The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) honored 18 projects for excellence in federal architecture during its biennial Design Awards ceremony at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C. The celebration marks the 15th year of the GSA Design Excellence Program, founded on the "Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture" issued by President Kennedy in 1962.

This year's winners were chosen by a jury of private design, construction, and art professionals chaired by Los Angeles-based architect Mehrdad Yazdani (who was profiled in Contract's February 2009 issue). The jury reviewed more than 8- projects in 13 categories including architecture, preservation, engineering, sustainability, interior design, art, urban design, and construction.

The winners are:

Architecture Honors:
Wayne Lyman Morse U.S. Courthouse in Eugene, Ore., by Morphosis
San Francisco Federal Building, in San Francisco, Calif., by Morphosis

Architecture Citations:
U.S. Courthouse in Springfield, Mass., by Moshe Safdie + Associates
U.S. Land Port of Entry in Raymond, Mont., by Hammond Beeby Rupert Ainge Architects

Architecture—On the Boards Citations:
U.S. Courthouse in Austin, Texas, by Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects
U.S. Land Port of Entry in Donna, Texas, by Hodgetts + Fung Design & Architecture
U.S. Land Port of Entry in Warroad, Minn., by Julie Snow Architects Inc.
U.S. Land Port of Entry in Massena, N.Y., by Smith-Miller + Hawkinson Architects

Lease Construction Citations:
U.S. Courthouse in Alpine, Texas, by PageSoutherlandPage

Modernization Citations:
Byron G. Rogers U.S. Courthouse in Denver, Colo., by Bennett Wagnery & Grody Architects
Richard Bolling Federal Buidling in Kansas City, Mo., by Helix Architecture + Design

Preservation Honor:
U.S. Post Office and Courthouse in Brooklyn, N.Y., by Kliment Halsband Architects

Landscape Architecture Citation:
Anthony J. Celebreeze Federal Building in Cleveland, by OLIN

Sustainabilty Honor:
San Francisco Federal Building in San Francisco

Construction Excellence Honor:
Wayne Lyman Morse U.S. Courthouse in Eugene, Ore.

Art in Architecture Honor:
Wayne Lyman Morse U.S. Courthouse in Eugene, Ore.

Graphic Design/Signage Citations:
Wayne Lyman Morse U.S. Courthouse in Eugene, Ore.
Art in Architecture Book

The winners, writes Anthony E. Costa, acting commissioner, Public Buildings Service, "represent the quality and value the U.S. General Services Administration and the Public Buildings Service (PBS) are committed to as the expert partner in meeting our customers' workspace needs. Our objective...is to deliver excellence and high performance while providing best value to the federal government and the taxpayers.

He goes on to add: "PBS is one of the largest public real estate organizations in the United States. We manage 354 million square feet of workspace for over one million federal employees in 2,200 communities. Within this inventory, we are responsible for maintaining, renovating, restoring, and modernizing 1,500 federally-owned buildings. These facilities must adapt to changing needs; be efficient and functional; contribute to the sustainability of our environment; and provide enduring value to the communities where they are located. They must also make meaningful contributions to the nation’s public architectural heritage, a legacy initiated by George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, Founding Fathers who believed that federal buildings should engender confidence in their government and reflect the nation’s democratic values and ideals."