In its third year, the 2023 HMC Lance Hosey Impact Awards, a cornerstone of our commitment to design excellence, took place during HMC Design Week this fall. The annual event served as a celebration of our achievements and set a high standard, fostering an environment where HMC designers could continually aspire to elevate their craft.
At our firm, comprising over 340 employee-owners across six offices, there is an unwavering dedication to advancing design. The internal competition was a testament to our collective focus on progress and innovation and served as a platform where creativity thrived. Our commitment to positively impacting the communities we serve took center stage. Throughout the selection process, a distinguished panel of industry experts, architects, designers, academics, business leaders, and editors from outside the firm meticulously evaluated 30 projects, comprising both built and unbuilt work. This rigorous scrutiny was crucial to our commitment to quality and relevance to the firm’s Design for Good ethos.
Everything we’re doing right now is to shore up that mission. We’re a design firm, and the first signal of good design here should be whether it serves that mission in demonstrable ways. –James Krueger, AIA, NCARB, director of design.
At the end of deliberations, the jury singled out five projects, which included one award of merit, and Impact Awards for the best-built project, best-unbuilt project, best interior architecture project, and The Shape of Green award for sustainability, which is named after Lance Hosey’s 2012 book The Shape of Green.
The 2023 Impact Award winners are:
Resilient Roots
Allensworth, California
Best Unbuilt
Project team: Lujane Aboud, Peter Goodwin, Venus Emrani, McKaden Tigue, Jaewoo Kang
Resilient Roots is a sustainable farm lab and student housing project that embodies black American resilience, converting past adversities into valuable assets through sustainable practices. This project defies the challenges of water scarcity and arsenic-laden soils. It strives to enhance the community’s well-being and offer a gathering place and shelter during extreme weather. The center embodies the enduring spirit of Allensworth, turning obstacles into opportunities, and places a strong emphasis on decarbonization while seamlessly blending into the town’s character. Resilient Roots, dedicated to health and sustainability, is a testament to history, innovation, and community empowerment.
Jury comment:
The jury felt this was a remarkable demonstration of the direction of design at HMC, forward-looking and pushing boundaries.
Cuyamaca Student Services Building
Rancho San Diego, California
Best Built
Project team: Jon Orr, Amy Karn, Matt Mori, and Brad Glassick
Cuyamaca College’s new Student Services Building becomes the front door to campus, with all elements of the student support network together in one location. The building is integrated into the hillside, revitalizes the central green space with landscaped terraced roofs and outdoor waiting areas, and provides more equitable access for the entire campus.
Jury comment:
The jury agreed that this was the best storytelling in the competition, helped enormously by a beautiful design with a strong building performance component.
Del Oro High School
Bakersfield, California
Best Interiors (with a special accommodation for the entire project)
Project team: Carolyn Aspa, Angel Hosband, James Krueger, Jeff Chouinard, Abigail Robles, Gina Auduong
Inspired by the remote location of this 77-acre agricultural site in Bakersfield, California, the project team set out to design a future-focused school on a dime. This low-budget/high-impact project challenged the team to create a Zero Net Energy and future-focused learning environment for 2,500 students for less than $500/SF.
Jury comment:
The jury loved the project. They were blown away by such a budget-friendly school that is net zero and features the best and most modern design…strong indoor/outdoor connection, collaborative teaching labs, STEM labs, daylight spaces, and public artwork.
Resilient Roots
Allensworth, California
The Shape of Green (For Sustainability)
Project team: Lujane Aboud, Peter Goodwin, Venus Emrani, McKaden Tigue, Jaewoo Kang.
The team’s material strategy prioritizes ease of on-site construction and long-term community access. They also took a holistic decarbonization approach, guaranteeing sustainability, user-friendliness, and community resonance. A greenhouse provides accessible fresh produce and utilizes recycled carbon dioxide from the center to increase production. They use native plants to stimulate ecosystems and enrich soils. And they’ve created a central open market space and a sustainability center as a landmark for visitors.
Jury comment:
The jury felt that Resilient Roots was an incredibly inspiring idea and that THIS is the way we all need to start thinking about buildings differently. This project is about empowering and strengthening the community and the farmers through wellness, better health, and sustainability.
Floyd Farms
Sacramento, California
Merit Award, Built
Project team: Brian Meyers, Jennifer Wehling
HMC started its design week with keynote speaker Alan Maskin, FAIA, principal/owner of Olson Kundig, who also served on the jury. Other jurors included Building Design + Construction Editorial Director David Barista, Cal Poly Professor Margot McDonald, Shimoda Design Group Partner Susan Chang, UC Davis Executive Director Vicky Vicente, and Architect and Professor Ingalill Wahlroos-Ritter.
HMC’s Lance Hosey Impact Awards program is named for the firm’s former Chief Impact Officer, Lance Hosey, who passed in August 2021.
