Marquette University O’Brien Hall and Metropolitan Community College Blue River East receive AIA Central States Excellence in Design Awards

BNIM is honored to have received two awards at this year’s AIA Central States Excellence in Design Awards in Springfield, MO, on September 13. Dr. E.J. and Margaret O’Brien Hall, the new home to the College of Business at Marquette University, received one of four Honor Awards, and Metropolitan Community College Blue River East, a new career training facility for OSHA, CDL, Forklift, Linework, and Logistics programs in Independence, MO, received one of four Citation Awards presented. This year’s jury, which included leaders from Marble Fairbanks, Kohn Pederson Fox Associates, Adjaye Associates, and Architecture Research Office, shared the following comments for both projects:

“O’Brien Hall College of Business stood out for its overall excellence at multiple scales. We are drawn to the attention to craft and detail in the brickwork and we appreciate the contrast of the richness of the exterior with the lightness of the white walls and wood ceilings in the interior spaces. The massing creates a strong relationship with the context on all sides and is legible in the interiors, supporting wayfinding and a very clear interior spatial organization. The center spine has a clerestory window to share light from above and a series of varied openings between floors, providing a strong sense of overall connectedness.”

“A simple building form houses vocational training spaces for a Community College and offers a surprising range of interior spaces, a focus on light, and visual connections between shop spaces and classrooms. The neutral colors and durable material palette – including metal panels and concrete floors – make sense for the activities and machines that are house in (the building).”