COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- AIA Ohio is excited to bring the AIA Ohio 2018 Convention to Toledo Oct. 4-6, 2018. The regional society of the American Institute of Architects will honor its 2018 Ohio Design Awards winners during a dinner on Friday, Oct. 5.
The convention venue is the Renaissance Toledo Downtown Hotel, 444 N. Summit St., Toledo.
Each year, AIA Ohio spotlights distinctive projects designed by Ohio architects with the AIA Ohio Design Awards, chosen by a jury of exceptional and noteworthy peers from the field of architecture. This year's jury chair is renowned New York architect Chris Sharples, Principal and Owner of SHoP Architects in New York City. SHoP Architects has a mission to prove that intelligent, evocative architecture can be made with real-world constraints, and in 2014 Fast Company recognized the studio as the "Most Innovative Architecture Firm in the World."
The AIA Ohio Design Awards program honors the best of Ohio architecture by awarding projects that show attention to high quality design, performance and commitment to AIA's 10 principles of livable communities.
"We have great architects in Ohio doing amazing work," says AIA Ohio Executive Director Kate Brunswick.
In 2017, AIA Ohio Design Awards Honor Award winners included the simple and elegant Columbus Metropolitan Library's Whitehall Branch Library by Jonathan Barnes Architecture and Design and the Wilson Road Trailhead, an urban cyclist hub and park designed by WSA Studio.
Six Merit Award winners were also honored, including Deane's House, a private residence in Cleveland's Tremont neighborhood designed by Cleveland firm Horton Harper Architects. For architect Michael Horton, AIA, the project was noteworthy because of a number of challenges and constraints caused by an unconventional wedge-shaped parcel. Deane's House was the first project that Horton Harper Architects had submitted for AIA Ohio Design Awards consideration.
"The AIA on a local, state and national level can bring attention to projects and let a wider audience know what architects are doing in their cities and their neighborhoods," Horton says. "We're looking forward to seeing what is honored by the AIA this year and getting a better understanding of good design work across the region."
The theme for this year's AIA Ohio Conference is cause and effect, and attendees can choose from between three tracks:
Track 1: Cause. Sample session: "Planning Spaces for Accessibility: Universal Design."
Track 2: Affect. Sample session: "Going Beyond Green: Creating a More Sustainable Community"
Track 3: Effect. Sample Session: "The Failure of Workplace Design in America Today"
More than 300 people representing over 150 different architecture firms from across the state and region registered for the AIA Ohio 2017 Convention.
About AIA Ohio: AIA Ohio, a society of the American Institute of Architects, representing a membership of approximately 2,000 licensed architects and architectural interns, is at the forefront of influencing statewide public policy through its government affairs program. AIA Ohio's award-winning program concentrates on helping to produce positive legislative and governmental agency rule changes for the architectural profession by addressing such issues as professional liability, building codes, preservation, energy and environmental concerns, economic development, architect/engineer selection procedures, licensing requirements, construction appropriations and professional service taxation.
SOURCE AIA Ohio