Indiana Team Tops among 566 Firms in International Competition

Indianapolis-based Ratio Architects Inc. has something sweet to celebrate.

A Ratio team won the 2007 AMD Open Architecture South American challenge for the design of a sustainable chocolate factory and technology hub in Ecuador. Ratio’s design was chosen from 566 entries from 57 countries.

The competition is part of Architecture for Humanity’s annual global design challenge that addresses a systemic issue facing those living in undeserved communities.

Created for The Kallari Association in Napo Province, the design connects a cooperative of indigenous chocolate producers and artisans with the global marketplace by building an exchange, chocolate production center and satellite rural technology points. The Kallari Association is a self-governed coalition of Amazon artists and organic cocoa producers.

The cooperative began in 1997 with less than 50 families and has grown to more than 800 families. Ratio’s winning design was inspired by the Association’s mission to shelter the cocoa producers from exploitation.

The design unifies each of the center’s building elements under a single roof canopy supported by tree-like structures. The tree-like structures also create an iconic identity for the center and were one of the reasons the competition’s jurors selected the design.

The Center’s campus will include a chocolate factory, a visitor’s center, housing unit, marketing area, picnic area and nature path through the botanical gardens, gift shop and an education area. In addition to these elements, a computer research room ill provide the chocolate producers and artisans the ability to sell their wares to an online market and arch market trends.

The RATIO team received a $5,000 travel grant to visit the site and work with the Kallari Association, a local architect and the local community to further develop and refine the design. To view the winning design, visit www.openarchitecturenetwork.org/node/1340 on the Internet.

22 Chicago Properties Honored for Preservation

Mansions, the hotel of presidents and turn-of-the-century homes were recently restored with special attention to historic architectural features.

These and other landmark buildings and their owners, 22 in all, were recently honored with the Chicago Landmark Award for Preservation Excellence.

The Commission on Chicago Landmarks recognizes outstanding projects that involve notable improvements to designated Chicago Landmarks or properties within Chicago Landmark Districts. This year marked the emergence of green building and sustainable-design efforts.

This year’s award-winning projects include:

• The renovation of the Nickerson House (1883), noted for having one of the city’s finest historic interiors, including extensive exterior and interior restoration of marble, mosaics, and carved and inlaid wood, masonry repair, and laser cleaning;

• The rehabilitation of the Tiffany dome and skylight (1897), at the Chicago Public Library Cultural Center, and restoration of its 30,000 pieces of stained glass;

• The $112 million renovation of the Blackstone Hotel (1910), including brick and terra cotta repair, new windows and canopies, and restoration of its main lobby, ballroom and presidential suite.

• The complete renovation of 1530 Lake Shore Drive (1916), one of the remaining grand mansions of this prestigious late-19th century residential street, now home to the Polish Consulate.

• The rehabilitation of the Florsheim Shoe Company building (1926) and its adaptive reuse from industrial to residential, including a green roof.

• The construction of a replacement building for the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, designed to fit into a significant historic neighborhood and also targeting LEED Silver certification for meeting sustainable design and performance measures.

• The restoration of numerous historic structures and homes in Landmark Districts across the city, including Armitage-Halsted, Hawthorne, Kenwood, Pullman, and historic Michigan Boulevard.

Chicago has 265 individual landmark buildings, monuments and sites, and 50 designated landmark districts, which total more than 8,500 structures of historical significance.

Architecture Index Stays in Negative Territory

Despite having its highest score since January, the Architecture Billings Index nationwide continues to point to difficult conditions for the nonresidential-construction market. On the upside, the Midwest is outpacing the rest of the country.

A score above 50 indicates an increase in billings, and the July ABI rating was 46.8, up slightly from the 46.1 mark in June. The Midwest regional average was 50, the highest in the nation.

Nationwide, there have been six consecutive months with negative scores, indicating that business levels at U.S architecture firms continue to worsen.

“Financing for new projects continues to be a problem,” said AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker. “Many projects are being reconsidered due to construction cost increases. And while there are a good number of projects still in the queue, owners are taking longer to proceed to the next phase of the design process.”

Nationwide Green-Schools Effort Launched.

The U.S. Green Building Council has announced a “Fifty for Fifty” initiative to work with state lawmakers in all 50 states to promote green school buildings.

The Council’s goal is for every state legislature in the nation to have its own caucus or working group of lawmakers advancing green schools for kids. Inspired by the successes of the Congressional Green Schools Caucus, the initiative will build on widespread participation in USGBC’s LEED for schools program, which has more than 1,000 green schools registered across the U.S. The “Fifty for Fifty” Initiative provides state legislators with the following:

• Up-to-date information and developments in green building including trends, cost-benefit studies and incentives offered by localities to advance and promote green building.

• Networking opportunities with like-minded legislators across the country.

• Opportunities for partnerships with experts in their communities, from architects to engineers to contractors.

• Opportunities to present best practices and successes in regional and national forums.

HDR Acquires Missouri’s Archer Engineers

Omaha, Neb.-based design firm HDR Inc. has acquired Lee’s Summit, Mo.-based Archer Engineers, an engineering-project management firm. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Going forward, Archer Engineers will conduct business as HDR/Archer.

Under the new corporate structure, Archer Engineers President and CEO Stan Christopher will be a senior vice president and will direct HDR’s water business practice in Kansas and Missouri. Michael Kalis will be a vice president and water section manager for these areas.