The Pennsylvania chapter of The American Institute of Architects (AIA) honored KieranTimberlake last month at the 2015 Annual Architectural Excellence Design and Special Awards. Held at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, the awards ceremony recognized over 35 Pennsylvania firms and individuals who were selected from a pool of nearly 150 applicants.
Joining a list of honorees that included Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter (Government Award winner) and the iconic Vanna Venturi House (50 Year/Timeless Award winner), KieranTimberlake was the recipient of the Firm Award. The award is given annually to the firm that consistently encourages collaboration while contributing innovative designs to the field of architecture. Selected to receive the award by a jury panel from AIA New York City chaired by renowned architect Thomas Phifer, FAIA, KieranTimberlake was heralded by the AIA as a "leader in practice-based architectural research and sustainable environments".
Ground broke on Brown University's new School of Engineering research facility last month. The new four story building will create 20 new cutting-edge laboratory modules, including two specialized nanoscale and biomedical engineering laboratories, and will add 80,000 square feet of space. The addition comes at a good time for the School of Engineering, which expects to see its number of undergraduate students double between 2007 and 2017. The new facility will be able to house 15 faculty members, approximately 20 research associates, 80 graduate students, and a large number of undergraduate students.
Part of KieranTimberlake's Community Involvement program, Mars City is a pro bono project that seeks to better engage students in an educational virtual reality simulation.
KieranTimberlake was recently featured on an episode of the KCRW radio show, Design and Architecture. The segment, entitled “Is Mars Habitable?” focuses on Mars City, an immersive, interactive, and educational 3D simulation of a human colony on Mars. The pro bono project is intended for students ranging from high school physics scholars to architecture undergraduates, and has recently generated some buzz following the success of Matt Damon's new film The Martian.
KieranTimberlake was recognized for its innovation in digital design and media at the 2015 ACADIA conference.
Last month marked the annual conference for the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA). This year's conference, which was held at the University of Cincinnati School of Architecture and Interior Design, saw KieranTimberlake honored with the Digital Practice Award of Excellence. The award is given to the firm that best elevates the field of architecture through digital design and media.
Brad Bell, an Associate Professor at the University of Texas at Arlington's College of Architecture Planning and Public Affairs, presented the award to KieranTimberlake partners Billie Faircloth and Matthew Krissel. "What I believe is unique in KieranTimberlake's design process is how they continually foster productive dialogue," he said in his introductory remarks. "By establishing a culture of questioning within the full design process, innovation has emerged as a dominate outcome of their work."
KieranTimberlake is excited to announce that Dilworth Park has received the Gold Medal at the 2015 Design Awards Gala, hosted by the Philadelphia chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). The Gold Medal is awarded to the single built work that exemplifies the highest design quality. This award is the second that the AIA has conferred onto Dilworth Park, which previously received the Silver Medal (awarded to the most exemplary unbuilt project) at the 2011 AIA Design Awards Gala.
Jury Comments
The redesign created a more dignified civic plaza with a calm structure so as to not interfere with Philadelphia's grand and exuberant city hall. In addition to improving access both to the subways and across the park, the design includes a raised lawn, a fountain with an integrated art installation and a cafe with both indoor and outdoor seating. The jury recognizes it as “a truly civic project that is inclusive and allows for many types of people to coexist happily”.
The structural PIT (Project Implementation Team) meets for a collaboration session at the co-location site on the campus of Brown University.
Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) is an evolving discourse that offers an alternative to the traditional design-bid-build model of creating a new building from design through construction. With the traditional sequential model, an architect designs the building, then construction contractors bid on the job, and finally the building is constructed. Design and construction teams generally remain distinct and distant from one another. By contrast, IPD methodology utilizes a parallel process, which dictates that the entire project team—from owner to architect to construction manager, consultants, and subcontractors—come together at the start of the design process and develop the project jointly through continuous collaboration. Contractually, all participants are bound together as equals, and behavioral principles require mutual respect and trust, willingness to collaborate, and open communication.
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) says that “IPD motivates collaboration throughout the design and construction process, tying stakeholder success to project success.” In other words, each stakeholder is more deeply embedded in all aspects of the process, and his or her input and collaboration is likewise integral to the project's success.
The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce has selected KieranTimberlake as a recipient of its 2016 Excellence Awards honoring small businesses. This award recognizes small businesses for their vital role in the economic development of the Greater Philadelphia region.
Winners are nominated by their regional business peers based on their demonstrated commitment to the advancement of the business community as well as their civic involvement and responsiveness, corporate responsibility, employee recognition, and concerns regarding service issues.
KieranTimberlake received the 2016 award for Professional Services Excellence in recognition of its commitment to delivering the highest quality architectural services. Area firms including Hopeworks 'N Camden, the Brownstein Group, University City Science Center, and BuLogics, Inc. took home awards in other categories.
GPCC President and CEO Rob Wonderling said, “Each of this year's recipients models how organizations can make a difference, contribute to the region's economy and be outstanding leaders in their respective fields. The Chamber is proud to honor their hard work, innovation and creativity through the Excellence Awards.”
KieranTimberlake partner Matthew Krissel presented on the topic of digital design culture at KA Connect 2015, a knowledge management conference for the AEC industry.
He talked about how KieranTimberlake created a platform to facilitate knowledge sharing and innovation—with a focus on the firm's members, and their relationships to one another, rather than solely the tools they would use. By developing a formalized network of exploratory behavior in the office, team members could experiment with and even implement new technologies in a matter of months. Watch as he describes the facets of this platform at KA Connect.
Following on the recent announcement of five new partners, ten staff members have been named associates of the firm. As KieranTimberlake has continued to grow and take on new projects both nationally and internationally, additional leadership opportunities have emerged. These individuals have helped shape the development of the practice over the past decade. They have been recognized for their extensive design and research experience, their leadership qualities, their commitment to excellence in their work, and their service to the firm.
Founding partner James Timberlake remarked, “Stephen Kieran and I join our new partners in welcoming the new associates to the management group of the firm. They all have been creative and active participants in advancing the firm agenda and culture. We look forward to their contributions as the firm continues to design, innovate, and invent new worlds.”
KieranTimberlake's leadership now includes seven partners and 19 associates in an office of nearly one hundred professionals.
KieranTimberlake is proud to announce the publication of Plastics Now by firm partner Billie Faircloth. The book is available for purchase from Routledge (June 11, 2015) and Amazon (July 5, 2015).
Plastics Now: On Architecture's Relationship to a Continuously Emerging Material
Billie Faircloth Published by Taylor & Francis Group, Routledge
Plastics Now addresses one primary question: why do we build with plastics the way that we do? For decades, plastics have been described over and over again as “the future”—yet we still do not know precisely what to do with them. Billie Faircloth argues that this inertia is due to plastics' indecipherability, which has prevented them from becoming fully known. The author tracks the process by which plastics became defined as a class of building materials. Drawing on new, original data from the industry press, beautifully drawn original timelines, hundreds of historical and contemporary images, advertisements dating to the 1950s, and technical data, this unconventional book explores the emergence of plastics as a building material and presents new findings.
