Press Release
Stair House by William Price Receives the A' Design Award in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
The international grand jury of the 2022 - 2023 A' Design Award & Competition recognizes William Price for architecture, building and structure design
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 20, 2023 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Stair House by William Price, designed for Billl Price, has been granted the A' Design Award in the Architecture, Building and Structure Design category. The result belongs to the 2022 - 2023 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who scored anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
The A' Design Award Explained
The Iron A' Design Award is awarded to good designs that meet the rigorous professional and industrial standards set by the A' Design Awards. This recognition is reserved for works that demonstrate a solid understanding of design principles and show creativity within their execution. Recipients of the Iron A' Design Award are acknowledged for their practical innovations and contributions to their respective fields, providing solutions that improve quality of life and foster positive change. These designs are a testament to the skill and dedication of their creators, showcasing their ability to address real-world challenges through thoughtful design.
About Stair House
This project challenges the residential design status quo, emphasizing the incorporation of environmental and cultural sustainability into its core principles. Through the reinterpretation of an existing typology, it expands the boundaries of what is possible within a narrow urban infill lot. The use of sustainable materials, deep planter guard rails, and covered outdoor patios encourage a connection with nature and cross-ventilation. The house is a reflection of how the relationship with nature and one another is evolving in the context of urban living.
About William Price
Bill Prices career has spanned three decades, during which time he has practiced and produced work in eleven different countries. He has practiced professionally in Switzerland and in the Netherlands where he spent four years with OMA/Rem Koolhaas. There he acted as Research and Development Director and saw the Villa Bordeaux (Time Magazine called this house the most important private residence of the twentieth century”) through to completion. Recently Bill collaborated with Ai WeiWei in China. Ai WeiWei also picked Bills work to be included in Phaidons 10 by 10_3 Monograph. He is founding principal of three companies and is based in Houston, Texas USA.
Award Record
William Price is a winner of 2 A' Design Awards, including this recognition. The awards were granted between the 2021 - 2022 and the 2022 - 2023 editions of the A' Design Award & Competition.
About the A' Architecture, Building and Structure Design Award
The A' Architecture Design Award is an international architectural design competition recognizing good architectural designs by best architects worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to architectural design studios, building contractors, structural engineering firms and architecture and design consultants from all countries. Typical entries include skyscrapers, museums, residential buildings, commercial complexes, educational institutions and religious structures. The awarded architectural projects are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/architecture
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/137738
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/137738
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!137738
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/318228
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Stair House
- Function
- House
- Category
- Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture
- Colors
- Dark Slate Gray, Black, Dim Gray, Dark Olive Green and Light Steel Blue
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Billl Price
The Recognition
- Laureate
- William Price
- Country
- United States of America
- Recognition
- A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2022 - 2023
- Design ID
- #137738
Credits
- Image Credits
- courtesy of Bill Price and Photographer Ben Hill, editing by Alan Jauregui, 2022; courtesy of Bill Price and Photographer, 2022; courtesy of Photogrpaher Bill Price, 2021
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- The project challenges the limited ways of thinking about residential design today as it relates to environmentally and culturally sustainable solutions. Under the umbrella of cultural and environmental sustainability, the house attempts to reinterpret an existing typology and provoke thought regarding how our relationship with nature and living with one another will evolve as we live longer in cities.
- Inspiration
- The Stair House draws inspiration from the traditional Dog Trot Houses located in the southern United States. The incorporation of breezeways in these houses promoted the circulation of air, which has been adapted into the Stair House design, both horizontally and vertically. Furthermore, the project takes inspiration from Spanish Colonial houses in the south that utilize porches to provide deep shade, protection from rain, and stairs to mitigate the challenges of second-floor living and being elevated off the ground.
- Research
- The Project attempts to bring together the best of the Dog Trot and Spanish Colonial houses while in essence bypassing their limitations. It is a living space that seizes upon the positive attributes of typology radically modified in light of the overriding and timely concerns of our time.
- Challenge
- The creative challenge of the project centered around providing a comfortable living space with an emphasis on outdoor living, nature, air, and sunlight, all within the constraints of a narrow urban infill lot in Downtown, Houston Texas. The design incorporated open floor plans and large elevations of glass to maximize natural light. The three levels of the house feature covered outdoor patios, operable windows, and planter guard rails to promote cross-ventilation and a connection to nature. The use of deep planters on the patios added a lush, green element to the outdoor spaces and created a sense of privacy and intimacy.
- Realization and Technology
- The project is conceived as two volumes stacked atop one another. Each is made accessible to the other using three types of stairs. A tapered straight-run stair takes you from the street to the second level, a spiral stair takes you from the ground floor courtyard to the roof and a kickback stair takes you from the ground floor to the third floor. The lower volume is enclosed, released, and partitioned by a series of transparent and opaque walls. They move from the interior to the exterior, where they hold and gather nature, making it available to the interior.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in January 2014 and finished in July 2018. Stair House is in the Lower Heights neighborhood of Downtown Houston, Texas. It is situated to the south of the White Oak Bayou and to the north of the rail line to Chaney Junction. Contextually the site is bound by the edge of an industrial zone to the south and the Olivewood Cemetery to the East with two and three-story residential development to the west. The Olivewood Cemetery marks where the First and Sixth Wards meet. It is a resting place for freed slaves and is the first African American cemetery in the Houston city limits.
- Specifications
- This 3-story 3000 sq ft house sits on a 30ft by 100ft lot. The structure has wood framing and steel moment frames, and the walls are 30% recycled corrugated galvalume with insulated operable windows. The roof is waterproofed with TPO and has rigid and batt insulation. Outdoor patios have deep planter guard rails, and 3 types of stairs provide vertical circulation: circular, kick back, and tapered straight-run.
- Keywords
- Nature, Green, House, Stair, Typology, Metal
