Winning Night for NBA at 2024 ASID Design Excellence Awards

NBA’s interior design studio was honored x3 at the ASID Georgia 2024 Design Excellence Awards! Accolades include a Gold Award for Georgia Center for Nonprofits, Silver Award for Olive & Wooster, and Bronze Award for Flamingo Crossings Village West. Congratulations to our project teams, clients, consultants, and vendors. Read more below for an inside look at each of the award-winning projects!

Category: Commercial Under 10,000 SF
Project: Georgia Center for Nonprofits
Client: Georgia Center for Nonprofits

For their relocated Atlanta headquarters, Georgia Center for Nonprofits envisioned a hub for community and social transformation along the Beltline in Reynoldstown. Formerly an A&P grocery warehouse later converted to lofts; the lower level was seeking new life as it was again to be adapted and repurposed, this time for use as an 8,962 square-foot corporate headquarters. The client directive was to keep and enhance the industrial aesthetic they fell in love with but overall bring the space into the modern era with all the luxuries of a modern office. As the team dug into programming, it was clear the space needed to incorporate two main functions; a corporate headquarters for the client and a separate innovation center used to host other nonprofits.

The project scope included:
- Hospitality / lounge space for hosting events
- Training room for 40+ people
- Variety of private group meeting spaces
- Breakout meeting/collaboration spaces
- 8 workstations for staff, separate from hospitality areas
- 5 private offices for staff, separate from hospitality areas
- Staff breakroom
- Wellness room
- Storage space

Working within an existing footprint lit naturally by only two exterior walls, the team sought ways to brighten the space to achieve a functional, timeless, industrial aesthetic. The concept is rooted in preservation and creatively intertwining the new with existing industrial elements. Existing industrial elements were artfully incorporated, including column features at conference rooms and prior steel lift supports supplemented with power to serve a new reclaimed wood community table, sourced from another Atlanta-based nonprofit.

From a space planning perspective, the layout funnels from public to private, balancing collaboration and solitude. At the entry, an innovation center serves as the hub; a hospitality area fit for hosting large gatherings. Heads down workstations and large training room are tucked further back into the plan, offering privacy and the ability to focus. Custom wood slats become a repetitive element, adding not only texture and warmth against the cool industrial base, but purpose as sliding permeable dividers that bridge the gap between public and private areas.

Complete April 2023, the new corporate headquarters not only meets, but exceeds the training, working, and hosting needs of the Center and their partners.

Category: Contract - Multifamily Residential
Project: Olive & Wooster
Client: Epimoni, Adam America Real Estate

A circuitous five-year effort to build, every inch of the 299-unit Olive & Wooster was carefully considered. From a suite of tastefully designed community amenities to clever details reminiscent of the historic surroundings, the design of this much needed community embraces the adjacent revitalizing neighborhoods, becoming an important addition to New Haven. Easily accessible to Union Station, the targeted resident mix is young but diverse, offering a desirable new housing option for Yale University faculty and grad students, local hospital staff and employees from the area’s start-up businesses. A client driven goal, the project was expected to play a major role in reconnecting communities by creating a vibrant work, live and play environment.

Texture, color and flavor are all staples in Wooster Square. The design team chose to honor the history of the surrounding area with accents reminiscent of establishments like the original Frank Pepe pizzeria and nearby brownstones. Historical aspects of New Haven are juxtaposed with the new, establishing a creative tension blended between period details and contemporary finishes that bring a modern, classic twist to the new residents. Additional local influences, like the famed cherry blossoms in Wooster Square and existing trees on the site, provide inspiration for a natural rustic touch.

To accomplish a distinctive, unified aesthetic, brass accents, stained wood, bold patterns, and iron framing repeat throughout the interior amenities and seamlessly extend into the courtyard spaces. In the completed solution, old and new are harmoniously balanced to achieve a creative tension. The space plan cleverly centralizes social amenities on the second floor, easily accessible for all, and incorporates quieter support spaces, such as leasing, coworking, mail and packaging, into the various lobbies on the ground level to create intuitive, functional, usable space throughout the building. The client’s goal of blending the adjacent industrial areas, park, and brownstones was not only met, but exceeded.  

Category: Contract - Unique Space
Project: Flamingo Crossings Village West
Client: American Campus Communities

Tasked with creating an intern housing campus on 93 acres with over 1.9 million square feet of programmed space, the design team was in search of magic when planning this highly amenitized community. Unlike any other project in the country in terms of scope and scale, a unique challenge was how to make the property feel like Disney while using minimal intellectual property. Every aspect needed to surprise and delight residents while reflecting the client’s history, culture, brand, and commitment to distinctive placemaking.

With a resident population from all over the globe, it was imperative the concept provide a world of interest and discovery to inspire Cast Members while fostering community relationships and creating a sense of ‘home’ in this elite hospitality-driven collegiate program. Upon entry to the Community Center, a double-height colonnade acts as a contemporary front porch for the project, setting precedent that traditional notions of a residential clubhouse have been replaced by a modern, youthful 24/7 hub of activity. Seamless connections between indoor/outdoor spaces are prioritized throughout the concept to create a true oasis, taking full advantage of the Florida climate with ample opportunities for residents to thrive.

The West Campus pulls inspiration from Disney’s modern era, focusing on animated characters and stories. Visual components are rooted in brand history and incorporated throughout the design to stoke individual discovery while layers of detail reveal the client’s rich history at every opportunity. Used sparingly, orange becomes a neutral within the vibrant palette as electric, cheery elements are tastefully dispersed within the calming backdrop of white, warm greys and black tones. The duality of a harmonious base layered with exciting pattern and bright color artfully masters the flow from calm to chaos, achieving the client-driven goal of an energetic, youthful space prime to foster community among residents day or night.

No detail was overlooked, as signage and an extensive art program were led by the design team to ensure cohesive storytelling throughout. Now complete, this one-of-a-kind facility exudes magic, sparking creativity, connectivity, and community around the clock. 

Abbe NelsonAll, News