Clinton Sheerr Award for Excellence in New Hampshire Architecture

About the Clinton Sheerr Award
2008 Winner: C. Stuart White, Jr., AIA
2007 Winner: Christopher P. Williams AIA
Call for Entries

About the Clinton Sheerr Award
This Award honors and promotes New Hampshire architects and architecture that exemplify excellence in design at the highest level.

Clinton Sheerr AIA, was a well-known New Hampshire architect who died in 1997, and whose uncommon love for the profession and the state is memorialized through this honor award. Sheerr was responsible for designing numerous award-winning New Hampshire buildings, notably the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and St. Paul's Church, and was active in professional and community organizations.

Deirdre Sheerr-Gross AIA created the fund for the award in honor of Clint, and it is supported by donations in his memory. The funds are held by the NH Charitable Foundation.

Sheerr exemplified the spirit of great passion for beauty and design, a dedication to the community, and the tenacity to follow one's tasks and dreams. This award honors other similarly outstanding architects in the state who carry on the tradition of deep love and dedication for the State, its architecture and environment.

2008 Winner: C. Stuart White, Jr. AIA
The 2008 winner of the Clinton Sheerr Award for Excellence in Architecture is C. Stuart White Jr., AIA of Lebanon, NH.
The jury selected Stu for his early recognition of the environmental challenges in the building industry, his commitment to and leadership in sustainable design, and for being a positive role model for architects.

Five years after receiving his degree in architecture from Columbia University, Stu joined Banwell Architects in Lebanon, NH, and he and his wife embarked on a life-long energy conservation commitment. This was in the late sixties, even before the oil embargo of the 1970s. Back then Stu predicted that things would not change until oil hit $100.00 a barrel — on January 3, 2008 it did just that! Not a welcome milestone. But he is delighted that people are finally waking up. In the '70s people looked him oddly when he talked about his sustainable design ideas, but he remained dedicated and held on to his ideals. For four decades now, he has practiced his craft and wielded his influence in the Granite State.

Stu's devotion to sustainable design is evident in all his buildings, as well as his personal commitments. One of his many projects is the Society for the Protection of NH Forests Conservation Center in Concord, which received a LEED!" Gold designation from the U.S. Green Building Council — the first LEED certified building in New England, and at the time, in 2001, one of only 12 Gold projects in the country. In this building, the design emphasis includes an air-tight envelope, water conservation, air quality, daylighting, native certified green forest products, recycled projects, construction waste recycling, and district heating from central wood chip plant.

Stu also designed one of the first residential projects to be accepted into the pilot LEED!" for Homes program, a home in Dorchester, NH. This project meets the highest standards of environmental stewardship and promotes environmental education and research. It includes renewable energy, including solar and hydro, and the entire structure and finishes of the barn/house are harvested from Green Woodlands sustainably managed forest, demonstrating the viability and variety of regional species as a preferable alternative to forest products imported from outside northern New England. Stu was Chairman of AIANH's Task Force on Sustainable Architecture from 1993 to 1995 and has been a member of the Society for the Protection of NH Forests' Green Certification Advisory Group since 1998. He has served on AIANH's Board of Directors and the Advisory Council of the NH Technical Institute. He was an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the environmental studies program at Dartmouth College, and was an energy consultant to the Brookhaven National Labs from 1980 to 1984, focusing on passive solar energy utilization. He currently serves on the Board for the Jordan Institute.

Stu has lectured widely on architecture and the environment. His wide-ranging projects have received numerous AIA and industry awards for design excellence, and been published in magazines internationally.

2007 Winner: Christopher P. Williams AIA
As the 2007 recipient, Chris Williams exemplifies and carries on the tradition of deep love and dedication for the State and its architecture exemplified by Clinton Sheerr.

Chris Williams has garnered numerous awards for his designs, including many AIANH Excellence in Architecture awards, and his work has been featured in several books, newspapers, and magazines. He has been selected to serve on many awards program juries throughout New England.

Chris has donated his time and his creative spirit to his community, his profession, and the non-profit world of New Hampshire and beyond. He currently sits on the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) and the NH Board of Architects. He is active with AIA New Hampshire and served on its board for many years and as president in 1999. Chris has also been active with the NH Preservation Alliance, NH Main Street, the Meredith Chamber of Commerce, and the Moultonboro Area Community Development Corporation, among others. Over the years he has given countless hours to nearly 20 design charrettes.

Call for Entries

The Award will be given to an individual primarily domiciled for the past five years in New Hampshire.
The award will consist of a cash prize of $1000 and an accompanying certificate and will be announced at the Annual AIANH Awards banquet.
Applicants should submit a one-page (maximum) nominating letter, and may append back-up materials. It is anticipated that the applicants and their work will be reasonably well-known already to the NH architectural community. Materials submitted may be used in the promotion of the award.
You may self-nominate or nominate another.
Send nomination letters to the AIANH office, PO Box 398, 310 Marlboro St., Keene, NH.
Deadline for submissions is December 1.

PO Box 398 • 310 Marlboro St. 2nd Floor • Keene, NH 03431 Tel: 603.357.2863 • Fax: 603.357.0835 • Email: Executive DirectorWebsite by: KeeneOnline.com