Ross Barney Architects is an architectural firm founded in 1981 by Carol Ross Barney in Chicago, Illinois.
History Organized in February 1981 as Carol Ross Barney Architects, the firm served"Carol Ross Barney, FAIA, Makes A Place" Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation, 23 July 2014. Web. 13 Oct. 2014. clients with cultural and social agendas but not necessarily high profile, big budgets. These clients were similar to those founder Carol Ross Barney had worked with at Holabird and Root. In 1982, Jim Jankowski, FAIA, a college classmate of Carol's, joined the fledgling practice and the name changed to Ross Barney + Jankowski from 1984-2006.Kleiman, Carol. "Women Find Way To Top-by Forming Their Own Businesses." Chicago Tribune [Chicago, Illinois] 13 Feb. 1989: n. pag. Print."Oral History of Carol Ross Barney." Interview by Deborah A. Burkhart. Chicago Architects Oral History Project 21 Apr. 2006: n. pag. Art Institute of Chicago. Web. 01 Oct. 2014. <http://www.artic.edu/research/carol-ross-barney-b1949>.
The Cesar Chavez Multicultural Academic Center, completed in 1989, and Little Village Academy, completed in 1996, are early works of community conscious design. Today both schools have remained neighborhood sanctuaries virtually devoid of gang sponsored graffiti.McCulloch, Janelle. "Introduction by Martha Thorne." Introduction. Ross Barney Architects: Process Projects. Mulgrave, Vic.: Images, 2007. 6-11. Print.
In 1997, the firm was chosen to design the Oklahoma City Federal Building.Loeffler, Jane C. "Mission Accomplished: The Oklahoma City Federal Building Pulls off the Feat of Combining Security with Design Excellence." Architectural Record (2004): 104. Print. Following the attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in 1995, the General Services Administration was tasked with developing standards for the protection of government buildings. The new building was both the philosophical and practical response to the tragedy.Kamin, Blair. "Can Architects Combine Armor and Aesthetics?" Chicago Tribune. 02 May 2004. Web. 13 Oct. 2014. Smith, Ray. "The Aesthetics of Security." Wall Street Journal (2003): n. pag. Web. 26 Sept. 2014. In 2005, Carol Ross Barney was awarded the Thomas Jefferson Award from the American Institute of Architects for her distinguished portfolio of public work."Practicing Architecture Awards; Recipients of the Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture" AIA.org. American Institute of Architects, n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.
In 2008, the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation Synagogue in Evanston, Illinois, was the first house of worship to receive the highest LEED certification achievable by a building."A New Look At Spiritual Spaces" Lecture by Michael A. Ross. Vimeo. Mies Van De Rohe Society, Oct. 2011. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.
Throughout the studio's history, a focus on transportation infrastructure has evolved, allowing them to look for sustainable solutions at an urban scale. The Morgan Street Station for the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the first new inter system station constructed in more than thirty years.Kamin, Blair. "Gleaming New CTA Station Raises Question: What Price Architecture?" Chicago Tribune. N.p., 29 May 2012. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.Kamin, Blair. Terror and Wonder: Architecture in a Tumultuous Age. Chicago, IL: U of Chicago, 2011. Print. This acute understanding has led to designs for the Cermak McCormick Place CTA station and the multi-phase expansion of the Chicago Riverwalk.
Selected projects Chicago Riverwalk, In Progress, Chicago, Illinois Ohio State University South Campus Chiller Plant, Completed 2013, Columbus, Ohio Chicago Transit Authority CTA Morgan Street, Completed 2012, Chicago, Illinois University of Minnesota Duluth, James I Swenson Civil Engineering Building, Completed 2010, Duluth, Minnesota Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, Completed 2008, Evanston, Illinois Oklahoma City Federal Building, Completed 2005, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Selected awards World Architecture Festival, Category Commendation, Transport, CTA Morgan Street Station, 2013http://www.worldbuildingsdirectory.com/project.cfm?id=4936 AIA/COTE Top Ten Green Projects, UMD James I Swenson Civil Engineering Building, 2013 World Architecture Festival, Category Commendation, Community, Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, 2009 General Services Administration, Design Award, Oklahoma City Federal Building, 2006 American Institute of Architects, Honor Award for Architecture, Little Village Academy, 2002 American Institute of Architects, Honor Award for Interior Architecture, Little Village Academy, 1999 American Institute of Architects, Honor Award for Architecture, Cesar Chavez Multicultural Center, 1994 National Endowment for the Arts, Federal Design Achievement Award, 1992 American Institute of Architects, Honor Award for Architecture, Glendale Heights Post Office, 1991
Exhibitions Jewish Museum New York and San Francisco, Reinventing Ritual: Contemporary Art and Design for Jewish Life, 2009 Thresholds Along the Frontier: Contemporary U.S. Border Stations, 2006 Chicago Architecture Foundation, 5 Architects, 2005 National Building Museum, Future Design Now! The 2000 General Services Administration Design Awards, 2001 Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Material Evidence, 2000 Ispace, Gallery of the School of Fine and Applied Arts, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, People + Places: The Work of Carol Ross Barney, 1999 Art Institute of Chicago, Permanent Collection
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