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Designight Honor Award winners

Law firm Baker & McKenzie's new offices at 300 E. Randolph St. in Chicago won an Honor Award for Interior Architecture in the Distinguished Building category in the AIA Chicago 2012 Design Excellence Awards, which will be presented Oct. 26 at Navy Pier. Architect: Goettsch Partners. "Jurors called this project a 'well-studied homage to modernism' whose 'level of originality is refreshing,'' said Chicago Architect, the AIA Chicago magazine. Photo: Chris Barrett, Chris Barrett Photography

Facebook Prineville Data Center in Prineville, Ore., won an Honor Award for SustainABILITY Leadership. Architect: Sheehan Partners Ltd. The 300,000-square-foot facility includes "a specially designed cooling system that makes the data center one of the most energy-efficient facilities in the world," said Chicago Architect. Photo: Jonnu Singleton, Jonnu Singleton Photography

Pritzker Realty Group's offices at 300 N. LaSalle St. won an Honor Award in Interior Architecture. Architect: Perkins & Will. "The designers organized the space to maximize views across the interior, to showcase stunning city views and to exude a feeling of gracious hospitality," Chicago Architect said. The magazine added that "Large glass sliding doors, glass office fronts and the attentive incorporation of art pieces together make 'an elegant composition,' one (juror) said." Photo: Steve Hall, Hedrich Blessing

Investment bank River Branch Holdings LLC's offices at 300 N. LaSalle St. won an Honor Award in Interior Architecture. Architect: Robbins Architecture Inc. The head of River Branch "felt its 4,000 square feet of space lined with 100 feet of glass offered a chance to relate directly with the river, and charged the designers with capturing that experience," Chicago Architect said. Photo: Steve Hall, Hedrich Blessing

S. N. Shure Theater at 5800 W. Touhy Ave. in north suburban Niles won an Honor Award in Interior Architecture. Architect: Krueck & Sexton Architects. From Chicago Architect magazine: "'A lot of what's successful about it is unseen, or at least not something you'd notice,' a juror said." Photo: William Zbaren, William Zbaren Photography

The Rocker at Poly Corp. headquarters in Beijing won an Honor Award for Divine Detail. Architect: Skidmore Owings & Merrill LLP. The feature is "a boldly engineered device that resolved the complex structural forces of a dramatically suspended eight-story, lantern-like museum and the world's largest cable-net curtain wall," writes Chicago Architect. Photo: Tim Griffith, Tim Griffith Photography

Inspiration Kitchens, 3504 W. Lake St. in Chicago, won an Honor Award for SustainABILITY Leadership. Architect: Wheeler Kearns Architects. "Energy efficiency was improved by using spray foam insulation to make the existing masonry walls and roof air-tight; and thermally superior acoustic windows and skylights replaced the existing non-insulated units. Solar thermal panels were placed on both of the south-facing slopes of the roof and supply 7 percent of the building's energy needs," according to Chicago Architect magazine, which says the building is home to a restaurant that provides 3,000 subsidized meals a year for working poor families and market-price meals to the public. Photo: Steve Hall, Hedrich Blessing

The Poetry Foundation building, 61 W. Superior St., won an Honor Award in the Interior Architecture category. Architect: John Ronan Architects. "Walking through the sequential spaces from outdoors through an enclosed garden to indoors captures the experience of piercing and apprehending a writer's creation," according to the jurors, wrote Chicago Architect. Photo: Steve Hall, Hedrich Blessing

The Poetry Foundation's building at 61 W. Superior St. in Chicago won an Honor Award. Architect: John Ronan Architects. "The building proceeds much like a reader's growing comprehension of a poem. It begins with a finely crafted, inviting exterior and draws visitors in through a beautifully rendered garden, and beyond into an interior filled with light," writes Chicago Architect. Photo: Steve Hall, Hedrich Blessing

Universidade Agostinho Neto in Luanda, Angola, won an Honor Award in the Distinguished Building category. Architect: Perkins & Will. The first phase of the campus for the country's biggest university comprises a library and several classroom buildings, according to Chicago Architect. Photo: James Steinkamp, Steinkamp Photography

Peace Corner Youth Center at 5022 W. Madison St. in Chicago won an Honor Award for Interior Architecture. Architect: Lothan Van Hook DeStefano Architects. Says Chicago Architect: "The project was conceived as an inexpensive and fast-to-build construction effort to fill an urgent need. At the same time, it needed to exude a sense of stability and comfort, which jurors felt come from the use of color in the polycarbonate and the openness of the abundant glass." Photo: Barbara Karant, Karant & Associates Inc.

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