Perkins+Will San Francisco Earns Industry Acclaim For 'Lab Of The Year', Work In Sustainability And Progressive Architecture

SAN FRANCISCO, April 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The San Francisco office of leading global architecture and design firm Perkins+Will recently took home three prestigious awards for their design work. The awards include Lab of the Year from R&D Magazine for their CREATE project, the Acterra Award for Sustainability, and the Progressive Architecture Award from Architect Magazine for the Calexico West Land Port of Entry project.

"These awards are a testament to the firm's forward-thinking use of creative solutions in all of our project work," said Peter Busby, Managing Director of the Perkins+Will San Francisco office. "The Calexico and CREATE projects are stunning examples of what our firm is capable of and the Acterra Award exemplifies our commitment to sustainability — which is at the core of what our company stands for."

Now in its 47^th year, R&D Magazine's Laboratory of the Year Award recognizes excellence in research laboratory design, planning and construction. Perkins+Will designed the Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) in Singapore and was named the 2013 recipient of this award for the project's boundary-pushing lab design and its commitment to exploring and discovering new sustainable technologies. The mixed-use facility includes office space along with a variety of lab types supporting research in health systems, urban systems, energy systems, environmental systems, and basic sciences. The four-building, 70,000-square-meter campus is intended to support the work of 1,200 researchers from 45 different countries. Current participants include the National University of Singapore, MIT, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, the Technical University of Munich, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, UC-Berkeley, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Ben-Gurion University, Peking University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Cambridge University.  

The Progressive Architecture Awards recognize unbuilt projects that demonstrate overall design excellence and innovation. For the 60^th anniversary, the selected projects demonstrated how programming and pragmatism can improve lives. The Calexico West Land Port of Entry, which connects Calexico with Mexicali, Mexico, accomplished this with design elements that improved the border-crossing experience for both pedestrians and drivers who cross on a daily basis, thoughtfully addressing the challenges and needs of both pedestrian and vehicular traffic. The design incorporates expansive canopies and a pavilion inspection space, which provide much-needed shade in the hot desert climate and include design elements that draw inspiration from the station's natural surroundings. The design also achieves necessary privacy and security and organizes heavy volumes of traffic without creating an unsightly parking-lot effect.

Perkins+Will's San Francisco office was recognized for its commitment to sustainability with the 2013 Acterra Business Environmental Awards. Led by Managing Director Peter Busby, the office's portfolio includes two projects tracking the Living Building Challenge, 11 LEED Platinum buildings, and dozens of other LEED certified and registered projects. Sustainability is the driving force behind the practice, and the office's environmental stewardship extends beyond its portfolio and deeply into its operations. Already certified as a San Francisco Green Business, Perkins+Will is driving toward becoming a carbon-positive organization. The office's approach to sustainability is a holistic one, blurring the lines between the disciplines of urban design, architecture, interior design, and engineering. In addition to Busby, the staff includes experts in various aspects of green design — building on the innovation and thought leadership of the firm as a whole, currently manifest in widely available tools like the Transparency Website (http://transparency.perkinswill.com/) and the 2030 Challenge Calculator (http://2030e2.perkinswill.com/).

About Perkins+Will
Established in 1935, Perkins+Will is a global multidisciplinary architecture and design firm founded on the belief that design has the power to transform lives and enhance society. With a staff of 1,500 in 22 locations worldwide, the firm serves clients across a broad range of project types, grounding its work in deep research. Perkins+Will ranks among the world's top design firms and is the recipient of hundreds of awards. Social responsibility is fundamental to the firm's outlook, work, and culture, and every year Perkins+Will donates one percent of its design services to non-profit organizations. With pioneering tools to advance sustainable design practices, the largest green building portfolio in North America, nearly 1,000 LEED® Accredited Professionals, and a commitment to the 2030 Challenge, Perkins+Will is recognized as one of the industry's preeminent sustainable design firms. For more information, visit www.perkinswill.com.

The Perkins+Will San Francisco office has a distinguished history and portfolio of award-winning Architecture, Interiors, and Urban Design projects across the region, nation, and world. Having designed some of the Bay Area's most transformative projects, it is known for creativity, invention, a collaborative style, and a knowledge-based practice. Its projects build community, enrich education and research, invigorate campuses, waterfronts and urban districts, and return former icons to glory. For more information, visit: http://www.perkinswill.com/offices/san-francisco.html.

SOURCE Perkins+Will