PageSoutherlandPage Receives Texas Society of Architects' 2009 Architecture Firm Award
Selection was based on three areas of achievement: exemplary design, practice and personal development, and professional and community involvement
(11/23/2009)
Posted by: Chris Gaerig, Online Editor
PageSoutherlandPage (PSP) has won the Texas Society of Architects' 2009 Architecture Firm Award, the highest honor bestowed upon a Texas architecture practice. The award recognizes one firm that has consistently produced distinguished architecture in the state for at least 10 years. PSP received the honor last month in conjunction with the TSA's 70th Annual Convention and Expo in Houston.
Selection was based on three areas of achievement: exemplary design, practice and personal development, and professional and community involvement. According to Jeannette Allison, governance manager for the Society, "Design was a factor, but the awards committee also asked, 'How do they support their employees? Do they allow volunteer service?' Internships and mentoring are part of PSP's culture, and that's what the committee was looking for."
PSP has contributed to the transformation of Austin's urban core with such projects as the Austin Convention Center and its expansion, the Computer Sciences Corporation complex, and the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. In downtown Houston, PSP has designed 10 adaptive reuse projects, including the Rice Hotel renovation and the architecture at Discovery Green park. Business Week and Architectural Record recognized PSP and Discovery Green in its 2009 "Good Design is Good Business" Awards.
Having worked with City of Austin and State of Texas energy departments to develop sustainable design standards in the 1990s, PSP now has more than 100 LEED Accredited Professionals on staff and has designed almost 60 projects to meet LEED certification.
PSP supports young designers through mentoring, continuing education, and technical training. Each office is actively involved in college internship programs; last summer, the firm employed 23 interns, with the goal of providing real world work experiences.
PSP's principals and staff hold regular faculty positions at Texas architecture schools, also serving on school advisory boards, writing books and articles, presenting lectures (more than 100 in the last decade), and sitting on design award juries. Similarly, the firm provides pro bono work in its communities and has helped families recover from natural disasters including Tropical Storm Allison and Hurricane Ike.
