It takes a village Nestled in an affluent Atlanta suburb as if it had been there for years, the innovative Avenue at East Cobb serves as a model for the forthcoming brigade of lifestyle concept centers. In the category of New or Renovated Open Centers, Crawford McWilliams Hatcher Architects Inc., Birmingham, Ala., received the 2000 SADI for its design of the development.
At The Avenue, a horseshoe-shaped cluster of stores, shops and restaurants is interwoven with "step-out-of-the-car-and-into-the-shop" parking, and paver-surfaced pedestrian walkways that open into courtyard settings. Lighted brick towers punctuate the center's period-style Main Street design concept. Traditional building materials, tumbled brick pavers, cast stone urns and accents, patterned multicolored brick walls, standing-seam metal roofs and ornamental lights and lampposts also contribute to the atmosphere.
The landscaped paver-clad walkways radiate from the center of The Avenue's u-shaped plan. They cross the driveways at the same height as the sidewalks to serve as friendly speed breaks. Individual shops were encouraged to project their storefronts out and up into the sign band. As a result, the Main Street environment is enforced by cornice treatments and building parapets of varying heights.
AWARD RECIPIENT CRAWFORD MCWILLIAMS HATCHER ARCHITECTS INC. Birmingham, Ala. Everett Hatcher (principal-in-charge); Thomas Goodman (design principal); Joe Keeton (project manager); Doug McCurry (project architect)
CLIENT COUSINS MARKETCENTERS Atlanta Product Manufacturers/Suppliers: Hardin Construction, Atlanta (contractor); Atlanta Testing & Engineering (geotechnical engineer); Southern Civil Engineers, Alpharetta, Ga. (civil engineer); LRE Engineering Inc., Atlanta (traffic engineering); Post Landscape Group Inc., Atlanta (landscape architect); Structural Design Group, Birmingham, Ala. (structural engineer); McWilliams Associates Inc., Birmingham, Ala. (mechanical); Ray Engineering, Birmingham, Ala. (electrical); Dougherty & Associates, Architect, Roswell, Ga. (design consultant); Ramon Luminance Design, Atlanta (lighting design); Aamco Paving Contractor, Suwanee, Ga. (stone and asphalt paving); Architectural Signing Inc., Norcross, Ga. (architectural signage); Brill Enterprises, Marietta, Ga. (drywall, acoustical); Builders of Metro Atlanta Inc., Douglasville, Ga. (doors and hardware); H&S Masonry, Demopolis, Ala. (brick masonry and renaissance stone); Nix Unger Construction Inc., Alpharetta, Ga. (prime and paint); Ray-O-Light Southeast Inc., Atlanta (metal roofing); First Choice Industries Inc., Sunrise, Fla. (EPDM roofing); Shaw Bell-Mann Inc., Doraville, Ga. (vinyl, ceramic and porcelain tile flooring); WS Nielson & Co., Alpharetta, Ga. (fiberglass domes); Robert Loll Enterprises Inc., Acworth, Ga. (louvered roof screens); S&W Masonry Contractors, Forest Park, Ga. (CMU and brick masonry)