Award of Excellence goes to Scarano Architects PLLC.

Scarano Architects PLLC has been honored with the 2005 Award of Excellence by the New York Council of the Society of Registered Architects (SARA) for its design of "Ella 82," a five-story, nine unit condominium building at 82 Guernsey Street in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn. The Award of Excellence is the Society's highest honor.

"Over the years, our firm has received many awards from SARA and other associations, but to have achieved this recognition is humbling," says Robert M. Scarano, Jr., AIA, FARA, ALA, principal of Scarano Architects. "What makes the SARA competition especially meaningful, however, is that it is judged by our professional peers. Our colleagues and competitors have determined that our work is the year's best out of so many fine entries."

In addition to the Award of Excellence, Scarano Architects won the 2005 Award of Honor for its design of 354 Franklin Ave., an 8,000-square-foot middle income apartment building, and a Special Recognition in the Urban Planning category for its design of the Clarkson Avenue Housing Project. The Clarkson project was cited because it represents inventive solutions for high-density, multi-family housing. With a design that calls for 300 units on four acres in the heart of Brooklyn, the housing project is made up of three elongated interlocking curvilinear structures that rest upon a "green plinth" that comprises the building's base. Also incorporated into the design are grassed roofs to create multiple levels of green parks and 600 parking spaces.

The first prize-winner Ella 82 features monochromatic aluminum panels, steel louvers, metal-grate see-through balconies and floor-to-ceiling windows. The design emphasizes the contrast between transparent and solid, from the basic facade scheme of free-standing walls placed against large panes of glass to the balcony details. The building's nine custom units are configured into two- and three-bedroom apartments.