\u201cThis comprehensive and even-handed overview of new American Architecture for 2017 allows you to witness the enormous diversity in the American practice of architecture today,\u201d said Christian Narkiewicz-Laine, President of The Chicago Athenaeum in a <\/span>press release<\/span><\/a>. \u201cThis year\u2019s selection by the Greek jury was more interested in discussions concerning the problems of the environment, social context, technical and constructive solutions, the responsible use of energies, restoration and adaptive reuse, and the sensitive use of materials and ecology.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Take a look at a few of our Northwest winners:<\/p>\n Photo: <\/span>American Architecture Awards<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Washington Fruit is a family owned and operated company located on volcanic soil in Yakima Valley. The owners wanted a new office headquarters that was light-filled and constructed of warm materials. The lunchroom includes a kitchen and table for 30, providing a gathering space for weekly meals when field staff come in from the orchards. The idea is to encourage the people who grow the fruit to mingle with those who sell it.<\/p>\n Graham Baba Architects used an abandoned wood barn as its single design reference. As the designers described, \u201cIt is imagined as a barn in some state of decay and nature in the process of reclamation. Parts of the simple gable form have been ‘removed’ or lost. In those places glass is exposed and trees and grass are taking over. The structure is ‘exposed’ and expressed as diagonals. Accordingly, columns are sloped and twisted. The outer shell is clad in reclaimed barn wood from nearby sources.\u201d<\/p>\n Photo: <\/span>American Architecture Awards<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n The industrial-looking 1960s era building was originally designed to house a Dr. Pepper bottling plant and later a recycling center. According to Olson Kundig, \u201cThe winery\u2019s second story celebrates Seattle\u2019s aviation history and effectively captures an early 1960s aviation vibe with its original wood floor planks and white tuck-and-roll upholstered perimeter seating; a large Lucite tasting bar on wheels sits center stage with a base painted in 1961 Ford Fairlane blue.\u201d Charles Smith Wines is a treasure of the Georgetown neighborhood and offers wine lovers an opportunity to witness firsthand how grapes are crushed and wine is aged.<\/p>\n Photo: <\/span>American Architecture Awards<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Commissioned by Sound Transit, LMN Architects worked with artist Leo Saul Berk to create a light rail station that expresses the \u201cgeological layers of soil surrounding the station walls.\u201d The project is incredibly convenient for bikers, drivers and pedestrians, and includes a train platform 100 feet underground, accessed via escalators and elevators from a two-level glass entrance structure. As BuzzBuzzNews <\/span>reported<\/span><\/a> last year, the expanding light rail system might change Seattle forever and LMN will have had a hand in that process.<\/span><\/p>\n Photo: <\/span>American Architecture Awards<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n If completed, Minor + Stewart would become two twisting 440-foot-tall towers with roughly 400 residential units set atop a mixed-use podium containing retail, co-working, residential and shared amenity spaces.<\/p>\nWashington Fruit & Produce Co. Headquarters in Yakima by Graham Baba Architects<\/b><\/h2>\n
![\"Fruit-Produce-compressed\"](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Fruit-Produce-compressed.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nCharles Smith Wines Jet City by Olson Kundig<\/b><\/h2>\n
![\"Charles](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Charles-Smith-Wines-compressed.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nUniversity of Washington light rail station in Seattle by LMN Architects<\/b><\/h2>\n
![\"UW](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/UW-Light-Rail-compressed.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nMinor + Stewart, an unbuilt project by WATG Urban Seattle<\/b><\/h2>\n
![\"Steward](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Steward-Minor-compressed.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nHanna Andersson Headquarters in Portland by ZGF Architects<\/b><\/h2>\n
![\"Hanna](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Hanna-Andersson-compressed.jpg\")
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