The two neighborhood revitalization projects, both in South Providence, are among eight winners nationwide of the John M. Clancy Award for Socially Responsible Housing.

The awards, named after a notable urban architect, were also given to the Rollins Square project, in Boston, and to developments in Chicago; Oakland, Escondido and San Jose, Calif.; and Seattle.

The Clancy award, given for the first time this year, was established as a biannual program to "recognize and honor the decades of creative commitment John Clancy FAIA [a fellow of the American Institute of Architects] brought to the planning, design and construction of multifamily housing for the diverse populations of our nation at all income levels," according to a statement from the architectural society.

The award winners were chosen from a crop of 56 nominees in 20 states. Many of the projects nominated were for affordable-housing and were financed, in part, by low-income tax credits, according to the sponsoring organization.

In addition to assessing the nominees' architectural quality, the judges also considered the projects' resource constraints, difficulty, sustainability, site challenges and community benefits.

The Adelaide Avenue project was designed by Durkee, Brown, Viveiros & Werenfels Architects; it was sponsored by Greater Elmwood Neighborhood Services, in conjunction with the Providence Preservation Revolving Fund, Nationwide Construction and Clarke Schoettle.

Completed in October 2004, the .8-million project transformed 10 dilapidated Victorian houses into 42 lead-safe apartments.

City officials heralded the project as a prime example of what can come of collaborative efforts that work to revitalize urban neighborhoods, while providing needed housing.

The Friendship-Pine/Providence-Tanner Block Revitalization was also designed by Durkee, Brown, Viveiros & Werenfels Architects, and was developed by Stop Wasting Abandoned Property, or SWAP Inc.

The long-term project was launched nine years ago, with the initial aim of transforming a city block of 6 abandoned houses and 17 vacant lots into 11 buildings with at least 27 affordable-housing units .

Since then, several multifamily homes have been renovated and sold, for owner-occupancy, to low-income homeowners.

John M. Clancy, for whom the new responsible-housing award is named, was a cofounder of the Boston architectural firm Goody Clancy.

Clancy was committed to designing projects that would "enhance the lives of ordinary citizens," and made significant contributions in the areas of housing, education and historic preservation, and the concept of environmentally sensitive buildings, according to the Boston Society of Architects.