State building, Union Station win kudos; Business Council honors firms beautifying the county.

State building, Union Station win kudos

Los Angeles County is trying to get beautiful. And efforts have not gone unnoticed - for the last 21 years - due to annual awards given by the Los Angeles Business Council. The council's Urban Beautification Committee presented the awards on April 8 honoring owners, architects and contractors who have "significantly contributed to the beauty of the area during the past year."

Six Perpetual Awards are also given each year. Winning the Department of Water & Power Award for energy efficiency was the Ronald Reagan State Office Building. The Landmark Award, for a Los Angeles area building which possesses the characteristics of an urban landmark, went to 50-year-old Union Station. Winners of the Jeffrey Tamkin Award, the Ray Watt Award, the Kaufman & Broad Award and the Raleigh Enterprises Award are listed along with the rest of the honorees:

* Sanwa Bank Plaza for New Commercial High Rise (the Jeffrey Tamkin Award) Owner: Mitsui Fudosan  USA Inc. Architect: A.C. Martin & Associates Contractor: Swinerton & Walberg Co.

* UCLA Medical Plaza for New Commercial Mid Rise Owner: Held Properties Architect: Ross/Wou, MBT Associates Contractor: C.L. Peck/Jones Bros. Construction

* Lankershim Office Building for New Commercial Low Rise Owner: Belkeith Co. Architect: Robbins & Brown Inc. Contractor: Berliner Development

* Raleigh Film & Television Studios for Remodeled Commercial Mid Rise Owner and Contractor: Raleigh Film & Television Studios Architect: John O. Cotton & Peter Kamnitzer

* Temple Adat Shalom for Remodeled Commercial Low Rise Owner: Temple Adat Shalom Architect: Robbins & Brown Inc. Contractor: Del Amo Construction

* Janss Court for Mixed Use Commercial/Residential Owner: Janss Corp. Architect: Johannes Van Tilburg & Partners Contractor: M.H. Golden Co.

* Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising for Public Use Institutional Project Owner: Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising Architect: Jerde Partnership Inc. Contractor: Turner Construction 

* Van Nuys Municipal Courts Building for Public Use Civic Project (Kaufman & Broad Award) Owner: County of Los Angeles Architect: Dworsky Associates Inc. Contractor: Tutor Saliba Corp.

* Center West for Public Use Interior Owner: Kambiz Hekmat Architect: Mitchell Guirgola Contractor: C.L. Peck/Jones Bros. Construction

* Corporate Center at Malibu Canyon for New Commercial Landscaping (Raleigh Enterprises Award) Owner: The Johnson Group Architect: Dave Simon Contractor: Living Waters

* The Shapiro Residence for Single-Family Residential Landscaping Owner: Leonard & Annettee Shapiro Landscape Architect: Jerry Cummings Associates Contractor: Turpin-Whitebook

* The Tate Residence for Remodeled Multi-Family Residence Owner: Jill Tate Architect: Melinda Gray Contractor: Blackoak Construction

* The Frings/Ryan Residence for Remodeled Single Family Residence Owner: Kurt Frings and Marie Ryan Architect: Reinhard Roland Hesse Contractor: Altered Spaces

* Seacliff Homes for New Multi-Family Residence/Condo (Goldrich/Kest Award) Owner: Seacliff Partners Architect: Kanner Architects Contractor: Winston Brock Chappell Inc.

* Grand Promenade for New Multi-Family Residence/Apartment Owner: Goldrich, Kest & Shapell Architect: John O. Cotton & Peter Kamnitzer with Abraham Shapiro

* The Milton Sidley Residence for New Single Family Residence (Ray Watt Award) Owner and Contractor: Milton Sidley Architect: Edward Niles, FAIA 

* The Summit at Warner Center for Multi-Family Residential Landscaping Owner: G.H. Palmer & Associates Landscape Architect: The L.A. Group Contractor: Cascade

Contest judges were: Joseph Balbona, AIA, of Rochlin, Baran & Balbona; Richard Meier, FAIA, of Richard Meier & Associates; Lawrence Reed Moline of LRM Ltd.; Harshad Patel of Harshad Patel Design Consortium; Michael Rachlin, AIA, of Rachlin & Rachlin Inc.; and Timothy Walker of Maguire Thomas Partners.