The American Institute of Architects (AIA) honored the RIDC Mill 19 development project with an Architecture Award last night at its annual awards gala. Given annually, the AIA Architecture Awards program celebrates the best contemporary architecture regardless of budget, size, style, or type. These stunning projects show the world the range of outstanding work architects create and highlight the many ways buildings and spaces can improve our lives. Jurors use the AIA Framework for Design Excellence as a guide for assessing project performance in support of a holistic approach to designing for communities, climate, and the environment.
Designed by MSR Design, Mill 19 is a living emblem of Pittsburgh’s transformation from its industrial steel-making past to a future of sustainable advanced manufacturing. In a bold approach to adaptive reuse, the design viscerally interweaves new space for the city’s robotics industry within the industrial ruins of a decommissioned steel rolling mill. A post-industrial promenade welcomes the public through a linked series of compelling exterior experiences framed between the monumental 1,360 foot-long existing steel superstructure and three multi-tenant tech buildings sited within. Key design moves include peeling away the existing mill’s deteriorated sheet metal skin; exposing its dramatic steel skeleton; and installing a sequence of speculative high-tech office, lab, and manufacturing structures within the ruinous frames.
The design integrates building performance into the project’s experiential engagement with the site’s embedded history. The design team stewarded ambitious energy, water, and daylight performance targets through continuous iterative analysis. The Mill 19 project accomplishes impressive levels of experiential, sustainable performance and public access within the financial constraints of a speculative core and shell commercial development. Certified LEED-CS Gold v4.0, the project also received an AIA COTE Top Ten Award in 2023.
