Individual, 2 projects honoredby local architects for 2009

11/15/2009

A longtime local architect and two architectural projects have won accolades from the Toledo Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Arne Larson, master architect and senior associate at SSOE Group, Toledo, is 2009 architect of the year, the group announced yesterday.

The Collaborative, Toledo, was chosen to receive design awards for a project in downtown Toledo and one in Orrville in northeast Ohio.

The firm received an honor award for “exemplary design sensitivity” for its work on the renovation of the firm's office lobby in downtown's Gardner Building.

Also recognized with a citation award for “having achieved a high level of design excellence” was the Collaborative's work on the student life building at the University of Akron's Wayne College in Orrville.

The projects were chosen from 16 entries, which were judged by a jury of architects in Fayetteville, Ark.

In naming Mr. Larson, 65, architect of the year, the Toledo group cited his “influence on Toledo's architecture, his role as a mentor to many area architects, and his continued participation in the chapter …”

He received a bachelor of architecture degree from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, in 1971. He taught at the school before opening a private practice in Pittsburgh in the 1980s. Since moving to Toledo to join SSOE in 1990, he has been involved with projects in Mexico, France, Japan, and China.