New Buildings, Complex Renovations Recognized for Design Excellence

Baltimore, MD—December 19, 2016

Five projects engineered by Baltimore-based Mueller Associates have been recognized with 2016 awards from the Baltimore and Maryland chapters of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Mueller provided mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineering for the buildings, which include major new construction projects and complex renovations of historic structures.

The comprehensive, multi-phase renovations to the Baltimore Museum of Art earned AIABaltimore’s Grand Design Award. The modernization, which Mueller designed in association with the architectural firm of Ziger/Snead, was completed in conjunction with the museum’s centennial anniversary in 2015.

“This was a difficult project to accomplish and the design team did an amazing job,” the awards jury noted. “It is very hard to insert new elements, systems, and materials in a way that doesn’t detract from the art. The new interventions are very sensitive. It takes strength to look back and unravel past decisions and reset the institution.”

The Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon was recognized with two awards: the AIABaltimore Excellence in Design Award and the AIA Maryland Excellence in Design Merit Award. The LEED^® Gold building, which Mueller engineered in collaboration with Ayers Saint Gross, is “a well-crafted, high-quality project…the design is stately yet comfortable in its bucolic setting,” the jury commented. “The library is a well-conceived project that honors the Washington legacy with a timeless and well-scaled building.”

The new University of Maryland, Baltimore Campus Performing Arts and Humanities Building, designed in association with William Rawn Associates and Grimm + Parker, was recognized with the AIA Maryland Excellence in Design Honor Award in Institutional Architecture. Mueller provided mechanical and plumbing engineering for the complex. The LEED Gold, two-phase project “conveys a clear concept of bringing the various art forms together to create a dynamic place,” according to the jury.

The new Performing and Visual Arts Center at the Friends School of Baltimore received an AIABaltimore Excellence in Design Award. Mueller designed the campus addition in collaboration with Ziger/Snead. The jury credited the project’s “skillful design,” which created “wonderful space.”

The renovation and adaptive reuse of the historic Mercantile Trust and Deposit Co. into the Chesapeake Shakespeare Theater in downtown Baltimore received an AIABaltimore Honorable Mention Award. Mueller engineered the project in association with the architectural firm of Cho Benn Holback + Associates. The jury noted that it was “impressed with how this space works well for its new use.”

Mueller’s current projects include renovations to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum and George Washington University’s Corcoran School of the Arts & Design in Washington, D.C. Additional projects include the expansion of the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg, the new Duke University Arts Center in Durham, N.C., the Edward St. John Learning and Teaching Center at the University of Maryland in College Park, and the Bowie State University Center for Natural Sciences, Mathematics & Nursing, also in Maryland. Mueller Associates is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2016.

About Mueller Associates

Established in 1966, Mueller Associates provides mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineering services for facilities throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. The firm specializes in engineering for academic buildings, museums, libraries, performing arts centers, healthcare settings, and other institutional and corporate facilities requiring designs for stringent environmental control, energy-conservation, and sustainability.

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