Today, New York State; Tomorrow, the World? Rochester's 250SOUTH Wins AIA NYS Award; PLAN Studio now up for World Architecture Award

Rochester, NY (PRWEB) July 30, 2010

250SOUTH (250 South Avenue, 14607), one of the latest and most unique additions to Rochester's downtown skyline, has been selected by a 2010 American Institute of Architects (AIA) New York State Design Awards jury for a Design Excellence Citation. The award will be presented to Rochester firm, PLAN Architectural Studio, PC (PLAN Studio, http://www.planpc.com), at the AIA NYS Convention on October 15, 2010 in Buffalo, NY.

“This is significant for PLAN Studio and for smaller design firms like ours,” says Mark Pandolf, Principal and Business Director at PLAN Studio. “It's very rare for a project outside of New York City to win a state award, because of the large amount of high-caliber firms located in Manhattan.”

Indeed, of the 40 awards this year, only two other firms from outside of New York City are represented, due to the concentration of high-profile international projects with extraordinarily large budgets that are submitted each year by NYC firms. Other 2010 AIA NYS Design Awards include the Empire State Building Lobby Restoration and Beacon Theatre in NYC, Songdo First World Towers in South Korea and Jianfu Palace Museum and Visitors Centre in Beijing.

250SOUTH, a mixed-use redesign of an abandoned warehouse, was previously cited for a Rochester AIA Design Excellence Award as well as a National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) Award of Excellence. It will also compete in the 2010 World Architecture Festival (WAF) in Barcelona, Spain, in the New and Old Category (for adaptive re-use projects), and was recently selected by WAF Program Director Paul Finch as a "Pick of the Day," a lead-in promotional feature for the festival.

With thousands of entries from more than 80 countries, the WAF organizes the largest architectural awards program in the world and is designed to celebrate and showcase the work of the international architectural community. Unlike other award competitions, the WAF Awards are unique in that they involve short-listed architects presenting their projects live to a star-studded, international judging panel.

“Just to be participating in such an event is incredible," explains Christopher Lopez, Principal and Design Director at PLAN Studio. "We will be rubbing elbows with and competing against some of the most respected architects in the world."

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