An award from the American Institute of Architects represents one of the profession’s highest honors, celebrating a project that advances design excellence and shapes the future of the built environment.
This year, we’re proud to have two projects recognized at the national level—Franklin Antonio Hall and The Rad Center. Congratulations to our teams, clients, and partners who helped bring these award-winning projects to life.
Here’s a look at each:
University of California San Diego, Franklin Antonio Hall — Architecture Award
La Jolla, California
Designed to foster collaboration, innovation, and discovery, Franklin Antonio Hall supports the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering by housing thirteen large research facilities known as “collaboratories.” The building breaks down traditional barriers between disciplines, bringing together researchers, faculty, and students to address some of society’s most pressing challenges, including renewable energy technologies, smart cities and transportation systems, wearable and robotics innovations, and precision medicine.
The building supports innovation at every scale. Boardrooms and demo studios provide spaces for startup creation and entrepreneurship, while student project areas showcase experiential learning and make research visible to the broader campus community. At its heart is the Learning and Innovation Studio, a 275-seat auditorium designed as a living laboratory for developing and testing the future of teaching and learning. The building also advances a new model of hybrid distance learning, enabling rich, dynamic interactions between instructors and students regardless of location.
Ryan Bussard, Design Director, Seattle
University of Houston, The RAD Center— Education Facility Design Award
Houston, Texas
The RAD (Retail, Auxiliary, and Dining) Center reimagines student dining as a destination for wellness, connection, and campus life. Built on the site of a flood-prone underground dining facility damaged during Hurricane Harvey, the project transforms a once-vulnerable location into a resilient, welcoming hub that brings together healthy food options, social engagement, public art, and a strong connection to nature. A variety of seating environments—from sheltered outdoor patios to individual study nooks and daylit communal spaces—support a range of student experiences throughout the day.
The project also advances the university’s sustainability and resilience goals as the first mass timber building on campus. By leveraging the lightweight properties of mass timber, our design team was able to reuse the existing facility’s foundations, columns, and beams while creating a new multi-story building within the original footprint. Combined with daylighting, energy-efficient systems, and durable materials, the project achieved a 39% reduction in Global Warming Potential and a 74% reduction in Energy Use Intensity compared to industry benchmarks.
Ron Stelmarski, Design Director, Dallas
