Shedding a Little Light on Award-Winning Interiors

A design awards program calls for entries. Sometime later, winners are announced and a selection of beautiful photographs released. What happens in between those two events? “Interior Excellence: Learning From the 2011 AIA Interior Architecture Honor Awards” saw three members of that program’s jury—John Ronan, AIA, John Ronan Architects; Margaret Kittinger, AIA, Beyer Blinder Belle Architects; and Brian Malarkey, AIA, Kirksey—offer the audience a peek behind the curtain. Each took a turn at the lectern to discuss a handful of the 11 winning projects [http://architectmagazine.stg.zonda.onl/building/aia-honor-awards/2011-interior.aspx], showing photographs and renderings that informed their decisions, the kinds of things the public rarely sees. “We honored the ones that had a concept and stated that concept clearly,” Ronan, the jury chair, said, concluding, “Details matter.”