The staff of Payette; Image: Warren Jagger
By Kira Gould, Allied AIA
Congratulations to Payette on receiving the AIA Architecture Firm Award for 2019. Payette’s nomination for this award was supported by both AIA Committee on the Environment and AIA Committee on Design -- the first time that these two Knowledge Communities co-nominated a firm for this honor. And it was a natural fit for both: Payette has carved a unique leadership position by defining design excellence and building performance as one and the same.
George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health; winner of the AIA COTE® Top Ten Award (2017) and AIA Interior Architecture Award (2017); Image: Robert Benson
Z Smith, FAIA, of Eskew+Dumez+Ripple (which earned this honor in 2014), gave these remarks to the AIA Board of Directors and Strategic Council in support of Payette: “Our profession faces two great challenges: One, to attract, cultivate, and advance a pool of talent as diverse as our nation, and two, to transform design such that buildings, instead of being the single largest contributors to climate change, become part of the solution. Payette is at the forefront of both challenges. They, more than any other firm, can serve as an example for every practice in the AIA.”
National University of Ireland, Galway, Biosciences Research Building; winner of the AIA COTE® Top Ten Award (2016); Image: Warren Jagger
Smith added: “Each successive year, as the number of design awards has piled up, the energy use of their buildings has been reduced. And despite the fact that they work with building types that are typically the most intense users of energy, Payette, as a long-term participant in the AIA 2030 Commitment, has shown portfolio performance far better than the average of all reporting firms. Payette has established itself as a leader among firms who do not design ‘by the numbers,’ but design with the numbers. Their approach is one that many firms, my own included, have taken to heart for all building types.”
ARCHITECT magazine covered the honor in its December issue and Payette will be recognized at A’19, the AIA Conference on Architecture.