retrofit’s fourth-annual Metamorphosis Awards program tapped four previous winners as judges: Katie Hunt, architect, LRK; Amanda Markovic, AIA, principal, GBBN; Charles Van Winckle, vice president, Thornton Tomasetti’s Renewal practice; and Ross Welch, AIA, NOMA, LEED Green Associate, associate, Trivers. Each judge was gracious with his or her time and knowledge.
The jury was asked to evaluate each project on the success with which it met its own requirements. They were told to weigh projects individually—not in comparison to others—and choose as many projects as they felt deserving of winning. [Editor’s Note: The judges recused themselves from judging projects in which they and/or their firms were involved.]
Through a judging platform, jurors were able to review entries and score them on their own time. John Riester, retrofit’s publisher, and Christina Koch, retrofit’s editorial director and associate publisher, conducted a Zoom meeting with the judges in late August to discuss highest-ranking projects, determine placements of winners and speculate about cover possibilities. Winners were notified in late August.
The 2023 Metamorphosis Awards program will open in January 2023.
Katie Hunt brings nearly 10 years of experience to LRK’s Memphis, Tenn., office. Since returning to Memphis from Seattle, she has focused on the adaptive reuse of buildings, including the former Gibson Guitar Factory and the Old Spaghetti Warehouse. She relishes in the opportunity to revive and reimagine existing structures. LRK has won Metamorphosis Awards in 2020 and 2021, including a 2nd Place award in the Adaptive Reuse category in ’21 for the Fannie C. Harris Youth Center in Dallas.
Amanda Markovic is GBBN’s firmwide market design leader, overseeing design strategy for the Community Development Market, which includes affordable and multifamily housing, community libraries and non-profit organizations. Her passion for libraries has led to award-winning renovations for the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and a reimagining of the Cincinnati Public Library’s Deer Park Next Generation Library. GBBN won twice in the Adaptive Reuse category of the 2021 Metamorphosis Awards program: 1st Place for The Roundhouse at Hazelwood Green and 2nd Place for Contemporary Craft, both in Pittsburgh.
Charles Van Winckle is a vice president in Thornton Tomasetti’s Renewal practice and specializes in building forensics, technical architecture and historic preservation. His work includes several historically significant structures and landmarks, as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Van Winckle was part of the Thornton Tomasetti team that earned a 1st Place 2021 Metamorphosis Award in the Exterior category for the façade restoration of New York City’s iconic Helmsley Building.
Ross Welch is an associate and senior project architect with Trivers. His background includes higher education, master planning and single-family residential design. Welch helps lead the Mixed Use and Multifamily Market at Trivers with more than 1,800 units designed in the past several years. Trivers earned Metamorphosis Awards in 2020 and 2021, including last year’s 2nd Place win in the Multifamily category for The Georgian, St. Louis.
