GSA Blog

Creative federal projects celebrated during GSA design awards

Federal buildings are more than just brick and mortar symbols of the government. They act as economic catalysts in communities across the nation, providing jobs, vitality and public space for the American people.

Last week, GSA and its partners honored 18 federal projects that represented the agency’s best contributions in the fields of architecture and arts at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC. The ceremony also formally introduced a new category, known as the 10 Year Award. Projects substantially completed between January 1, 1995 and December 31, 2005, were eligible for consideration in this category, and the inaugural winners demonstrated the relationship between excellent design and long-term community improvement. Jurors selected Boston’s John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse and the Lloyd D. George United States Courthouse in Las Vegas as winners, praising how each building disrupted traditional judicial architecture and acted as a catalyst for local economic development.

To mark the launch of the 10 Year Award, Stephen Breyer, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, delivered the keynote address of the awards presentation. His speech recounted the original design process of the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse, which took place while he served as Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Justice Breyer also celebrated GSA’s continued commitment to quality in public buildings, stating that federal workplaces must benefit citizens and encourage their participation in democracy.

The GSA Design Awards has taken place biennially since 1990. Its Honor Awards and Citations recognize the federal employees, as well as the private sector architects, engineers, landscape architects, urban designers, interior designers, artists, conservationists, and preservationists whose exemplary work benefits the federal civilian workforce and American people.

Below is a complete list of the 2016 GSA Design Awards:

• John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse, Boston (10 Year Award)
• Lloyd D. George United States Courthouse, Las Vegas (10 Year Award)
• United States Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington, DC (Honor Award–Planning)
• Mariposa Land Port of Entry, Nogales, Arizona (Honor Award–Architecture)
• United States Courthouse Annex, Salt Lake City (Honor Awards–Architecture, Interiors)
• United States Courthouse, Los Angeles (Honor Award–On the Boards)
• Social Security Administration National Support Center, Urbana, Maryland (Honor Award–Engineering)
• Clara Barton Apartment, Washington, DC (Honor Award–Preservation)
• New Deal Easel Paintings, Washington, DC (Honor Award–Conservation)
• Suspended Light Pillars, United States Courthouse Annex, Salt Lake City (Honor Award–Art)
• United States Land Port of Entry, San Ysidro, California (Citation–Planning)
• United States Courthouse, Cedar Rapids, Iowa (Citation–Architecture)
• B.H. Whipple Federal Building, Fort Snelling, Minnesota (Citation–Engineering)
• United States Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington, DC (Citation–Landscape)
• One World Trade Center, New York (Citation–Workplace)
• Conrad B. Duberstein U.S. Bankruptcy Courthouse, Brooklyn, New York (Citation–Preservation)
• Birch Bayh Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, Indianapolis (Citations–Preservation, Conservation)
• St. Elizabeths Campus, Washington, DC (Citation–Construction)
• Planar Pavilion, Denver Federal Center, Lakewood, Colorado (Citation–Art)
• Number 123, Mickey Leland Federal Building, Houston (Citation–Art)

To learn why these projects were honored at this year’s GSA Design Award, take a look at the e-book [PDF - 5 MB], which includes detailed descriptions of each project.