Necma Recognizes School Design

Woodward Center at Westfield State College, Westfield, Mass., is the 2005 NECMA Design Award of Excellence. Cosponsored by the New England Concrete Masonry

Woodward Center at Westfield State College, Westfield, Mass., is the 2005 NECMA Design Award of Excellence. Cosponsored by the New England Concrete Masonry Association and the National Concrete Masonry Association, the Design Awards program aims to promote concrete masonry by recognizing CMU projects reflecting innovation and aesthetics, plus functionality, economy, and environmental harmony.

Architect of the winning design was Cambridge Seven Associates, Inc. of Cambridge, Mass. Serving as mason contractor for the project was Springfield, Mass.-based Fontaine Brothers. Chicopee Mason Supplies in Chicopee, Mass., provided gray block for the athletic center, while Gardner, Mass.-based A. Jandris & Sons supplied 10,000 ground-face and 14,000 split-face architectural CMU.

A panel of architects and a Massachusetts Trowel Trades Association representative judged the entries. Their comments highlight the Woodward Center’s winning features: The design concept for this project, combining a floating roof with a masonry anchor, worked well together and provided a successful palate where masonry bridges the scale between humans and the large roof. In addition, masonry materials facilitate a seamless flow from the exterior to the interior.

The 2005 Design Awards of Excellence program is the fifth such event sponsored by NECMA. All architectural firms designing with concrete masonry and landscaping products in the New England area are eligible for the competition.