School of Architecture faculty members Richard Economakis and Duncan Stroik were honored with 2013 Palladio Awards honoring excellence in traditional design. Economakis and Stroik, two of 11 architects recognized, will have their work featured in the June issue of Traditional Building magazine.
Economakis won for new construction design of more than 30,000 square feet. He designed a civic hall in Cayala, Guatemala, a new traditional town outside Guatemala City. Inaugural Driehaus Prize laureate Leon Krier developed Cayala's master plan, along with Economakis, Maria Sanchez '00, Pedro Godoy '00. Economakis says his civic hall is “a classical design incorporating elements of Mayan Temples with its pyramidal step entrance leading to a classical portico to be used occasionally as a stage for public performances.”
Stroik was honored for the restoration of the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Built on a bluff overlooking downtown Sioux Falls, the Cathedral is “the most prominent piece of architecture and a leading symbol of the city.” Stroik says he “sought to restore the Cathedral in a way that the original architect, Emmanuel Masqueray, would recognize and in keeping with the original 1915 design.” He completed unfinished elements of Masqueray’s original design, including a redesign of the liturgical sanctuary. He also installed marble floors and decorative painting that were Masqueray’s original ideas.
The Palladio Awards program, in its 12th year, is sponsored by Traditional Building and Period Homes magazines and is named in honor of Andrea Palladio, the Renaissance architect who created modern architecture for his time while drawing on past models for inspiration. Economakis and Stroik will be honored at a ceremony during the Traditional Building Conference held May 21 and 22 in Washington, D.C.