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Category: Fellows

Principal
Lincoln Street Studio

Recipient of 2008 AIA Ohio Gold Medal

Frank was nominated by AIA Columbus for his achievements in Urban Design, but the Jury of Fellows selected his portfolio as an outstanding example of bridging Architecture and Urban Design.  

Frank L. Elmer extends the practice of urban design and architecture to the realm of the small town, motivating communities throughout the Midwest to examine the advantages of urban living and the means to achieve them.

Leading planning in Ohio, Frank Elmer is noted for his integration of planning, engineering, and architectural perspectives which he has employed for nearly 40 years as a basis for innovative and visionary plans that have renewed town centers, spurred job formation and elevated the quality of urban life.

These fellowship induction statements recognize Frank Elmer as an early, vocal advocate of urban living and attest to the legacy of his personal, professional work. His passion for cities is pervasive in all that he has done. He has motivated communities to adopt new ordinances establishing the density and economic viability of urban districts, and to prepare plans that will urbanize community development patterns. His urban design efforts have spurred clients to seek urban development options within a predominantly suburban part of America. He has improved the lives of tens of thousands of community residents and businesses, and he has enlightened their governments.

Frank Elmer’s work includes three scales of focus– development and redevelopment of town centers, master plan preparation, and the design of historic district infill and restoration projects. From this total perspective, he has developed a unique vision of urban life and a set of urban design principles that logically ties the fabric of historic settlements to the need for modern architecture. His work consistently illuminates both the context of community and the sense of place for individual works of architecture, and is, therefore, a catalyst and testing ground for ideas. He argues that a single piece of architecture can establish context, and that new architecture in old districts must be modern and contextual to establish the necessary conversations among all the layers of old and new. His projects punctuate or enhance their settings, establish the sense of place, or singularly initiate the implementation of plans he has done. Examples are:

The Nationwide & Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center, Ohio State’s first LEED Certified building. 2009 ACEC Outstanding Achievement Award.

Entrepreneurship Innovation Center, Lorain County Community College, Elyria, Ohio (With Clark and Post Architects.) LEED Silver Certified. 2008 AIA Columbus Honor Award.
 
New Village Homes, Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority, Columbus, Ohio. 2005 Grand Award, Builder’s Choice Awards, National Association of Home Builders. 2005 AIA Ohiio Merit Award.  2006 James B. Recchie Design Award, The Columbus Landmarks Foundation.

Science Village, the signature building of the Science & Technology Campus, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. 2001 AIA Columbus Honor Award.

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Category: Fellows

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Category: Fellows

Jack Hedge, FAIA, LEED AP, is the design principal and chairman of DesignGroup Architects. He holds a Bachelor of Architecture and a Master of Architecture both from The Ohio State University where he also received the AIA Ohio Scholarship Citation and the 6th Year Faculty Prize. He has received design awards for many of his designs including: the J Leonard Camera Center, J Leonard Camera Center Residence Hall, Columbus College of Art and Design Canzani Center, the Columbus Metropolitan Library Whetstone Branch Library, South High Street Branch Library and Operations Center, the Worthington Northwest Library, the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio Corporate Headquarters Addition and Renovation and Second Addition and Parking Garage, the 515 East Main Street Office Building, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Mason Corporate Headquarters, and the Shepherd’s Corner Administrative Building for Dominican Sisters St. Mary of the Springs. The Anthem Mason Corporate Headquarters and the STRS Second Addition and Parking Garage also won the Ohio Governor’s Award for Excellence in Energy Efficiency. After serving on the board of directors and as president of AIA Columbus he founded the AIA Columbus Committee on the Environment (COTE). He also served as the National AIA COTE representative on the planning committee for the 2007 national ASES conference in Cleveland.

For nearly thirty years, Jack Hedge has been the definitive voice and leader of energy efficient, sustainable architecture in a region that has just recently begun a holistic effort to improve energy efficiency. While there are residential applications of passive solar in the region, there is no other architect who has applied passive solar and energy efficient theories to institutional and corporate office buildings to the degree of success that Jack has.

Jack entered the practice of architecture with a passion to help create a more sustainable world. As a graduate student at The Ohio State University, his thesis, A New Town In Town won the 1973 Owens Corning Energy Conservation Award, and helped spark his fascination with the concept of utilizing sustainability as a formgiver, emphasizing harmony with the surrounding environment. In all of his significant work, the facility’s form is shaped by location on both a macro and micro scale. Additionally, conserving energy through efficiency has always been Jack’s mantra.

As a founding member and the first architect on the statewide board of experts for Green Energy Ohio, Jack has used his position to educate the profession by promoting local and regional examples of sustainable design through numerous tours, seminars and charrettes.
In the summer of 2001, Jack was approached by the Foundation of Environmental Education to be the national expert architect on day lighting for the Day Lighting Buildings episode of their PBS/Educable video series, E3: Energy, Economy and the Environment. Since then, over 10 million school children across the country have viewed the video each year, giving them an informed understanding of the importance of day lighting, orientation and energy-efficiency.

Although his success has been recognized by his clients and their communities, it has been an ongoing battle to promote innovation to those in the region who are wary of something other than conventional building practices. Using his designs as the basis of proof, Jack has presented his findings on energy conservation and passive solar design to national and regional organization conferences and conventions. He regularly gives lecture series at The Ohio State University along with other local universities and diverse organizations ranging from AIA Columbus, ASHRAE, IFMA, the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman’s C.E.O. Council and the Sierra Club. Through these efforts, he has become a much sought after, credible source expert for numerous media outlets in the region.

As Jack’s design approach has evolved, his formula of efficiency + renewables = sustainable solutions is being effectively realized on many projects. One example is the Hocking College Energy Institute. Besides being a facility for teaching, the building itself will be a teaching example for future energy technology technicians. The design incorporates orientation, a high performance skin with earth sheltering, a partial green roof, day lighting for energy efficiency, and integrates geo-thermal, photovoltaics and solar thermal to complete the formula. The result is a facility that will require 75% less energy to operate. It is currently nearing completion and it will be the first LEED Platinum Certified education building in Ohio.

Jack Hedge is a visionary leader in advancing the practice of energy efficient architecture. His passionate leadership has awakened his region by pioneering solutions to meet the challenges of a more sustainable world.