AIA National recently announced its 2017 Honor Award winners. Among those was Antenora Architects’ Cotton Gin at the Co-Op District in Hutto. The project also won a 2016 TxA Design Award. The 23 national award winners were selected from over 700 entries for exemplifying architectural excellence. This year’s jury included: Mark Reddington, FAIA, LMN Architects (Chair); Gregory P. Baker, AIA, HNTB Architecture; David Cordaro, AIAS Representative; Leslie K. Elkins, FAIA, Leslie K. Elkins Architect; Timothy J. Johnson, AIA, NBBJ; William Q. Sabatini, FAIA, Dekker/Perich/Sabatini; Adrian D. Smith, FAIA, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture; Beatrice Spolidoro, Assoc. AIA, Rothschild Doyno Collaborative; and Marilyn Terranova, Interim Superintendent, Pocantico Hills CSD.
The Cotton Gin, an adaptive reuse of two existing cotton gin structures, was one of the first steps in a 2012 master plan meant to revitalize public space in downtown Hutto. Describing the project in the September/October Design Awards issue of Texas Architect, Audrey Maxwell, AIA, wrote: “Ultimately, two existing cotton gin structures from 1947 were carefully disassembled, cataloged, and reassembled into one new building on the larger of the two gin buildings’ footprint. The structure was repaired and then reinforced to comply with current code. A deliberate effort was made to identify materials worthy of reuse. Existing roof trusses and columns were sandblasted, scraped, and coated with marine epoxy. Members were reassembled, then supplemented structurally where necessary. New openings and cladding were installed to complete the vision.”
Michael Antenora, AIA, founding principal, Antenora Architects, describes the resulting build as “a singular, open-air, multipurpose events center that was built from the best ‘pieces and parts’ of the two original buildings. In a broader sense, the Cotton Gin renovation, and the proposed master plan for the 18-acre Co-Op Site, is a celebration of the agricultural history and culture of the City of Hutto, and a nod towards their future as a quickly growing Central Texas city. “
Moving forward, the City of Hutto will continue to piece together the master plan, with the Cotton Gin serving as an event space as well as a hub for the community, serving as the location for farmers markets and more. Antenora hopes to be involved in future projects. “Our relationship with the City of Hutto has been a very strong one for nearly a decade now,” he says. “The citizens and staff that we have had the pleasure to get to know and work with are just terrific people and we have enjoyed our time working with them. They are very happy with the work we have performed for them, and the results have been recognized with some really flattering awards and good press. It really feels like a win-win for all involved right now. “
Congratulations to Antenora Architects on this honor.