AIA Rhode Island names 2013 Design Award winners

THE PAWTUCKET RIVER BRIDGE was one of three architectural projects in Rhode Island to win top recognition in the American Institute of Architects Rhode Island's 2013 Design Awards. / COURTESY R.I. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
THE PAWTUCKET RIVER BRIDGE was one of three architectural projects in Rhode Island to win top recognition in the American Institute of Architects Rhode Island's 2013 Design Awards. / COURTESY R.I. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

PROVIDENCE – Three architectural projects in Rhode Island have won top recognition in the 2013 Design Awards presented by the state chapter of the national American Institute of Architects.

An Honor Award winner in the category of urban design, the Pawtucket River Bridge No. 550 was commissioned from Northeast Collaborative Architects by the R.I. Department of Transportation to replace an aging bridge built in 1958 that raised safety concerns regarding its load-bearing capacity.

“The design challenge was not to create a linkage over a relatively narrow New England waterway but to convey the series of extraordinary events that for centuries converged at this very spot,” wrote Northeast Collaborative Architects of the project on its website. “From hand-hewn covered bridges to steel and concrete marvels, Rhode Islanders have long expressed pride in bridges and regard them as iconic structures.”

Northeast Collaborative Architects drew inspiration for the bridge’s design from other notable Pawtucket structures, including city hall, McCoy Stadium and Shea High School, and the art deco wings on each of the bridge’s four pillars mimic the eagles chiseled into the city hall tower.

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After three years of planning and construction, the city of Pawtucket celebrated the completion of the $83 million Pawtucket River Bridge at a dedication and naming ceremony in September.

The two other projects that received 2013 Honor Awards from AIA Rhode Island were the new University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy building, designed by Payette, in the educational/institutional category and the Swede Hill House on Block Island, designed by Estes/Twombly Architects, in the residential category.

In addition, eight projects were named Merit Award winners in AIA Rhode Island’s 2013 Design Awards:

  • The Design Exchange in Pawtucket, designed by LLB Architects (Adaptive Reuse)
  • URI Climbing Wall Building in South Kingstown, designed by Durkee Brown Viveiros & Werenfels Architects (Educational/Institutional)
  • Micro-Lofts at the Arcade in Providence, designed by Northeast Collaborative Architects (Historic Preservation)
  • Quonnie House in Charlestown, designed by Estes/Twombly Architects (Interiors)
  • 566 Paradise in Newport, designed by Estes/Twombly Architects (Residential)
  • Kyle House in Brewster, Mass., designed by Estes/Twombly Architects (Residential)
  • Cottage in Woods in Foster, designed by 3SIX0 Architecture (Residential)
  • Waterfront Master Plan in Newburyport, Mass., designed by Union Studio Architecture & Community Planning (Urban Planning/Urban Design)

The Connecticut chapter of AIA also recognized Northeast Collaborative Architects in their 2013 Design Awards, presenting the company with an Honor Award in historic preservation for the Church of Saint Gregory the Great in Portsmouth, as well as an Honorable Mention Award in built projects for the design of the Interlink intermodal transportation center at T.F. Green Airport in Warwick.

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