Honoring the Past and Imagining the Future

The U.S. General Services Administration is proud to honor the winners of our fifth biennial Design Awards. The 1998 Design Awards are the last of this century, but the work they recognize will endure far into the next millennium and even beyond.

Our President and First Lady have asked the American people to celebrate the millennium by "honoring the past and imagining the future." In its own unique way, each of our award-winning projects does this, honoring our democratic system of government and our heritage while providing places for future generations to work and seek inspiration.

As builder for the Federal civilian Government, steward of many of our Nation's most valued architectural treasures, and manager of the Art-in-Architecture program that incorporates works by outstanding contemporary artists into Federal facilities, GSA contributes to our architectural and artistic legacy. Through our Design Excellence Program, we seek the best in design, construction, and restoration. Our Design Awards Program honors "the best of the best."

These award-winning projects exemplify many of the goals of both the Administration and GSA regarding Federal buildings. We are trying to keep our Federal buildings as open to the public as possible, yet reality requires us to consider the security of those who work and conduct business in them. This is why we commission such projects as the guidelines for perimeter and entrance security in Washington's Federal Triangle. Executive orders require Federal offices to be located in historic buildings and downtown areas as much as possible. Most of our award-winning buildings--some new and some historic--provide room for an expanded Federal presence in urban settings.

The Lens Ceiling at the U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building in Phoenix, Arizona, and the architectural glass walls of the Robert C. Byrd U.S. Courthouse in Charleston, West Virginia, reflect our renewed emphasis on art that is incorporated into the architecture of a building. Justice and Africa Rising, on the other hand, convey the very essences of their venues: a Federal courthouse and the African Burial Ground in New York City.

We are pleased that many graphic designers entered projects in 1998. Their work reflects GSA's emphasis on communicating the stories of our buildings with publications like United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and on incorporating coordinated, state-of-the-art signage, as in the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse in Portland, OR.

I congratulate the winners and thank all who submitted projects.

David J. Barram

Administrator