The Rice School of Architecture proudly announces that Ambient Architecture, an exhibition by clovisbaronian, the architectural practice co-led by Assistant Professor Georgina Baronian, has received an honorable mention in the Emerging Architects Project Award category as part of the Architect’s Newspaper Best of Design Awards 2024. The exhibition, originally showcased at the Ohio State University’s Banvard Gallery from April 12 to June 1, 2023, offers a compelling reimagining of comfort and sustainability in architecture.
Through seven distinct projects, Ambient Architecture interrogates the mechanized systems of climate control that dominate contemporary practice, proposing instead a framework rooted in attunement and resonance with environmental conditions. Themes such as layered spaces, soft monoliths, gradients of conditioning, and environmental aesthetics are explored across a range of typologies, from single-family homes to research installations.
Dean Igor Marjanović commented on the award:
“The recognition of Ambient Architecture is a testament to the power of architectural exploration to redefine how we engage with our environment. clovisbaronian’s work invites us to rethink comfort not as a static standard but as a dynamic, human-centered process of adaptation and alignment. At the Rice School of Architecture, we are inspired by this acknowledgment, as it aligns with our mission to foster architectural innovation that is as intellectually rigorous as it is profoundly humane.”
By embracing media theorist Paul Roquet’s concept of “ambient” rather than “atmosphere,” Ambient Architecture reframes sustainability through a lens of continuous environmental engagement. This honorable mention affirms clovisbaronian’s role as an emerging voice in architecture and highlights the exhibition's critical contribution to advancing architectural discourse.
Congratulations to Assistant Professor Baronian and the creative team behind Ambient Architecture for this well-deserved honor. Their work exemplifies the transformative potential of architecture to bridge technical performance and human experience.