An architectural firm with deep and long roots in Peachtree City, has won two prestigious design awards. Historical Concepts, a traditional architecture and planning firm at 430 Prime Point, Peachtree City, has won two 2011 Shutze Awards for design excellence.
The Southeast Chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America (ICA&CA), a national nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the classical tradition in architecture, urbanism and their allied arts, recognized the firm for its contributions to both residential and urban design.
The Hockaday Residence, in Richmond Hill, Ga., was chosen as the winner in the Formal Classicism category for homes from 4,000 to 10,000 square feet.
Historical Concepts’ design for the home and its guest house blends details of Greek Revival architecture with architectural traditions common to the coastal South.
M. Lindsay Bierman, Editor-in-Chief of Southern Living magazine and a member of the jury, noted, “This house celebrates and builds on the tradition of the South’s most beautiful antebellum architecture and, like its historic precedents, will only improve with age.”
The jury also praised Historical Concepts for Meeting Street Station, a counter-proposal for a recent modernist design competition that challenged participants to envision a theoretical downtown transit hub for the city of Charleston.
A special Urban Design category was created to recognize the firm for the classically-detailed proposal and its role in demonstrating the relevance of classical architecture in the 21st century.
“Why do we continue to build so-called ‘modern’ civic and commercial buildings in our cities,” Bierman observed, “when, in their hearts, most people would so much rather see it all look like this?”
“Whether we are designing a home, commercial buildings or an entire new community, we want to create new places that feel authentic,” said Jim Strickland, founder of Historical Concepts. “Having two distinctly different projects win simultaneous Shutze Awards is particularly gratifying because it showcases our range and our ability to apply traditional ideology to any type of project.”
The juried awards are named for Philip Trammell Shutze, the Atlanta architect whose work is revered internationally as one of the 20th-century’s most devoted classicists.
This year marked the 5th annual presentation of the awards, held on Feb. 12 at the Piedmont Driving Club in Atlanta. The 2011 jury consisted of Gary L. Brewer (Partner, Robert Stern Architects), M. Lindsay Bierman (Editor in Chief, Southern Living) and David Brussat (Classical Architecture Critic, The Providence Journal).
Historical Concepts continues its commitment to classical architecture offering custom residential, commercial and civic architecture, as well as land planning and place-making services. Its staff members are members of the ICA&CA, The Congress for New Urbanism, The Urban Land Institute, and The Georgia Trust and have served as part-time faculty and guest critics for the ICA&CA, Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of Miami, and The University of Notre Dame.
Among many such projects throughout the Southeast, the Southern Living Idea House and the Gin Property in Senoia were designed by Historical Concepts.
The company was founded in 1982 by James L. (Jim) Strickland, who remains president of the firm. Strickland previously served nearly 10 years on the Peachtree City Planning Commission during the 1980s.
Strickland lives in North Cove, his Charleston townhouse-themed development on Lake Kedron. His son, Todd Strickland, is managing partner of the firm and serves currently as a volunteer member of the Development Authority of Peachtree City.
