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Photo courtesy Wendell Burnette Architects

Burton Barr Central Library / Photo © Bill Timmerman (top); Hotel San Carlos / Photo courtesy Wikipedia (bottom)

Burnette is the sole principal at his own firm and a design partner with I-10 Studio. He is also an assistant professor at the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at Arizona State University.

Best Historic Architecture
Burton Barr Central Library
Open for just 14 years, the Burton Barr Central Library is already a Phoenix landmark, and Burnette suggests visiting while in town for Greenbuild. Designed by Will Bruder with contributions from Burnette himself, the building features a five-story atrium known locally as the “Crystal Canyon” and a top-floor reading room that spans a full acre.

Best New Architecture
McDowell Sonoran Preserve Gateway Access Area
The recently completed Gateway Access Area to the McDowell Sonoran Preserve [designed by Weddle + Gilmore Architects] is the largest entry point to a popular hiking spot where Scottsdale meets the McDowell Mountains. It includes many desert-friendly sustainable components, such as solar power, rainwater harvesting, and earth walls constructed of native soil.

Best “Off-the-Beaten Path” Architecture
Deer Valley Rock Art Center
Will Bruder designed a visitor center—crafted from weathered steel and black rock embedded in concrete—to enclose the Hedgpeth Hills Petroglyph Site. The facility both protects and allows the public to visit a series of ancient Native-American wall drawings.

Best Galleries
Burnette recommends Bentley Projects in Downtown Phoenix, the Lisa Sette Gallery in Scottsdale, or the Antoine Predock-designed Nelson Fine Arts Center.

Best Hotel
Hotel San Carlos
A historic boutique hotel, the Hotel San Carlos has been in continuous operation since 1928.