Public Architecture in San Francisco; Prataap Patrose, director of urban design for the Boston Redevelopment Authority in Boston; and Susan Piedmont-Palladino, a professor at the Washington Alexandria Architecture Center of the College of Architecture and Urban Studies at Virginia Tech.

Winners were Big Brothers Big Sisters of St. Louis, designed by Trivers Associates of St. Louis, and Putnam Place, Boston, designed by Tsoi/ Kobus of Boston. Honorable mentions included Building Hope and MCN Build, Washington, D.C., designed by Cooper Carry in Atlanta; p:ear, Portland, Ore., designed by SERA Architects in Portland; the Lance Armstrong Foundation, Austin, Texas, designed by The Bommarito Group in Austin; and Zero Landfi ll, Ohio, an initiative of BeeDance. (Read the Inspirations Awards 2010 winning profiles.)

In celebration of its 25th anniversary, Tsoi/Kobus & Associates teamed with Commodore Builders on a “Community Build” project at Putnam Place, a group home in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood for 16- to 19-year-old boys who are transitioning from foster care to independent living. Community Build helps keep residents off the street and supports them as they study, pursue creative passions, or simply unwind. By providing a space that encourages conversation, nurtures relationships, and promotes the pursuit of individual and shared interests, the project has the opportunity to leave a lasting impression on those who live at Putnam Place now and in the future. The renovation transforms the basement of the house, owned by Cambridge Family & Children’s Service, to include a lounge, music studio, wood shop, study space, and laundry room.

The design team engaged the young men in the design, and they chose Boston’s MBTA transit system as their theme, citing its references to connectivity and community. As a result, the subway motif and colors are used throughout the space. The majority of the $200,000 cost of the project was pro bono.