I attend the 2009 Shutze Awards and wow...

Thanks to "Things That Inspire" I went to the Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America Southeast Chapter's 3rd Philip Trammell Shutze Awards last night at the Atlanta History Center. I was certainly among kindred spirits. Folks were gasping over the slides, me too. We gasped about the stunning beauty of the projects. We gasped over the budgets.

Winners:

Small Renovation: D. Stanley Dixon for a Dutch colonial renovation with a front facing center gable. Beautiful inside and out. One of my favorites.

Large Renovation: Fairfax & Sammons for a Palm Beach estate. Big and high-style. The architects themselves were in awe.

Small Addition/Restoration: Harrison Design Associates for a 1920's half-timbered, curved-roofed Tudor cottage. Even after the renovation Shakespeare would be at home there. Small? It's on Habersham Road.

Large Addition/Renovation: Spitzmiller & Norris for restoring a Buckhead mansion burned in 2000. Just large? This one makes me proud to be an Atlantan.

Landscape/Garden Design: Land Plus Associates for spectacular landscaping at a Buckhead estate. The project is new but looks like it's been there for 100 years. There are many garden "rooms." The garage / motor court is as beautiful as any park.

Craftsmanship: Savannah College of Art and Design for restoring Ivy Hall, the Peters' Residence in Atlanta. SCAD promised that this wasn't their last project for Atlanta.

Residential Interior Design: D. Stanley Dixon for a Georgian revival interior in Atlanta's Brookhaven . Elegance in the highest style. Mr. Dixon acknowledged Patricia McLean Interiors and Bonner Custom Homes.

Small Institutional: Historical Concepts for the Greek revival president's residence at Florida State University. One of my favorites. Small? One of the requirements was "comfortable for 2 or 200.

Large Institutional - Classical: Hartman-Cox Architects for the Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia. Thomas Jefferson is a hard act to follow. Harman-Cox and the audience are in awe of the opportunity, a classicist's dream.

Large Institutional - Traditional: Hartman-Cox Architects for the Gothic Duke University Divinity School Addition.

Residential Multi-family: de la Guardia Victoria Architects & Urbanists for Almiria Row, a townhouse project in Coral Gables. I'd seen this on the web before. I loved it. When the slide appeared, I gasped. Your results may vary, this one seems very humane and timeless, if over my budget.

Residential Under 4,000 Square Feet: David Jones Architects for a relatively small Greek revival home in Washington. I'm a sucker for Greek revival. My favorite. Praised as an example of classicism on a small budget. The house may be relatively small but not the budget. Wonderful.

Residential 4,000-10,000 Square Feet: David Jones Architects for Locust Hill, an 8,500 square foot home that fits into a modestly scaled neighborhood. One of my favorites in spite of it's hugeness. It is a series of attached masses, as if it had been added to over time. The facade is elegant but modestly sized and approachable. The bulk of the house extends towards the back. The architect who accepted the award (was it David Jones?) said he wanted only grass and trees, no bushes and found a landscape architect who agreed. I like that.

Residential Over 10,000 Square Feet: Harrison Design Associates for a huge five-part Georgian. The house is broken into smaller masses so it's not quite as intimidating as it might be. Beautiful and impressive.

I'll be there next year if I can get a ticket.