New Haven, CT – Newman Architects received three AIA CT Design Awards including an Excellence Award in the Unbuilt Design Category for the Wesleyan Art Gallery, a Merit Award in Architecture as Encompassing Art category for the St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church Peace Garden, and a Citation in Historical Research and Preservation in the Interior Architecture Category for the Yale University Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
AIA Connecticut Design Awards are given to projects of excellent architectural quality in a variety of categories.
The Elizabeth Mills Brown Awards, presented by both AIA Connecticut and Preservation Connecticut, recognize projects that respectfully preserve historic places. Newman’s awards in this category include an Excellence Award for the renovation of Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library and a Merit Award for the renovation of and addition to the Ridgefield Library.
The Wesleyan Art Gallery is an unbuilt project at Wesleyan University, designed as a museum for works on paper. The Peace Garden at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church provides a home for four September 11th memorial “Bells of Remembrance” that were gifted to the church to represent four reasons to pray for peace: 911 victims, Sandy Hook victims, children suffering from poverty and hunger, and military and first responders. The resulting Peace Garden forms intimate spaces, giving the congregation and community a place to reflect and to gather to remember.
The Yale University Beinecke Library renovation included a comprehensive replacement of all MEP-FP systems at this icon of mid-century modern architecture, as well as security and lighting systems, restoration of finishes, creation of additional study rooms, and a program-driven reconfiguration of back-of-house facilities. The meticulous restoration of original features required original specification research, painstaking sourcing of materials, custom fabrication of replacement components, and identification of skilled craftsmen to install final products.
Work at Ridgefield Library involved the restoration of the original 1903 building to increase functionality and accessibility for the community as well as a substantial new addition. The project conserves the original vision of the library while the addition creates the new functionality sought in libraries today. The addition has large banks of windows that connect the interiors to views of the townscape, balancing the need for a clear articulation between what is new and what was restored while maintaining continuity.
All winning projects were honored at the AIA Connecticut Awards Gala held virtually on Nov. 12.
