Click on pictures for enlarged view

Award - Merit

Project - Phillips Corporation

Category - Commercial Architecture

Project Location - Hanover, Maryland

Architects - Alexander Design Studio

Associated Architects -

Owner/Developer - Phillips Corporation

Contractor - Merritt Properties

Photographer(s) - Patrick Ross Photography; Elijah Northen

Jury Comments - This is the kind of project that could easily be a regular office space, but just through thinking about it and analyzing, they were able to elevate it to architecture. We were impressed with the narrative about a machine-quality to the space because that’s the sort of industry they’re working in and that’s what the office is for. A well detailed project. Usually in an office environment there’s a kind of straightforward, normative way of handling the ceiling. It’s often the element that gets the least consideration and here’s a project that emphasizes it to great effect. In this particular office landscape, the ceiling becomes the element that you’re really drawn to. A lot of places that have workshops combined with typical office functions make very strong barriers between them and one of the nice things about this project is the way one is able to understand the machine shop from within the cleaner space and the visual connections between those inner spaces are very rich.