From the Copper-Hewitt, National Design Museum press release: The National Design Awards were conceived by the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum to honor lasting achievement in American design. The Awards are bestowed in recognition of excellence, innovation, and enhancement of the quality of life. First launched at the White House in 2000 as an official project of the White House Millennium Council, the annual Awards program celebrates design in various disciplines as a vital humanistic tool in shaping the world, and seeks to increase national awareness of the impact of design through education initiatives.

The National Design Awards is one of the few programs of its kind structured to continue to benefit the nation long after the Awards ceremony and gala. A suite of educational programs is offered in conjunction with the Awards during National Design Week, an initiative launched in 2006 that aims to draw national attention to the ways in which design enriches everyday life. The Museum offers free admission, hosts a series of public programs based on the vision and work of the honorees, and helps promote design events held across the country.

Comments from the jury:
This project is scaled perfectly within an urban campus and within a uniquely difficult site. The building not only matches the culture and aspirations of the school but also provides campus connections that had been clearly missing before. The fenestration and zinc exterior skin surprisingly relate beautifully to the campus fabric without being literal.

Perhaps the most wonderful aspect of the project is a set of views and visual connections created by transparent interior glazing, non-reflective exterior glazing as well as carefully placed and angled floor plates.

From the PR Newswire:
The buildings enclose 217,000 square feet of classrooms, offices and laboratories and serve as a crossroads for the campus, with five main entrances on three levels and two major pedestrian bridges.

The project more than doubled the amount of green space that existed on the 5.6-acre site, which previously included parking lots and several buildings. All surface parking was replaced with an underground garage and the new buildings have five green roofs and a winter garden.

The buildings include systems for collecting about half a million gallons of rainwater and snowmelt each year. The use of this gray water for flushing toilets, combined with the installation of low-flow lavatories and low-flush urinals, cut potable water use in half.

The ventilation system uses rotary heat exchangers called enthalpy wheels to limit energy loss. Occupancy sensors help control lighting and office temperatures throughout the buildings.