2012 Lorain County Beautiful Finalists and Winners!

The 2012 Lorain County Beautiful Awards were awarded at the biennial banquet held Thursday, October 25, 2012 at the Spitzer Conference Center at LCCC. The awards pay tribute to the individuals, companies and organizations that help to beautify Lorain County and make it such a progressive place to live. The awards are presented by Lorain County Heritage, a non profit subsidiary of Visit Lorain County with funding from the Community Foundation of Lorain County. The field was narrowed down to sixty finalists in five categories, New Building, Green Building, Renovation, Landscaping and Community Service.

Judges were from outside Lorain County and included William Doty, Principal Architect for Doty and Miller Architects; Cynthia Druckenbrod, Director of Horticulture at the Cleveland Botanical Garden and Douglas Hoffman, Principal Architect for Weber Murphy Fox.

A presentation of Finalists:

And the winners:

New Building

Project Building Budget up to $750,000 

Mitchell’s

Mitchell’s Homemade Ice Cream, Avon

The facility was designed to serve ice cream and be a meeting place for the people of Avon and surrounding communities. The intent of the owner and architect, Dimit Architecture, was to create a work of art that adds to the life of the community and inspire other businesses to create special public places.

New Building

Project Building Budget over $750,000

Elyria High School

Elyria High School

The 317,000 square foot facility sits on 18.2 acres and its perimeter is 3,313 feet, which is equivalent to nearly two-thirds of a mile. Inside, are 67 classrooms, 13 special education spaces, four art rooms, three music rooms and four music practice rooms with virtual acoustic environment technology (a technology that is usually only available in the finest college/university music conservatories). The project includes a 2,016-seat gymnasium and a 261-seat auxiliary gymnasium. The dining hall features a large skylight and a shared common wall with the historic Washington Building. Elyria City School District students, staff and community members can enjoy the 841-seat, state-of-the-art Performing Arts Center located on West Avenue. The facility also includes a three-door, five-stop elevator, Music Hall of Fame, History Hall of Fame, Athletic Hall of Fame, the Ridge Tool Technology Lab, the Wi-Fi Café, Wi-Fi Courtyard, Science Courtyard, Art Courtyard, and the Historic Archway Courtyard. The building incorporates 125,000 bricks!

Green Building

Kahn Hall – Oberlin College, Oberlin

Kahn Hall

Green features of the building include natural ventilation in all of the sleeping rooms, contacts on windows that turn off heating and cooling when a window is opened, natural daylight visible from all positions in the primary spaces of the building, durable building material sourced as close to Oberlin as possible, and positioning on the site to maximize natural light and ventilation. Students sign a Sustainability Pledge prior to moving-in which includes not bringing an automobile to campus, resulting in a reduction in parking requirements by the City of Oberlin, in turn saving green space. Feedback of energy and water usage is constantly available to the students so that consumption can be minimized. Principles of conservation are integrated into the students’ education so they can be lifelong responsible consumers of natural resources. Kahn Hall has applied for LEED Gold certification by the United States Green Building Council. The building recently was awarded an Honor Award by the American Institute of Architects, Connecticut chapter.

Oberlin Fire Station

Oberlin Fire Station

This project included a renovation of the existing 7,500 sq ft building and a 13,000 sq ft two-story expansion. The building was designed using LEED principles that include: A 10.6 kW photo voltaic solar panel system, reducing reliability on city electrical power; roof garden that serves primarily for storm water retention but also provides insulation; rainwater collection systems that collects storm water runoff, filters and provides non-potable water supplied to all restrooms for sanitary use; extensive use of windows to provide natural daylight, decreasing need for electric power use; previous paving, bio-retention swales, and landscaping used to reduce storm water runoff. It was important to maintain the architectural design of the original building and artfully blend it into the new structure. The project is the first fire station in northern Ohio to be awarded a LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green building council, making it the first fire station in northern Ohio to achieve that status.

Renovation

Cork’s and Stubby’s

Cork’s and Stubby’s, Amherst

The entrance to Cork’s is highlighted by an arch made from antique bricks that frames an oval, ten-foot tall, wooden door. Stubby’s Pub & Grub is in another part of the 15,000 square-foot building. Both Cork’s and Stubby’s have outdoor patios. Cork’s patio is recessed into the building and can accommodate up to fourteen guests. With a roof overhead, rain is no obstacle to outdoor dining. It has faux winery doors accented by two coach lights. During renovation, two original pillars were discovered and incorporated into the design. Alternatively, Stubby’s patio occupies the sidewalk on Main St. and is bordered with wrought iron. The building is ringed with lanterns that look appropriate for the era. Painstaking efforts were taken to restore the exterior brick and sandstone. 

Lorain Port Authority Mile Long Pier

Mile Long Pier, Lorain

The “Mile Long” Pier or East Breakwater Shore Arm was built in the 1960s as a navigational structure for protection of the Harbor. Since its construction and with the advent of redevelopment of waterfront areas for public accessibility, this structure also grows as a public access area utilized by fisherman for boating access for the adjacent marina, for joggers and walkers. Improvements included removing barriers such as a chain linked and barbed wire fencing, enhancing lighting; extending adjacent parking through the addition of 130 new parking spaces and adding streetscape features (benches, trash receptacles, etc.). Additionally, the decking of the Pier was completely revamped to include the installation of brick pavers over the entire length of the pier to enhance the aesthetics of the facility. 

Landscaping

RW Beckett Corporation, North Ridgeville

RW Beckett Corporation

The building and grounds on center Ridge Road were designed to blend in with the residential neighborhood, at a time when a manufacturing plant was a less-than-welcome neighbor. Harold C. Beckett, brother of founder Reginald W. Beckett, was a noted Canadian architect whose passion was for landscape architecture. Harold did the initial design of not only the buildings, but also the landscaping, and personally oversaw the planting of hundreds of shrubs and trees, many of which still exist, over 60 years later. A recent addition to the property is a beautiful Americana rose garden, located north of the pavilion. The garden contains 56 red, white, and blue rose bushes, and was dedicated in 2007 to celebrate the retirement of a longtime employee after 56 years of faithful service. The company has been known for its beautiful landscaping, and is committed to continuing that tradition.

Miller Nature Preserve and Conservatory, Avon

Miller Nature Preserve

78 acres of land was donated in honor of Avon resident Buddy Miller’s late wife, Alice Fowles. Today the 5,000 square foot conservatory is home to several collections of plant species from around the world. Visitors experience an orchid collection, donated by Dr. Ibrahim Eren of Lorain, bromeliads, ferns bonsai, desert plants, palms and cycads, and other tropical plants as they walk a path through the conservatory. The outdoor gardens have been dedicated to former assistant director of the park district, Becky Voit. As visitors walk the trail, they will experience a lily garden, herb garden, vegetable garden, rose garden and butterfly garden. Herbs and veggies are used for cooking classes and demos in the inside demonstration kitchen and self-sustainability series of programs. The butterfly house includes more than 100 butterflies. The garden has a variety of species from monarchs to buckeye butterflies. 

Community Service

Follow the Fish, Lorain

Follow the Fish

A new public-art campaign celebrating nature, sustainability, and Lorain County business and tourism was launched in June 2012 with the installation of an outdoor dancing-fish sculpture at the Lorain Port Authority’s Black River Landing in downtown Lorain. Follow the Fish Art and Adventure Trails will be in full force from May through September 2013. The dancing-fish centerpiece features 18 movable fish perched atop nine poles in a metal base. The project will continue to bring together artists, businesses, events, and community members in an outdoor art project that lines Lorain County’s lakefront and nearby communities with hundreds of kinetic fish sculptures. Educational programs will underscore the importance of increasing sustainable living. The project was conceived by a committee of Lorain County artists, businesses, and community members and the sculptures are designed by North Ridgeville resident Jim Gundlach. 

The People’s Garden at Oberlin Community Services

The People’s Garden

The garden is designed to provide the Oberlin community with free, fresh, organic produce, and develop familiarity with local food production. It is a beautiful space in which to build community and enjoy quiet reflection. The garden is planned, planted, and maintained by a dedicated group of volunteers guided by a knowledgeable, part-time lead gardener. The garden consists of 18 raised beds—including two ADA accessible beds—bursting with fresh fruits and vegetables, surrounded by benches and picnic tables. The garden’s unique aesthetic and central location attracts the attention of Oberlin Community Services clients, children, and their families playing on the jungle gym at Depot Park, and folks enjoying a bicycle ride down the bike path.