RobitailleCurtis is honoured to receive two design awards from the American Institute of Architects Vermont Chapter!

AIA Vermont 2018 Annual Design AwardsJury: Members from AIA MinneapolisHONOR AWARDComments from the jury: A favorite of the jury. With a spare, monochromatic material palette, which in another project might easily have been excessively severe, this …

AIA Vermont 2018 Annual Design Awards

Jury: Members from AIA Minneapolis

HONOR AWARD

Comments from the jury: A favorite of the jury. With a spare, monochromatic material palette, which in another project might easily have been excessively severe, this townhome interior brought a significant dose of play and whimsy to rescue the project from sterility. Conversely the restraint of the architecture kept that playfulness from becoming too cute or gimmicky. There was a lot of discussion about how one might live in this house, with the jury going back and forth on how hospitable it might be, how it might contend with the messiness of daily life. But ultimately the space won everyone over with it’s upending of typical residential expectations, elegant detailing, balance of cool and warm, hard and soft textures. The minimal material palette, repetitive elements and planar composition took great advantage of the abundant daylighting, resulting in a luminous, richly layered space that one can imagine transforming significantly over the course of the day. The jury appreciated the care that went into the drawings.

AIA Vermont 2018 Annual Design AwardsJury: Members from AIA MinneapolisCITATION AWARDComments from the jury: This project represents a complete transformation of the interior of this house with great attention paid to every detail and element. The b…

AIA Vermont 2018 Annual Design Awards

Jury: Members from AIA Minneapolis

CITATION AWARD

Comments from the jury: This project represents a complete transformation of the interior of this house with great attention paid to every detail and element. The before pictures were very helpful in understanding the extent of the transformation. While relatively conventional in concept, the jury was impressed with the level of discipline required to achieve this result. The restraint of the color and material palette draws one’s attention to the smallest details and the high level of craft. The quality of the daylighting was particularly strong and clearly a priority in the design, creating an ethereal space that seemed to suffuse a gentle illumination from every corner. The jury discussed how the minimal expression might have felt too stark but nevertheless felt calming and welcoming. There was much conversation about how the minimal expression invited completion by the inhabitants of the house, making them an integral element of the design. The space has the character of a stage or set that, while striking in its own right, would comfortably settle into the background once occupied, receding to frame the action of the occupants whose activity brings the space to life.