Communication

2016 will be the year of communication. We will strive harder than ever to communicate our value as architects and designers to the general public around us. We have increased the awareness to many of what we have to offer, though there is still much ground to make up, and many, many more to reach. We will meet our clients on their terms and listen to their wants, needs and goals. We will bring awareness to those who don’t know we exist by being present in unexpected places, offering a glimpse that will lead to their wanting to know more about our profession. We will learn how to communicate in such a way that speaks universally of quality in the places we call home.

We will communicate to our profession the value of the AIA as an organization. We will listen to our peers as they speak of our shortcomings and areas we need to improve, and we will act. We will communicate with our young emerging professionals, letting them know what our organization does for them and how they can find their place with our support. We will learn how to communicate with those who are just beginning their architectural careers or education by understanding what it is that makes them unique, and so perfectly suited to elevate our profession to new heights. We will also communicate with our experienced colleagues who have so much to offer through countless lessons learned throughout their careers.

By communicating visually through examples of our work, we can expand our reach to vast numbers of potential clients, supporters and future architects who will gain understanding of the important roles architects serve in the places we live, work and play. We will have entertaining and informative opportunities to truly socialize with one another, and provide venues and events that will encourage coming together and building community. We will communicate with others within the profession, our schools, and other chapters by exchanging ideas and resources. We will occasionally get up from our desks, from behind our computer screens, and become active participants in our communities. What an immensely exciting time to be living and practicing in the cities that make up our Chapter and State!

We will communicate with our supporters and let them know how much we appreciate them. The successful programs we run, and are now taking statewide, are due in large part to their continued support over the years. We will also communicate to new potential donors the outreach we provide through our programs and how they can help advance our mission.

2016 will be an exciting year, and I am grateful and honored to be the Chapter President. It would be foolish to think that a small group can accomplish the things outlined above and continue to toe the line that others started to move in years past. This excitement comes with a need to increase our numbers, embrace new ideas and strive to strengthen and grow our footprint. Therefore, I’m excited to see our numbers grow, our participants increase and our message get out into the surrounding communities, cities and statewide. I look forward to hearing each of your thoughts, ideas, and challenges and I look forward to seeing and communicating with each of you at our upcoming events.

Thank you so very much for your passion and dedication to our profession!

Humbly,

Bill Segrest, AIA
2016 AIA Birmingham President

This appears in the AIA Birmingham January 2016 newsletter found here →

2016 AIA Alabama Design Awards

WBA was honored to take home two awards from the AIA Alabama Design Awards Ceremony. 

“The Alabama Council’s Design Awards Program encourages excellence in architecture through the commentary of our colleagues. From a group of statewide entries, the jury awarded a Honor Award, four Awards of Merit, two Honorable Mention Awards.”

— AIA Birmingham

Homewood Board of Education

• Merit Award

The new home for the Homewood Board of Education Central Office is the first phase of a 24-acre development plan for the Homewood School System. The New Central Office provides for the programmatic needs of the Homewood City Schools administrative staff which includes offices, conference rooms, and meeting rooms for professional development and public events.

The building is conceived as a “garden pavilion” integrated with the site, intended to mediate between public and private, man-made and natural. Sited to create synergy between the Central Office, Middle School, Community Garden and the adjacent residential neighborhood, the building is nestled behind a line of pine trees with a cantilevered porch roof extending just beyond the pines. With pavilion as precedent, the roof is accentuated in the form of a kite inspired by the social history of the site; fondly known as “Kite Hill”. The north façade - the public face of the building,is a solid “garden wall” with punched openings at offices. The private south façade provides a sense of immersion in the landscape, dematerializing from stone to glass to provide views of an existing stand of pine trees.

Cahaba Brewing Company

• Merit Award

Located on 5th Avenue South in the historic 1925 Continental Gin Building complex, Cahaba Brewery & Taproom occupies 21,000 SF of their renovated 50,000 SF space.

A controlled material palette and priority on craft was leveraged in the creation of a memorable atmosphere unique among Alabama’s breweries. Custom tables and chairs made from reclaimed wood provide customers with various seating options and breaks up the expansive space. The overhead doors are often opened in the evenings allowing patrons to overflow onto the patio. Use of natural light from the monitor windows gives the reclaimed pine walls a radiance in the afternoons, highlights the existing steel structure all while providing the brewers and customers with adequate light.

The brew house was custom made in Wisconsin and is the only American-made brew house being used in Alabama. The brew house is treated as an art piece framed by steel and reclaimed wood.  Butt jointed glass allows customers an uninterrupted view into the production of their beer and a literal window into the building’s industrial past.

Moving in

The employees at Lewis Communication have officially begun the move in process to their new offices downtown. The four story building plus roof top  area will be used by their 60 employees here in Birmingham.

“The building, which has previously served as First Federal Savings and Loan and The New City Church, now includes office space, meeting rooms, a production studio, and many other amenities for the Lewis employees.”

— Birmingham Business Journal

Bikes in the Lobby

WBA has recently installed two bicycle racks in the lobby under the stairs. These racks are available for employees to use throughout the day to secure their personal bicycles. In addition, there are also bicycles available to borrow for quick trips around town.

SUBCONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION OF ALABAMA 2015 Architect of the Year

Joel Blackstock, architect of the year

Congratulations Joel Blackstock for receiving the Subcontractors Association of Alabama 2015 Architect of the Year. Joel accepted the award at the annual SubAla Awards Banquet at The Club in Birmingham. The event recognizes members of the construction industry in Alabama.

Learning by Design Magazine Award for Outstanding Project — University of Alabama Student Center at Presidential Village

WBA is honored to be acknowledged by Learning by Design Magazine for our work in the University of Alabama Student Center at Presidential Village.

“Designers were careful to blend the architectural style with the classic Alabama campus vernacular, using strong 2-story columns as a familiar welcome mat. Inside, the building’s transparency, finishes and furniture offer a clean, fresh, contemporary feel.”

— Learning by Design Magazine

University of Alabama Student Center at Presidential Village

• Award of Excellence

On the north bluff of the University of Alabama campus, the new Student Center at Presidential Village rises over the Black Warrior River with grand columns befitting the classical style of the traditional campus core. Situated at the center of a residential village for thousands of students, this multi-purpose facility provides an engaging hub for student activity.

A classical exterior of striking brick and precast concrete wraps a modern interior volume of varied recreation spaces. The vast, transparent gymnasium, workout spaces, and grand patio share the dramatic view of the river activity beyond the tree-line, and provide inspiration in a setting that promotes wellness and a memorable, fit student experience.

The building also incorporates the rowing team’s training facilities, an administrative program, and a food service venue, all sitting atop a robust and well disguised, yet easily accessible, storm shelter for the protection of the entire village.

A central, skylight capped atrium, with a 40 foot tall climbing wall and freestanding tower, are connected along a grand organizing spine that provides transparency and a flood of natural light throughout the facility. From the two story entry hall to the huge covered patio, the interior palette of exposed concrete, glass, and steel define an engaging juxtaposition of sturdy monumental spaces with a sculptural core.  

Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum announces 84,000-square-foot expansion

WBA is excited to be a part of the major expansion at Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum. The expansion will create a total of 250,000 square feet of museum space.

“This expansion will help keep us as the benchmark for motorcycle collections worldwide, people visit Birmingham from all over the world to see this museum and its collection, and we want to continue to ‘wow’ them with what they see. With programs and events like the Porsche Sport Driving School, the Mercedes‐Benz Brand Immersion Program, the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama and the Triumph Superbike Challenge, it’s important that we always present an impeccable image for our sponsors and fans.”

— George Barber

2015 AIA Birmingham Design Awards

“ A jury composed of four New York City architects judged all 53 entries based on clarity of construction, regional vernacular, structural logic, honesty and restraint, thoughtful detail, consistency, spatially thoughtful floor plans and sustainability.”

— AIA Birmingham

Taylor + Miree Construction

• Honor Award

The design of Taylor + Miree Construction’s new office fits into the fabric of the small town community in a sensitive manner that highlights the skill and craftsmanship of the construction company. The project scope was to design a 5,385-square-foot building in a zero lot line within a “main street” setting to reinforce the scale and quality of the community and streetscape.

The exterior is designed with a finely articulated limestone and brick façade with a slate roof that respond to details found on neighboring buildings. Large picture windows reach out to the community to outwardly convey the culture of the company as well as to display their work and activity inside. The gabled structure at the front lobby and conference space creates a dramatic sense of arrival through the use of exposed steel trusses and wood decking.

On axis with the front entrance as one moves deeper into the building is a clerestory lit, central collaborative work space with community work tables for reviewing plans with exposed steel structure and wood. This collaborative work space is surrounded by offices with glass fronts where natural light is softly filtered into the offices from the central clerestory because the zero lot line siting limits the opportunity for windows into each office.

The interior design is punctuated with recycled wood throughout to provide a warm interior space and promote the sustainable design approach. The central community work space opens on axis to an outdoor deck for dining and gathering. The grade drops from the front of the building, allowing a covered parking garage to be tucked up under the building and the entire footprint of the site to be fully utilized for office space above.

Homewood Board of Education

• Merit Award

The new home for the Homewood Board of Education Central Office is the first phase of a 24-acre development plan for the Homewood School System. The New Central Office provides for the programmatic needs of the Homewood City Schools administrative staff which includes offices, conference rooms, and meeting rooms for professional development and public events.

The building is conceived as a “garden pavilion” integrated with the site, intended to mediate between public and private, man-made and natural. Sited to create synergy between the Central Office, Middle School, Community Garden and the adjacent residential neighborhood, the building is nestled behind a line of pine trees with a cantilevered porch roof extending just beyond the pines. With pavilion as precedent, the roof is accentuated in the form of a kite inspired by the social history of the site; fondly known as “Kite Hill”. The north façade - the public face of the building,is a solid “garden wall” with punched openings at offices. The private south façade provides a sense of immersion in the landscape, dematerializing from stone to glass to provide views of an existing stand of pine trees.

Homewood Board of Education kite roof

Pac-Clad Petersen details the installation of their Snap-Clad Panels in lengths of up to sixty feet on the roof of Homewood Board of Education. The roof resembles a kite after the site it sits on, "kite hill."

Homewood Board of Education

The new home for the Homewood Board of Education Central Office in Alabama is a 14,500 sq. ft. modern structure which represents the first phase of a long-term plan to develop a 24 acre site in a suburb of Birmingham.

The contemporary structure was designed by Williams Blackstock Architects, Birmingham. “The roof design was inspired by the site it sits on which was known as Kite Hill,” said architect Kyle Kirkwood. “It’s a spot where kids and parents came to fly kites. The roof, which slopes in two different directions, is representative of the popular site.”