In this case, the latter applies.

A screened porch designed by Lincoln Street Studio for a family on the Northwest Side took home the only Honor Award in the 30th annual recognition program of the American Institute of Architects' Columbus chapter. Five Merit Awards also were presented among the 40 entries last night during a ceremony at Ohio State University's Knowlton School of Architecture.

The lead juror for the awards was Marlon Blackwell, an architect from Fayetteville, Ark. He was assisted by Steve Dumez, a partner with Eskew & Dumez & Ripple of New Orleans, and Coleman Coker, principal of buildingstudio in Memphis.

The materials of the winning porch design are unusual. They include stained concrete for the floor; ground face masonry for the thick walls; and ipe, a Brazilian hardwood. One of the key design features is a double-sided fireplace that faces out as well as in.

Jurors described Lincoln Street's design as "a jewel - finely crafted and exquisitely detailed."

"This small project contains a large amount of architecture that has an appropriate sense of scale and understated expressiveness," they said.

Like the Honor Award winner, the five Merit Award projects are located in central Ohio. They are:

• Acock Associates Architects, for Head Inc.'s corporate headquarters, 4477 E. 5 th Ave. The project incorporates exposed steel-tube trusses, concrete flooring and light-emitting diode fixtures to draw from the airfield-paving company’s heritage. Jurors called it "a well-conceived project that provides for strong relationships between the building form and its site."

• Acock Associates Architects, for the Loann Crane Center for Design at the Columbus College of Art & Design. The 51,000-square-foot student center at CCAD was constructed like a contemporary warehouse, which jurors said gave it "a provocative identity and role within the university campus."

• DesignGroup, for a parking garage at OSU Medical Center. The 974-space garage had to be squeezed into a narrow site at the new Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital. Most of the building is covered with composite metal panels and glass windows that complement the hospital, which jurors said "provides the facade with a dynamic character."

• NBBJ, for Columbus Children's Research Institute's Building II. This addition to the Wexner Research Institute was completed in 2003. The highlight is its internal layout, which houses two types of research space, an animal lab and a new lobby. "The thoughtful planning of the interface between the laboratories and the perimeter circulation provide the design with a simultaneous sense of restraint and openness," jurors said.

• Richard Buchsieb Architect, for design of Twist 27, a clothing boutique at 1285 Grandview Ave. This funky store combines maple hardwood flooring, steelpipe columns and original wall finishes from the 1920s with gypsum-board shelves, ivory acrylic panels and rosewood cabinets. "The end result is a refined interior with welldesigned display elements, a smart material palette and a consistent architectural vocabulary," jurors said.

mpramik@dispatch.com