The fourth annual Architizer A+Awards program is now open for entries! Help us celebrate great architecture and get your designs recognized on a global stage: FIND OUT HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR PROJECT HERE.
To celebrate the launch of this year’s A+Awards — the world’s largest awards program for architecture and products — we asked the winners from 2015 about the secrets behind their success, the exciting new projects on their drawing boards, and their personal architectural inspirations. Up this week, it’s Roberto de Leon and M. Ross Primmer, winners of the jury and popular vote in the Retail typology for the Wild Turkey Bourbon Visitor Center in Lawrenceburg, Ky., and a jury winner in the Architecture +Preservation category for the Guthrie Transportation Museum and Welcome Center.
Names: Roberto de Leon and M. Ross Primmer
Firm: De Leon and Primmer Architecture Workshop
Location: Louisville, Ky.
Educations: Roberto — Master in Architecture, Harvard University / BA in Architecture, UC, Berkeley; Ross — Master in Architecture, Harvard University / BS in Architecture, Kent State University
Wild Turkey Bourbon Visitor Center, Lawrence, Ky.
Architizer: What was it about your winning projects that you think resonated most with voters?
Roberto de Leon and M. Ross Primmer: We had two projects that won the jury prize this year — the Wild Turkey Bourbon Visitor Center and the Guthrie Transportation Museum and Welcome Center. Each addresses different challenges and tells a unique story that we hope came through in the project submittals. Supporting a product rebranding effort, the Wild Turkey project defines a visitor experience that deliberately strikes an ambiguity through oppositions — familiar/unfamiliar, simple/complex, opaque/transparent — that invite exploration and discovery.
The Guthrie project was significant for us in that it is truly a grass-roots effort by a community to save its historic downtown. We are proud to be part of that team. We hope the project demonstrates that it is never too late to save an existing building.
Wild Turkey Bourbon Visitor Center, Lawrence, Ky.
A: Since winning your A+Awards, what’s the most exciting project you have been working on?
RdL and MRP: It’s difficult to choose. Every one of our current projects is so different in terms of scale, program, and context. Each explores different ideas that interest the entire studio team. We have several large-scale projects nearing construction completion, and it’s always rewarding to see all of our hard work reflected in the built projects.
A: Who’s your design hero and/or favorite building, and why?
RdL and MRP: We are always inspired by the work of Louis Kahn. It’s rare when a building surpasses the expectations set from its photography, and seeing his work firsthand never disappoints.
Guthrie Transportation Museum and Welcome Center, Guthrie, Ky.
A: What do you find exciting about architecture and design right now?
RdL and MRP: What’s most exciting for our studio right now is that we get to have a shot of bourbon in the office every day promptly at 4 p.m. (it’s research!). An appointed intern calls us all to gather with a turkey gobbler.
A: Which city would you most like to visit next for its architecture?
RdL and MRP: We never tire of visiting Rome. We find new inspiration with each visit.
Guthrie Transportation Museum and Welcome Center, Guthrie, Ky.
A: Which material do you most love designing with, and why?
RdL and MRP: We’re constantly experimenting with different materials, but we are always drawn to exploring the potential of what is conventional and ordinary.
