Fidelity Homestead Bank Receives Rose Award

August 2, 2010

On Friday July 30, 2010, the AIA Baton Rouge held its annual Rose Awards gala reception at the Louisiana Art & Science Museum. Twenty-three projects were entered into the awards program. Of these, 7 received awards.
Fidelity Homestead Bank received a Rose Award.

The awards were selected by a panel of three jurors. They are architects from various parts of the country who have achieved acknowledgment for design excellence.

The jurors were:
James Counts, AIA with Gluckman Mayner Architects in New York City
Homan Wong, AIA president of Panto-Ulema Inc.
Tricia Stuth, AIA with curb and is an Assistant Professor at the University of Tennessee

Their comments with regard to the Fidelity Homestead Bank are as follows:

Tricia Stuth:
Banks clientele tend to lean toward conservative, often inauthentic classical expressions disconnected from their immediate surroundings and local vernacular. This project demonstrates an alternative—a response to the vernacular and a logical plan organization in relation to the interior volume and exterior form. Proportions of the entry elevation are particularly elegant.

Homan Wong:
A new twist on an old archetype that is right for its time.

James Counts:
In addition to design, this project should also be recognized for its social merit. The narrative stated the project was a response to Hurricane Katrina, but the bank’s opening coincided with the economic downturn of 2008. Drawing from the surrounding neighborhood vernacular, the building acknowledges—and the design embraces—the local community. The plan is logical and the section retains a very personal scale.