Bend architect receives national honor

A dozen architects from around the country, including Seth Anderson of Bend, have been selected to receive the American Institute of Architects’ Young Architects Award.

Despite the name, the title doesn’t have anything to do with age. The award recognizes architects who have been licensed for no more than 10 years, but have used that short amount of time to make significant contributions to the profession.

“I was really honored,” Anderson, Oregon’s only recipient, said Friday “It’s kind of a neat thing to be recognized. I do what I do to help other architects in the community, and wasn’t really expecting to be awarded, but it was neat.”

Anderson is the principal architect and owner of Ascent Architecture and Interiors in Bend. You can see his work in buildings around town.

He’s also been working remotely with the AIA chapter in Eugene to expand the role of architects in Central Oregon.

“I’ve been working with that chapter for three years now to bring services and other chapter events to Central Oregon from Eugene, because we’ve really been under-served here as architects by the chapter,” Anderson said.

Among other current projects, his firm has designed the Worthy Brewing expansion.

“We’re really excited about Worthy,” he said. “At Worthy, we’re doing a dining room expansion, and a space-observing telescope as part of it, too,” Anderson said.

“So there’s going to be a silo that’s going to have a telescope in it, so people can visit the observatory and see the night sky, and there will be a really big second floor deck that will be facing Pilot Butte and the mountains.”

The Young Architects Award is now in its 23rd year. Anderson and the rest of the recipients will be honored at the AIA national convention in Philadelphia this May.

Read more about Anderson and the other honored architects at: http://www.architectmagazine.com/awards/aia-honor-awards/aia-names-12-winners-of-2016-young-architects-award_o