Archimania wins national award from American Institute of Architects
Grinder, Taber & Grinder, Inc. was the general contractor for this winning project
By Neil Strebig, Daily Memphian
Archimania was among the winners of the American Institute of Architects’ Committee on the Environment Top 10 Awards announced Friday, April 22.
The annual awards honor the 10 best design projects that have excelled in 10 environmentally-conscious areas and illustrate eco-friendly and healthy living solutions.
Archimania’s Midtown offices at 663 Cooper St. were one of the 10 recipients of the distinguished accolade “We see this is a launching point for sharing what our building performance and design research can realize across all types, shapes, and sizes of projects,” archimania senior associate Jacob Davis said. “The broader the reach, the greater the impact we can make.”
The 663 Cooper office, which opened in April 2019, was designed by archimania and has a shared courtyard between the firm’s office and Loaded for Bear’s headquarters at 673 Cooper St.
Memphis-based general contractor Grinder, Taber & Grinder helped with construction on the site. The entire 11,007-square-foot development was awarded the COTE Top 10 award.
About 80% of the building’s roof are solar panels and archimania sells the surplus energy back to the Tennessee Valley Authority in part of TVA’s Green Power Providers Program.
Additionally, a geothermal HVAC system was installed in a horizontal loop under the building that uses ground temperature and to help heat or cool the water at a maintained 55-degree temperature. The water is filtered through a metal coil HVAC system to be warmed or cooled, according to the seasonal weather.
The building was also recently the second building in the world to receive a dual zero energy and zero-carbon certification from the Seattle-based International Living Future Institute (ILFI), according to a news release.
Loaded for Bear’s side of the complex does not have solar panels nor geothermal cooling and was designed that way in order to highlight a comparison between the two buildings and the efficiency between them.
In addition to being a carbon-neutral site, the offices double as a research site tracking emissions and usage data as a potential guide for future eco-friendly projects.
“As architects should our clients expect us to lead by example when it comes to being good stewards of the environment?” archimania co-partner Barry Alan Yoakum asked. “Our actions must reflect a personal investment in change and the community. So very early on our project narrative became if not us, who? If not now, when?”
This is the firm’s second AIA COTE Top 10 Award after its home project, Civitas, won last year. Yoakum’s personal residence in Harbor Town, the 2,800-square-foot residential property is LEED Platinum Certified and also has dual certification for zero energy and zero-carbon via the ILFI.
Archimania has also worked on several notable projects throughout Memphis including Memphis Botanic Garden’s Live at the Garden and Ballet Memphis.
The full list of COTE Top Ten award winners is below:
• 663 Cooper in Memphis, archimania
• Louisiana Children’s Museum in New Orleans by Mithun
• Lick-Wilmerding High School in San Francisco by EHDD
• Roxbury Branch of the Boston Public Library in Boston, MS by Utile Inc.
• Meyer Memorial Trust Headquarters in Portland by LEVER Architecture
• Knox College Whitcomb Art Center in Galesburg, IL, by Lake Flato Architects
• Tufts University Science and Engineering Complex in Medford, MS by Payette
• King Open/Cambridge Street Upper Schools & Community Complex in Cambridge, MS by Arrowstreet Inc. and William Rawn Associates
• Iowa City Public Works in Iowa City by Neumann Monson Architects
