2010 MERIT AWARD, AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS, ALASKAAs a collaborative effort between Bettisworth North and Ruffcorn Mott Hinthorne Stine Architects, this project creates a new benchmark for design in midtown Anchorage through a mixed-use program, high-end finishes, energy efficiency, and pedestrian friendly approach to the site. The team strived to reinvent the traditional monolith approach to office buildings in Alaska.The ten-story, 125,000 sf, class A office tower floats above 20,000 sf of prime street level retail space plus four levels of structured parking. The building's public friendliness is reinforced by landscaping that shields pedestrians from the street, heated sidewalks, and extensive screening of the parking levels through glass panels, glass fins and metal screens. Public areas are enhanced by stone flooring, textured wall finishes and custom lighting fixtures. The first floor elevator core is covered in orange glass panels that glow like a hearth, even through the long, dark Alaskan winters.The exterior envelope was conceived to maximize the appearance of lightness in its massing, materials and details, and to mitigate solar gain in the summer and drafts in the winter. The small size floor plates, floor to ceiling windows, and column free floor plans allow for ample daylight penetration into the inner office environment and flexible workspace layouts, while allowing maximum view to the surrounding landscape