Cannon HQ Wins International Acclaim

Cannon Design's  Downtown St. Louis headquarters, already the recipient of 15 awards, has received the prestigious 2010 International Architecture Award.

The Power House Restoration/Renovation Project has been recognized with this award by the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.

Selected from hundreds of submissions from over 45 countries worldwide, this year's International Architecture Award winners represented the largest cross-section of building types by the world's most visionary architects and design firms.

The International Architectural Awards are the highest and most distinguished building awards that honor new and cutting-edge design. The Museum received a record number of projects for new buildings and landscape and urban planning design from the most important firms practicing globally. Selected this year by a jury in Mexico City, the annual program promotes international architecture and design to a global audience.

With 15 design awards under its belt, including the AIA Central States Honor Award, the Society of American Registered Architects' National Award of Merit, the Interiors Award for Sustainable Design from Contract magazine, the Citation of Excellence/Green Facilities award from Buildings magazine, an Award of Merit from Interior Design magazine's Best of 2009, in addition to numerous other professional and regional awards, the Power House continues to be recognized by the industry. CNR presented the building with a Regional Excellence award in 2009.

In November 2010, The Chicago Athenaeum, together with The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies, will present a special exhibition of all awarded buildings at the annual symposium, "The City and the World" in Madrid, Spain. The Symposium dates are November 4-7, 2010. After Spain, the exhibition will then travel inside Europe.

The Power House team, led by David Polzin, Design Principal, and Tom Bergmann, Project Principal, included these Cannon Design members: Lynn Grossman, Design Architect; Kristy Piasecki, Project Architect; Gerry Williams, Commissioning; Joe Scott, Fire Protection Design; Phil Zimmer, Plumbing Design; and Scott Immer, Information Technology.

Acquired in 2007 by Cannon Design, the historic Power House was in serious decay due to a 25-year vacancy. The Power House's exterior shell and original structural steel were fundamentally sound, but use for a large, thriving design practice required significant imagination and rigorous design analysis. The landmark Revival Style exterior was fully restored, and every component of the building's interior is designed to current life-safety codes and standards for environmental sustainability.

Having a relatively small "footprint" but a massive volume offered the opportunity for the addition of new floors to accommodate Cannon Design's continuing growth. The concept of mezzanines preserved the spectacular arched windows on the north and east elevations and provides gallery space for special events.
Built in 1923, designed by Study and Farrar, and funded by an $87 million bond issue, the entire Municipal Service Building complex, of which the Municipal Power House is a part, is listed on the National Historic Register as locally significant for Community Planning and Development. Engineering News Record wrote at the time, "This is the largest, most varied and best planned program of municipal improvements ever attempted by an American city."

Until circa 1980, the Power House provided coal-fired steam heat to a dozen downtown city buildings, including the Civil and Municipal Courts, Kiel Opera and City Hall. Kiel benefited in the summer by further engineering for the largest steam-jet cooling system in the U.S. at the time.

Columns