AIA Names 2021 Education Facility Design Award Winners

Today, The American Institute of Architects Committee on Architecture for Education revealed the winners of its 2021 Education Facility Design Award, naming 11 exemplary “state-of-the-art designs of schools and learning centers.” This year, five projects of “superior quality” received an award of merit, while six projects received an award of excellence, which recognizes designs that meet “a host of criteria, including enhancing learning in classrooms; balancing function with aesthetics; establishing a connection with the environment; being respectful of the surrounding community; demonstrating high-level planning in the design process; and integrating sustainability in a holistic fashion,” according to an AIA press release.

The jury for the 2021 Education Facility Design Award comprised chair Olivia Graf Doyle, Assoc. AIA, Architecture for Education in Los Angeles; Angela Freeman, Reynolds School District in Portland, Ore.; Eve Klein, Assoc. AIA, Pratt Institute in New York; and Matthew Ryan Lowe, DLA Architects in Itasca, Ill.

Awards of Excellence

Belmont Day School Barn in Boston, designed by Utile

Bluestone Elementary School in Harrisonburg, Va., designed by VMDO Architects

Environmental Nature Center Preschool in Newport Beach, Calif., designed by LPA

Home Building at Thaden School in Bentonville, Ark., designed by EskewDumezRipple in collaboration with Marlon Blackwell Architects

Lafayette College Rockwell Integrated Sciences Center in Easton, Pa., designed by Payette

The Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact at University of Oregon in Eugene, Ore., designed by Ennead Architects with Bora Architecture & Interiors