CARNEGIE MUSIC HALL | PHOTO BY JEFFREY TOTARO 2024, COURTESY CARNEGIE MUSEUMS

The Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland, which recently reopened after a $9 million renovation that restored the 129-year-old hall to its original brilliance, has won the AIA People’s Choice Award in the 41st annual Design Pittsburgh Awards.

The AIA Pittsburgh awards ceremony and Beaux Arts Ball were held in that very spot Friday, where an array of the best designed projects by members of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Institute of Architects were honored. The event also marked the 125th anniversary of the Pittsburgh chapter.

Gensler architects, a global firm, spent eight months renovating the Carnegie Music Hall by installing 1,530 custom-designed seats, resloping and widening the aisles for greater accessibility, reapplying 1,180 fleur de lis stencils and cleaning decorative gold-leaf panels. It also added air-conditioning to the hall, which is part of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

The public votes for their favorite design in the People’s Choice Award. The hall won with 3,447 votes, and this project also won a Certificate of Merit award by the contest judges. Gensler is currently involved in the design of the $1.57 billion new terminal at Pittsburgh International Airport and has designed The Tower at PNC Plaza and Three PNC Plaza and the Fairmont Pittsburgh, all Downtown. 

There were three winners in the Social Impact in Design Awards, which were judged by three local design/planning professionals. This looks at seven criteria: Community identity and history, co-design, economic opportunity, inclusivity, leadership, public space and sustainability.

SECOND AVENUE COMMONS | PHOTO BY AIDAN MCCLAIN

Second Avenue Commons by DLA+Architecture & Interior Design, the low-barrier, “come-as-you-are” homeless shelter, Downtown, that opened in 2022. The jury comment: “The team embraced the concept of what is needed to holistically serve the population, which goes well beyond housing. Trauma-informed design framed the whole project.”

Heritage Highlands by LGA Partners, a new affordable community-focused neighborhood that replaced the dated Hawkins Village housing project in Rankin. The design reduced the population density, added energy-efficient townhomes, a community center, playground and  other amenities. 

Just Imagine by Urban Design Associates is a 50-year strategic master plan for Calcasieu and Cameron parishes in Southwest Louisiana for long-term recovery from four federally declared disasters, including two hurricanes, to a more resilient future. The design team engaged more than 2,500 people and collected more than 7,000 comments to be as inclusive as possible.

Four architects from the Detroit AIA chapter were the judges for many of the other categories in the design awards.

Honor Awards – the best of the submitted designs in various categories.

Small Projects (less than 5,000 square feet)

INTERIOR OF BALVANERA RESTAURANT IN THE STRIP DISTRICT | CRAIG THOMPSON PHOTOGRAPHY

Balvanera by mossArchitects, the Argentinian restaurant in the Strip District. Jury comment: “The rich color palette transports us into a cultural experience while uniting the space.”

THE SOUTHSIDE WORKS PUBLIC SPACES | PHOTO BY ED MASSERY

SouthSide Works Public Spaces by AE7, the redeveloped 3.75 acres of underused outdoor spaces. Designers added food and beverage venues, pop-up retail, performance areas, a dog park, pickleball and basketball courts.

Nuclear Innovation Commons by R3A in the Nuclear Engineering Department at Penn State. It includes a large, flexible central area with modular furniture, private meeting rooms, and an adaptable instructional lab that reflects the field of nuclear engineering.

Medium Projects (5,000 to 50,000 square feet)

THE INTERIOR OF LAWRENCE HALL IN LAWRENCEVILLE. | PHOTO BY CRAIG THOMPSON PHOTOGRAPHY

Lawrence Hall by mossArchitects. The architects took an abandoned building in Central Lawrenceville and turned it into a food hall with four restaurants in a vibrant gathering space.

CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION IN SHADYSIDE | PHOTO BY ED MASSERY

Church of the Ascension by Rothschild Doyno Collaborative. The architects redesigned a dark, constrained hallway that connected this stone sanctuary and parish hall in Shadyside with a transparent entry plaza and welcoming outdoor space for extended fellowship and neighborhood outreach.

THE CONSERVATORY COURTYARD AT BAKERY SQUARE IN LARIMER | PHOTO BY CRAIG THOMPSON

Conservatory Courtyard at Bakery Square by Strada. This provides public spaces, food offerings and a re-imagined outdoor “living room” along Penn Avenue in Larimer that creates an interconnected experience to encourage people to stay and play.

Large Projects (over 50,000 square feet)

SENECA VALLEY EHRMAN CREST ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL | PHOTO BY LAURA PETERS PICTURES

Seneca Valley Ehrman Crest Elementary and Middle School by CannonDesign. This highly lauded design was also recognized by Time Magazine as one of the best innovations in 2022 and was a third-place People’s Choice Award last year in the AIA contest.

21c Museum Hotel in St Louis by PWWG. “This is a transformative and impeccable reuse of a vacant historic structure, which has been turned into a sophisticated, energized, playful, and art-focused environment,” according to the jury.

UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH SCAIFE HALL ADDITION IN OAKLAND | PHOTO BY WARREN JAGGER

University of Pittsburgh Scaife Hall Addition by MCF Architecture. The jury: “This is a provocative addition and upgrade to an aging mid-century education building.” 

FLATS ON FORWARD IN SQUIRREL HILL | PHOTO BY ED MASSERY

Flats on Forward in Squirrel Hill by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. This is a new model of affordable housing. Led by the not-for-profit developer ACTION-Housing, the project includes 43 apartments for households with incomes of 60% of Area Median Income or below. This also won in a new AIA design category this year:  The Excellence in Masonry Award, which recognizes exceptional work in architectural masonry.

Unbuilt 

FLOAT | PARK ARENA IN SOUTH KOREA | RENDERING BY DLA+ ARCHITECTURE & INTERIOR DESIGN

FLOAT, DLA+ Architecture & Interior Design, an esports arena in Busan, South Korea, to be built in an urban park.

The Young Architects Studio Competition Award of Excellence went to Terrace Commons on the South Side Slopes by LGA Partners. This competition, now in its 14th year, engages students, young architects, and emerging design professionals by challenging them to find innovative ways to approach a regional design challenge. The entry conceived of South Side Park, an under-used green space in the South Side Slopes, as a network of nodes of recreation, transportation, socialization, and ecology.

Here is the complete list of the awards and winners.