The annual National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) conference, which took place from October 11 to 13, winded down with the organization recognizing built and unbuilt projects. Since 2019, the organization has awarded the Phil Freelon Professional Design Award to exceptional projects contributing to betterment of the built environment. It also recognizes student work through the Barbara G. Laurie Student Design Competition.
A myriad of architects submitted to this year’s iteration. Among those who took home Honors Awards are Moody Nolan; Perkins&Will; HINES Architecture + Design; and Yu-Ngok Lo, founder of YNL Architects. Citations Awards were given to Studio Cooke John Architecture, DLR Group, NBBJ, S9 Architecture, and Storyn Studio for Architecture. Students from Cornell University, Auburn University, and the University of Southern California were recognized as winners of the Barbara G. Laurie Student Design Competition; sponsored by SOM, Stantec and HDR.
Jurors evaluating the 2023 Phil Freelon Professional Design Award included Deep Chaniara, an associate at Pickard Chilton; Dayton Schroeter, vice president and design director of Smith Group; Eman Siddiqui, an architect at GSBS Architects; B. Karina Ruiz, a principal at Bric Architecture; and Jonathan Navarro, an architect and senior associate at LS3P. Barbara G. Laurie Student Design Competition jurors included Kimberly Dowdell, 2024 AIA National President; Aeron Hodges of Stantec; Adede Amenyah of SOM; Brian Kowalchuk of HDR; Justice Rajee, Williams & Russell CDC and Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center; and Regina Batiste, PLACE Landscape Architecture.
The Phil Freelon Professional Design Award recognized practices in five distinct categories: Vision; Built; Historic Preservation, Restoration & Renovation; Unbuilt; and Small Projects. The projects range in scale from a freeway renovation to small shops and memorials.
Here are the winning entries:
VISION CATEGORY
YNL Architects, Yu-Ngok Lo
Yu-Ngok Lo, founder of YNL Architects, received an Honors Award for the firm’s Freeway on Ramp Reclamation project in Los Angeles. This speculative project adds a perpendicular ring park to an existing California highway.
DLR Group
DLR Group received a Citation in the Vision category for its California project in Visalia: Semillas Y Raices, a recreation space for farmworker families.
BUILT CATEGORY
Perkins&Will
Morrow High School in Ellenwood, Georgia by Perkins&Will won an Honor award in the Built Category.
S9 Architecture
S9 Architecture’s Cleveland Foundation Headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio won a Citation in the Built category.
HISTORIC PRESERVATION CATEGORY
Moody Nolan
The oldest African American-owned firm in the country, Moody Nolan, received an Honor award for the office’s Friend Health Family Health and Wellness Center New Headquarters in Chicago.
Storyn Studio of Architecture
In the same category, Storyn Studio of Architecture, a Florida firm, received a Citation award for their Elm Street project in Dallas.
UNBUILT CATEGORY
Hines Architecture + Design
Daimian Hines, principal design architect at Hines Architecture + Design, received an Honor in the Unbuilt Category for the African American Memorial at Bates M. Allen Park in Kendleton, Texas.
NBBJ
The multi-city firm NBBJ received a Citation award for the Montage Health Ohana Center, an in-the-works project in Monterey, California.
SMALL PROJECTS CATEGORY
Storyn Studio of Architecture
In Charlotte, North Carolina, The Salty Charlotte by Storyn Studio of Architecture took home an Honor award in the Small Projects Category. Everald Colas was the architect of record on the project.
Studio Cooke John Architecture and Design
Studio Cooke John Architecture and Design’s Nina Cooke John was recognized for the office’s Shadow of a Face, a monument to Harriet Tubman in Newark, New Jersey.
In the Barbara G. Laurie Student Design Competition, first place was awarded to students from Cornell University for their project, Reclaiming Albina’s Legacy: Carving as a Catalyst for Healing. Nexus by Auburn University students was awarded second place; and Growing Forward: Planting Generational Roots by students from Auburn University received third prize.
