NEWS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 18, 2004
Contact: Diane Brossart
Valley Forward Association
(602) 240-2408

VALLEY FORWARD PRESENTS
TOP ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD TO FARMER STUDIOS

PHOENIX – It’s not a well-known project. It’s not high budget. And it won’t draw large volumes of people to its doorstep. But judges in Valley Forward’s 24th Annual Environmental Excellence Awards program felt Farmer Studios, a mixed-use office complex in downtown Tempe, is significant nonetheless and presented it top honors -- the President’s Award -- in Arizona’s oldest and most prestigious environmental competition.

Architekton, the Tempe-based architectural firm that designed the urban infill project to house its own offices, accepted the President’s Award for their submission, deemed by judges “a superb example of quality development that fosters livability, flexibility and an environmental spirit worth emulating.”

The award was announced September 17 at Valley Forward’s EEA banquet, held in partnership with SRP for the third consecutive year. More than 600 community leaders from throughout the state attended the event at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale at Gainey Ranch. Heidi Foglesong, host of the KTVK-TV Channel 3 program “Your Life, A to Z,” served as mistress of ceremonies.

Farmer Studios received the highest recognition in the Buildings & Structures- Office & Retail category of the competition. The 13,300-square-foot building creates a pedestrian-friendly experience along both Fifth Street and Farmer Avenue with protruding display windows, translucent shade canopies, street trees and arterial parking. The project was designed, zoned and constructed to allow for any combination of retail, office and/or residential studios.

Valley Forward, now celebrating its 35th anniversary, and SRP recognized 34 projects submitted by Valley businesses, government agencies and non-profit organizations for their significant contributions to the environment. In addition to the President’s Award, 16 first-place Crescordia awards (a Greek term meaning, “To Grow in Harmony”) and 18 awards of merit were presented. (A complete list of recipients follows.).

Maricopa County won the first-place Crescordia award for Environmental Stewardship (SRP Award) in recognition of William P. Kicksey, who passed away in June of this year. For 15 years, Kicksey served as Maricopa County Manager of Community Services and enjoyed a career notable for many achievements, but marked throughout by a profound personal commitment to environmental stewardship. He was instrumental in countless environmental initiatives and innovative programs to improve air quality in the Valley, including Small Business Environmental Assistance, Trip Reduction, Lawnmower Retirement and Vehicle Repair and Retrofit.

The county was also recognized in opening remarks for the program, when Valley Forward announced that it would create a new awards category in 2005 for trails and open space. A historic focus of the organization, the category was also inspired by Maricopa County’s leadership in developing a regional trails system for the Valley.

“It is inspiring and enlightening to be able to spotlight so many environmentally sensitive projects throughout the Valley,” said Diane Brossart, president of Valley Forward. “We should feel proud of this place we call home. Our metropolitan area is among the fastest growing in the nation, and despite challenges with air quality, traffic congestion and related environmental concerns, we are growing responsibly in many ways.”

“Environmental stewardship has been a guiding principal at SRP since 1903,” said Richard Hayslip, SRP Manager of Environmental, Land & Risk Management. "We are proud to celebrate the environmental excellence of many organizations, municipalities and individuals who will be honored in this prestigious award program.”

This year, Valley Forward received over 70 entries in 20 award categories, including: buildings and structures, site development and landscape, art in public places, environmental technologies, environmental education/communication, livable communities and environmental stewardship.

Pat Graham, executive director of The Nature Conservancy’s Arizona chapter, led a diverse panel of judges in evaluating entries in the EEA competition. The panel included: Laurel Arndt, outreach manager of the Lincoln Foundation, Inc.; Merritt Brown, plant manager of Mesquite Power LLC; Jeffrey Decker, director of development at DMB Associates; Bernard Deutsch, president and owner of Deutsch Associates; Laurel Kimball, associate vice president of individual giving at Thunderbird, The Garvin School of International Management; independent art consultant Louise Roman; Byron Sampson, unit manager for Urban Design & Planning at Carter & Burgess; and Janet Waibel, owner of Waibel & Associates Landscape Architecture.

Valley Forward is a non-profit public interest organization that brings business and civic leaders together to convene public dialogue on regional issues and to improve the environment and livability of Valley communities. The organization operates with the belief that business must take a leadership role in solving the complex and sometimes controversial problems that confront growing population centers.

This year’s Environmental Excellence Awards first-place Crescordia winners and recipients, include:

Barry Goldwater Memorial (Michael Dollin, Urban Earth Design, LLC): Senator Barry Goldwater’s life and legacy are celebrated in this memorial inspired by the Sonoran Desert and Native American architecture. Located on the northeast corner of Lincoln Drive and Tatum Boulevard, and built on what was once a vacant lot, the memorial provides a new public space in an area devoid of public parks. It serves as an educational tool and gathering place that not only celebrates an influential Arizona leader, but also the rugged and beautiful landscape that shaped him and others who love the American Southwest.

City of Phoenix Bus Rapid Transit (RAPID) (Reed Caldwell, City of Phoenix Public Transit Department): A key component in any livable community is a transportation network that accommodates and promotes alternatives to automobile travel. Phoenix bus rapid transit (RAPID) is a bold new approach to bus transit in the Valley that provides park-and-rides near places where people live, work and play. The 61-mile commuter bus system began service in July 2003 and includes 56 new buses, seven park-and-rides and 32 stations. RAPID service offers commuters a streamlined travel route only available to buses, with bus-only slip ramps and dedicated HOV ramps. Since the system’s inception, ridership on commuter service has increased 32 percent.

City of Phoenix Fire Station 50 (Alan Brunacini, Brooke Bogart, RA, LEED & Mario Saldomondo, Deutsch Associates): The city of Phoenix has broken new ground with Fire Station Number 50, the first Valley building to receive LEED® v2 (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Environmental building materials and natural lighting resulted in a 30 percent energy savings, and an indigenous desert landscape will conserve water. Most impressive, though, is how this milestone facility rescued the area it serves from urban blight. The site, which was previously a barren landfill used for highway construction staging, now stands as a point of pride and a model for environmentally sensitive building.

Construction Environmental Management Program (Mike Rock, Kitchell): The delicate balance between economic development and environmental quality is perhaps best illustrated in the construction arena, which is the fifth largest industry in Arizona and generates nearly 40 percent of airborne particulates in Maricopa County. Recognizing the impact it has on the environment, Kitchell developed its Construction Environmental Management Program (CEMP) as a policy and training curriculum to serve its own job team and to act as a model for the construction industry. CEMP guidelines address such areas of concern as recycling, hazardous waste, air emissions, energy consumption, soil/groundwater contamination, and nuisance and dust control. The successful guidelines have been adopted by the National Associated General Contractors of America.

Farmer Studios (Architekton): For a description of this project, please see p. 1 of this release.

Gold Spot Marketing Center (Marlene Imirzian, Marlene Imirzian & Associates Architects): The Gold Spot Marketing Center restoration revitalized a key corner of the city of Phoenix’s Roosevelt Historic District and subsequently helped preserve an important part of its neighborhood fabric. Built in 1925 and listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the building was one of the first shopping centers in Phoenix to serve a residential area. For more than 20 years, the once vibrant commercial center stood with boarded-up windows and crumbling walls. This dynamic restoration project is invaluable to the neighborhood it serves and stands as a functional symbol of the community’s vibrant past and promising future.

In recognition of William P. Kicksey (Maricopa County): For a description of William P. Kicksey’s contributions to environmental quality, please see p. 2 of this release.

James Hotel (Christine Ten Eyck, Ten Eyck Landscape Architects, Inc.): One of the most environmentally responsible decisions a community can make is to revive and reclaim existing buildings and their sites, reducing the need to reach further into our last remnants of remaining desert to build. The James Hotel in Scottsdale is an outstanding example of the potential of urban revitalization. The design team achieved its mission to recycle and expose the hidden value of the existing site and structures, and to establish a creative, fun and vibrant outdoor environment immersed with the landscape. Best of all, the new landscape compliments the existing lush flora around Scottsdale Civic Center, even though many of the newly planted varieties are extremely drought tolerant.

Komatke Hall - Estrella Mountain Community College (Christine Ten Eyck and Homero Lopez, Ten Eyck Landscape Architects, Inc.): The addition of a student dining area and classrooms at Komatke Hall resulted in an opportunity to create a major gathering space for special events at Estrella Mountain Community College. Design elements focus on a garden and gathering plaza that revolve around a brimming cistern fountain, which utilizes re-circulating water and is reminiscent of the old irrigation cisterns once found in the Valley. The project, which incorporates existing mature desert trees and desert riparian plantings, demonstrates that it is possible to connect our regional landscape and heritage while providing for larger gathering spaces. It stands as testimony that public places do not have to be defined by hardscape and sterile environments; people will gather in outdoor spaces that utilize plantings and judicious use of water features.

Kyrene Monte Vista Pedestrian Bridge (Phil Jones, City of Phoenix): Public safety takes the form of public art in front of an elementary school in the Ahwatukee Foothills. The Kyrene Monte Vista Pedestrian Bridge fulfills its mission as a safe passage for school children while creating a dynamic experience for pedestrians and motorists. An elegant double helix shaped cage, designed by Phoenix sculptor Al Price, frames views of the nearby mountains and conveys a sense of movement as shadows play across the bridge and the street below. This intriguing and kinetic environment creates a sense of wonder and harmoniously integrates into its surrounding neighborhood.

“100 Ways in 30 Days to Save Water” (Park Howell, Park&Co Marketing Communications, Inc.): One of the Water - Use It Wisely campaign’s newest and most innovative projects is “100 Ways in 30 Days to Save Water.” This month-long event, held in partnership with 40 Home Depot locations throughout Arizona, heightened awareness of how and when consumers are using water, then empowered them to change their basic attitudes and habits about indoor/outdoor water use by increasing their awareness of low water-use products. More than 3,000 consumers attended the project’s water workshops, 40,000 consumer guides were distributed, and 16.5 million media impressions delivered across the state.

Pedestrian Amenities on Seventh Avenue (Darren Petrucci, Arizona State University School of Architecture): “Pedestrian Amenities Along Seventh Avenue” is a new public/private urban infrastructure project that is the catalyst for the revitalization of a commercial corridor in midtown Phoenix. In addition to the city, collaborators include the Seventh Avenue Merchants Association and Arizona State University’s School of Architecture. It is the first such partnership in the Valley to develop prototypes for both city-owned public spaces and private development and currently encompasses a one-mile corridor of Seventh Avenue between Indian School and Camelback Roads. The project forms a new multi-use pedestrian network linking disparate fragments of the commercial strip with surrounding neighborhoods, parks, retail, restaurants and schools.

South Mountain Community College Performing Arts Center (Brian Farling and Maria Salenger, Jones Studio, Inc.): The South Mountain Community College campus occupies a unique site within the city of Phoenix, defining the neighborhood that borders the 16,000-acre South Mountain Park Preserve, the world’s largest municipal park. The new performing arts center is sensitively integrated into the surrounding neighborhood and successfully blends new construction with the existing campus. Following the existing campus-courtyard planning system, the functional programs of the new center were divided into three major building blocks-located around the existing art, music and liberal arts buildings-to create an outdoor arts quad. The center recognizes and reinforces through its design the theory that performance can happen in every day events, as well as in high art.

Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area Master Plan (Michael Park, RLA, URS Corporation): This comprehensive master plan addresses issues and provides recommendations for managing lands within the 2,145-acre Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area, purchased by the state of Arizona, Maricopa County and the Town of Cave Creek and managed by the Maricopa County Parks and Recreation Department. It reflects input received from stakeholders and the public over a two-year planning process that began in 2002 and primarily focuses on the conservation and protection of environmental and cultural resources. Most significantly, the master plan reinforces the concept that no community stands apart. Great towns and cities have been intricately woven into the hinterlands that sustain them. Their art, architecture and city forms-and the traditions of the people who dwell within-reflect the unique presence of nature.

3824 Remodel (Catherine Hayes, Hayes Architecture/Interiors, Inc.): This 1950s home is located one block west of La Grande Orange Grocery in an older area of downtown Phoenix and is a testimony to revitalization efforts in the neighborhood. Rather than adding more space, the project team decided to rework the original structure, creating a modest 968-square-foot residence that could easily accommodate a family of three. Like many homes in the neighborhood, the original interior had been divided into many rooms almost too small to inhabit. The design solution enabled the kitchen, dining and living area to co-exist in the same space. In addition, one of the smaller bedrooms was converted into a large master bathroom. The result is a quality living environment demonstrative of the community revival that can occur when older homes in aging neighborhoods are renewed.

Water Efficiency Audit Program / Water Wise Recognition Program (The Hon. Steven M. Berman, Town of Gilbert): The Gilbert Water Efficiency Audit Program was created to help customers identify sources of high water consumption and teach them how to conserve water. In addition to distributing educational materials to customers, interior and exterior audits are conducted, and fixture retrofit and landscape-watering advice provided. The Water Wise Recognition Program complements the auditing effort. It encourages homeowner associations and businesses, which typically have the largest areas of turf, to reduce their water use. The Water Efficiency Audit Program saved an estimated 37 million gallons of water in its inaugural year, and the 20 participants in the Water Wise Recognition Program collectively saved 73 million gallons of water by not over-seeding more than 9-million-square-feet of turf.

A complete list of winners and their respective categories in Valley Forward’s Environmental Excellence Awards program includes:

2004 ENVIRONMENTAL EXCELLENCE AWARDS WINNERS

BUILDINGS & STRUCTURES
Single Family Residence

CRESCORDIA
Name of Entry: 3824 Remodel
Submitted by: HAYES ARCHITECTURE/INTERIORS, INC.

AWARD OF MERIT
Name of Entry: Cedar Street Residence
Submitted by: coLAB

BUILDINGS & STRUCTURES
Historic Preservation

CRESCORDIA
Name of Entry: Gold Spot Marketing Center
Submitted by: MARLENE IMIRZIAN & ASSOCIATES ARCHITECTS

AWARD OF MERIT
Name of Entry: Pomeroy House Restoration
Submitted by: CITY OF MESA HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE

BUILDINGS & STRUCTURES
Office & Retail

CRESCORDIA
Name of Entry: Farmer Studios
Submitted by: ARCHITEKTON

AWARD OF MERIT
Name of Entry: SmithGroup at Arizona Center
Submitted by: SMITHGROUP

BUILDINGS & STRUCTURES
Industrial & Public Works

CRESCORDIA
Name of Entry: City of Phoenix Fire Station 50
Submitted by: CITY OF PHOENIX FIRE AND ENGINEERING DEPARTMENTS

AWARDS OF MERIT
Name of Entry: City of Tempe Main Police Station Security Entry
Submitted by: GOULD EVANS

Name of Entry: Glendale Western Area Regional Fire & Public Safety Building
Submitted by: DWL ARCHITECTS + PLANNERS, INC.

BUILDINGS & STRUCTURES
Public Assembly

CRESCORDIA
Name of Entry: South Mountain Community College Performing Arts Center
Submitted by: JONES STUDIO, INC.

AWARD OF MERIT
Name of Entry: St. Clare Blessed Sacrament Chapel
Submitted by: coLAB

SITE DEVELOPMENT & LANDSCAPE
Large Scale & Community Development

CRESCORDIA
Name of Entry: James Hotel
Submitted by: TEN EYCK LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS INC.

AWARD OF MERIT
Name of Entry: We-Ko-Pa Golf Clubhouse
Submitted by: DESIGN WORKSHOP, INC.

SITE DEVELOPMENT & LANDSCAPE
Parks & Plazas

CRESCORDIA
Name of Entry: Barry Goldwater Memorial
Submitted by: URBAN EARTH DESIGN, LLC

AWARD OF MERIT
Name of Entry: Virginia G. Piper Enchanted Forest
Submitted by: THE WLB GROUP, INC.

SITE DEVELOPMENT & LANDSCAPE
Industrial & Public Works

CRESCORDIA
Name of Entry: Pedestrian Amenities on Seventh Avenue
Submitted by: WAIBEL & ASSOCIATES LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE, ON BEHALF
OF ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

AWARD OF MERIT
Name of Entry: City of Phoenix Aviation - International Walkway
Submitted by: CITY OF PHOENIX - AVIATION DEPARTMENT

SITE DEVELOPMENT & LANDSCAPE
Public Assembly

CRESCORDIA
Name of Entry: Komatke Hall - Estrella Mountain Community College
Submitted by: TEN EYCK LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS INC.

AWARDS OF MERIT
Name of Entry: Phoenix Municipal Stadium
Submitted by: GOULD EVANS

Name of Entry: National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona
Submitted by: LOGAN SIMPSON DESIGN INC.

ART IN PUBLIC PLACES

CRESCORDIA
Name of Entry: Kyrene Monte Vista Pedestrian Bridge
Submitted by: PHOENIX OFFICE OF ARTS AND CULTURE

AWARD OF MERIT
Name of Entry: City of Tempe Marina Water Muse
Submitted by: CITY OF TEMPE

ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES
Private Sector

CRESCORDIA
Name of Entry: Construction Environmental Management Program
Submitted by: KITCHELL

AWARD OF MERIT
Name of Entry: Acrylic Copolymers at Phoenix International Raceway
Submitted by: HUITT-ZOLLARS, INC.

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION/COMMUNICATION
Public Sector

CRESCORDIA
Name of Entry: Water Efficiency Audit Program/Water Wise Recognition Program
Submitted by: TOWN OF GILBERT WATER CONSERVATION OFFICE

AWARDS OF MERIT
Name of Entry: City of Phoenix Section 404 Environmental Training Program
Submitted by: LOGAN SIMPSON DESIGN INC.

Name of Entry: Landscape Plants for the Arizona Desert
Submitted by: ARIZONA MUNICIPAL WATER USERS ASSOCIATION

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION/COMMUNICATION
Private Sector

CRESCORDIA
Name of Entry: Water - Use It Wisely ‘100 Ways in 30 Days to Save Water’
Submitted by: PARK&CO MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS INC.

AWARD OF MERIT
Name of Entry: Showroom for "Green" Interior Construction
Submitted by: GOODMANS INTERIOR STRUCTURES

ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP - SRP Award

CRESCORDIA
Name of Entry: In Recognition of William P. Kicksey
Submitted by: MARICOPA COUNTY

LIVABLE COMMUNITIES
Resource Management

CRESCORDIA
Name of Entry: Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area Master Plan
Submitted by: URS CORPORATION

AWARD OF MERIT
Name of Entry: Gila River Power Station
Submitted by: DESIERTO VERDE, INC.

LIVABLE COMMUNITIES
Public Policy / Plans

CRESCORDIA
Name of Entry: City of Phoenix Bus Rapid Transit (RAPID)
Submitted by: CITY OF PHOENIX PUBLIC TRANSIT DEPARTMENT

AWARD OF MERIT
Name of Entry: Sonoran Preserve Edge Treatment Guidelines
Submitted by: CITY OF PHOENIX PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT

2004 PRESIDENT’S AWARD

Name of Entry: Farmer Studios
Submitted by: ARCHITEKTON