AIA 2017 Awards Given To Multiple West Virginia Architecture Firms; Kentucky Architects Also Receive Top Merits

The AIA 2017 awards goes to multiple West Virginia architecture firms, Kentucky's local architects and even to promising architecture students as well. The prestigious awards from the American Institute of Architects aren't just given to the best designs, the passion that is embedded into an architect's work also plays a major factor.

Fortunately for these architecture firms, the four-member jury saw that passion that deemed these groups worthy of winning the AIA 2017 awards. According to Gazette Mail, the jury acknowledged the work of Grove & Dall'Olio Architects as they admired the firm's "labor of love" in renovating the historical Charles Washington Hall.

The firm's architectural work earned them the Honor Award for Excellence in Preservation. Another notable AIA 2017 awards winner is Omni Associates-Architects, who received a Merit Award for Achievement in Architecture. The architecture firm designed the Grand Vue Park Treetop Villas, which the Jury admired since it "maintained the spirit" of the structure in a setting they describe as "beautiful."

Apart from the architect firms, it's reported that five promising students also won the AIA 2017 awards, which nabbed them a cool $16,500 scholarship funding. On the other hand, ZMM Architects have received not just an award, but two awards.

The architecture firm received accolades for their implementation of "color and simplicity" in their work on the Explorer Academy in Huntington, as well as for their reclamation of a mine site in their work in the Logan-Mingo Readiness Center. The AIA 2017 awards that they earned for the two projects were Achievement in Architecture and Achievement in Sustainability, respectively.

On to Kentucky, the AIA awarded key locals in Lexington for their contributions to the industry. According to Herald Leader, Lexington's Michael W. Jacobs has garnered AIA 2017 awards that elevate him to the College Of Fellows status. Jacobs is the president of the Omni Architects firm, and he attained his recent merit due his "significant contributions" to the particular field.