The Brown Assembly and Dining Hall were recently recognized by the American Institute of Architects South Atlantic Region for a Merit Design Award at the 2020 Design Awards Ceremony. This award marks our firm’s third consecutive year winning at least one design award at the regional level of the American Institute of Architects. Jury Chair Robert de Leon, FAIA of de Leon & Primmer Architecture Workshop stated…”The Brown Assembly and Dining Hall exemplify a wonderful use of wood as a design motif that is interpreted in various details and has a wonderful relationship to its site and adjacent structures, a family of pavilion structures”. The Brown Assembly and Dining Hall serves as a central facility for the youth of the Missionary Baptist Church across the state of North Carolina. It is one component in a larger camp complex. The hall functions as a daily cafeteria during the camp season and can host a range of activities year-round. The driving experiential idea for the project was to connect the building to its beautiful site. The formal and material concept was born out of a metaphor for the tree and its various layers. Dark corrugated metal panels, dark flat metal panels, and light slotted wood were selected as the primary materials, highlighting textural and tonal contrasts. The connection with nature is further amplified by the skylights in the main space and in the outdoor passage, which allows for natural light to enhance the experience within. With the vegetation surrounding the building the lighting quality within the structure changes in a visually pronounced way over the course of any given day regardless of the time of year. The north and south elevations are fully glazed and offer views into the woods on both prominent sides of the building. This marks the project’s third design award from the American Institute of Architects, having previously won an AIA Triangle and AIA North Carolina Design Awards. The South Atlantic Region of the American Institute of Architects includes the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee.