Merit Award: Junior Achievement’s Exchange City

Here’s a tough one. Convert a 25,000-square-foot historic building into a stylized city environment where kids can learn about urban life–and at the same time maintain building integrity. Elements had to include a mock city hall, hospital, retail stores, recording studio, and cafe. To solve this challenge, designers accented spaces using relatively simple massing highlighted with bright primary colors, the use of glass, and dramatic lighting. Steel stair rails and exposed ducts hark back to the original detailing. The new rooms offer practical elements such as cubbies for children’s lunch boxes and easy-to-access restrooms.

Category: Adaptive re-use; Entrant/Architect/Interior Designer: Hnedak Bobo Group, Memphis, Tenn.; Builder: Linkous Construction, Memphis; Developer: Junior Achievement of Memphis, Memphis