The Silverock Cove "Thunderhouse" took home the only Honor Award at this year's AIA Awards

Silverock Cove’s architecture firm Dungan Nequette had a great night at the AIA Awards on Thursday, June 16th. The firm was recognized for their commercial and residential work, winning four Merit Awards. But the AIA recognized their work on the Silverock Cove poolhouse, or “Thunderhouse,” with the night’s only Honor Award.

The poolhouse is the centerpiece of the first phase of Silverock, anchoring the surrounding homes on the point. It is a paradox of form–a thoroughly modern design constructed primarily with old wood from a demolished barn in Wisconsin. Designed to blend into the landscape, the large glass panes provide an uninterrupted view of the wooded setting. A notable feature of the poolhouse are the panes of corrugated plastic that are built into the exterior. At night, the light from inside illuminates the opaque plastic, giving the illusion that the poolhouse is “a lantern on the water.”

Dungan Nequette also won Merit Awards for 2 commercial projects on Lake Martin and residential projects in Birmingham and Auburn. You can read about this year’s AIA Awards here.

The firm has worked on projects from Nova Scotia to the Bahamas, and Silverock Cove is one of the many outstanding places that they have designed. You can see more of their work on their website here.

In 2008, wakeboarding national champion Greg Hodgin organized the first “Wake the World” wakeboarding event to provide a special day on the lake for local childrens’ homes in his home state of North Carolina. Since then, the event has expanded to Texas, Tennessee and Southern California.

On Monday, June 28th, Greg will be at Silverock Cove to teach kids from Big Oak Ranch how to get up on a wakeboard or a pair of skis. The group will be on the lake for most of the day, with swimming and team-building exercises as part of the event.

“When I heard about how successful the event had been in North Carolina and Texas, I thought it would be worthwhile to bring to Smith Lake,” says Heath Patton, who is helping to organize the event. Heath attended last year’s event in North Carolina to learn about how the event is organized and to give the kids the best possible experience on the water.

Many thanks to the volunteers who will be donating their time and use of their boat. More than 50 kids from Big Oak will be able to participate this year.

If you are interested in donating to Wake the World Alabama, Heath is currently taking donations through Riverchase United Methodist Church, just notate the check for Wake the World on the memo line.

The Black Warrior River is a vital waterway for central Alabama.

Silverock Cove is once again proud to sponsor the Save the Black Warrior campaign. More than 40 participating bars and restaurants across Birmingham and Tuscaloosa will be selling paper fish for $1, $5 and $10 to display in their bars and help raise awareness for the work done by Black Warrior Riverkeeper. This is the fourth year that the Sweetwater Brewery has been involved in promoting Save the Black Warrior, and they’ve helped raised more than $30,000 to date. This year’s campaing runs through July 10th.

To see a list of participating bars, please visit savetheblackwarrior.com. The website also features a contest to win an Arc’teryx jacket from Mountain High Outfitters, a co-sponsor of the promotion.

The Black Warrior was recently named one of America’s “most endangered rivers” by American Rivers. Black Warrior Riverkeeper is actively involved in raising public awareness about potentially harmful coal mining activity in the area and how it affects the drinking water for hundreds of thousands of Alabamians.

So next time you’re at your favorite bar, be sure to raise a Sweetwater and support the work of Black Warrior Riverkeeper.

For more info on the cleanup, click the photo.

The Winston County Smith Lake Advocacy is planning a cleanup from Duncan Bridge North to the Headwaters of the Sipsey on Friday, June 17th and Saturday, June 18th. The cleanup is scheduled for 8 A.M. to 4 P.M. and volunteers can register and pick up trash bags at three locations: Lakeshore Marina, Old Yellow Creek Marina and Clear Creek Recreation Area.

Volunteers are also needed to work on boats for the cleanup day. No white styrofoam or boathouse platforms will be accepted, and no trash will be accepted unless from the sloughs on Smith Lake.

For more information, please contact Linda at 205-387-9999 or LaVerne at 256-747-4422. You can become a member of the Winston County Smith Lake Advocacy for $10 by mailing a check to Winston County Smith Lake Advocacy Inc, PO Box 435, Arley AL 35541.

The mission of the Advocacy is to preserve and protect the environmental quality of Lewis Smith Lake and its tributaries through education of the public and the promotion and implementation of sound environmental practices.

Thanks for helping keep Smith Lake clean!