Perkins+Will's Peter Busby, Design Director For Two Award Winning Projects

SAN FRANCISCO, June 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The San Francisco office of leading global architecture and design firm Perkins+Will, today announced that Managing Director Peter Busby, C.M., AIA, FRAIC, LEED AP, led the design of two projects that won awards this May. The first award highlights his sustainability leadership while the second honors the work he did with a team of designers from Perkins+Will's Seattle office. Busby earned the 2013 laureate of the International Green Roof Association (IGRA) Green Roof Leadership Award in the Green Roof Projects category for the VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre. He was also the Design Principal, working with a team from the Seattle office, on the University of Washington Husky Union Building (HUB) renovation that was honored with a Civic Design Award from the American Institute of Architects Washington Chapter (AIA/WA). 

"I am very honored that the IGRA recognized all of the planning and dedication that went into the VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre," said Busby. "We are very proud of the fact that this building is designed to exceed LEED Platinum and is pursuing the Living Building Challenge. I am also very pleased to have been able to offer my expertise in the design of the HUB and am gratified that the AIA/WA has chosen to highlight that project."

The IGRA Green Roof Leadership Award was first presented in 2005, the award recognizes outstanding examples of Green Roof architecture and initiatives around the world. This type of recognition should be a signal for architects, landscape architects, city planners, municipal staff, and developers to explore new ideas for green spaces off the beaten track. This award recognized Peter Busby as the architect on the project and Cornelia Hahn Oberlander as the landscape architect.

The VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre creates a harmonious balance between architecture and landscape- from both a visual and an ecological perspective. The project is organized into undulating green roof 'petals' that float above rammed earth and concrete walls. The petals and stems are connected by a vegetated land ramp that links the roof to the ground, encouraging use by local wildlife. The Visitor Centre uses on-site renewable sources - geothermal boreholes, solar photovoltaics, and solar hot water tubes - to achieve net-zero energy on an annual basis.

The Civic Design Awards are given to publicly funded projects designed in the last five years. The AIA/WA's goal for the awards is to encourage those public organizations that strive to ensure design excellence in their projects. The award honored both Perkins+Will and the firm's client, the University of Washington for the HUB project that was one of 15 projects in the built category to be recognized.

Completed after a five-year design and construction process, this latest reincarnation of the HUB, which serves as a focus of student life at the University of Washington, is a forward-thinking, contemporary facility and a true embodiment of what a 21^st century student center should be.

This project is the most extensive renovation since the original construction of the HUB in 1948-49 and seamlessly bridges the university's past, present, and future by blending elements of the original HUB with new design. The project's designers were able to preserve half of the building's more than 60-year-old superstructure and expand upon the existing building to create a more spacious, connected, accessible, and inviting building than its predecessor. In so doing, the new HUB serves as a model of how colleges and universities across the country can repurpose existing buildings to better meet the needs of current and future students.

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 on the San Francisco office, please visit http://www.perkinswill.com/offices/san-francisco.html.

About Perkins+Will

Established in 1935, Perkins+Will is a global interdisciplinary 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 and grounds 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.

SOURCE Perkins+Will