Pritam Singh in the News
Truman Annex earns Fla. Design Arts Award
The Citizen November 6, 1994
Truman Annex earns Fla. Design Arts Award
KEY WEST – Truman Annex, the residential community set on the western Point of Key West, has been awarded one of Florida’s most prestigious awards for design excellence: The 1994 Florida Design Arts Award.
Presented by Secretary of State Jim Smith and the Florida Arts Council, the award recognizes public and private facilities that represent the “most effective collaboration among the design professions: architecture, engineering, landscape architecture, and graphic, interior and urban design.”
Applicants from across the state of Florida enter in competition for this coveted award. Of these entries, only four properties were honored this year. Among the winners, Truman Annex was the single private property chosen. Other recipients were the Florida National Cemetery, in Bushnell, the Fort Lauderdale Beach Revitalization in Fort Lauderdale, and Mandarin Park in Jacksonville.
Situated in Key West’s historic Old Town District on the site of a former naval base, Truman Annex faced a number of design and usages issues in its development. In addition to the preservation of historic buildings, the property was built to include such diverse elements as private homes, condominiums, museums and office spaces.
Pritam Singh, owner and developer of Truman Annex, stated that his goal in building the project was to “blend seamlessly into the island community,” preserving every historic structure that could be successfully renovated, following traditional architectural styles in all new construction, and landscaping in the “island vein.”
Upon receipt of the award, Singh said, “we are truly honored to receive such a prestigious award. We feel that we have succeeded in bringing out the traditional style and architecture unique to Key West in our work, and therefore feel that this award is not only for the Truman Annex, but for the City of Key West as well.”
The attainment of this considerable goal was accomplished through the efforts of seven different companies: Landers-Atkins Planners, Inc., Planning/Urban Design; Grassi Design Group, Architects; David Plummer and Associates, Inc., Engineers; Elizabeth Newland, Landscape Architect; A. Quinton White Associates, Engineers; and Coastal Technology Corporation, Engineers.
Howard Landers of Landers-Atkins Planners submitted the application on behalf of the design group. Said Landers, “I felt that Truman Annex was an ideal candidate for the award. With the complexity of design and special difficulties we faced in completing the project, I feel that Truman Annex really stood out among the candidates. To me – it was a slam dunk!” Landers received the award on behalf of the group at a presentation ceremony in Jacksonville on Oct. 18.
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