At these award-winning schools, inclusion meets sustainability

Educational environments influence more than academic outcomes. They also have the potential to foster belonging, enhance community cohesion, and demonstrate environmental stewardship. 

As students return to school around the country, we’re looking at how the 2026 AIA Education Facility Design Award winners show that inclusion and sustainability can reinforce one another as core tenets and outcomes of design excellence. Ranging from K–12 and higher education buildings to specialized learning environments, these eight projects feature thoughtful design choices that nurture the well-being of people and the environment.

1. California College of the Arts Campus Expansion, San Francisco

CCA’s campus expansion is a creative ecosystem that unifies more than two dozen art and design disciplines. The project team, led by Studio Gang and associate architect TEF Design, engaged with the school community through town halls and working sessions to understand how to bring many fine arts, design, and architecture programs together while still providing space for the specific equipment and pedagogical needs of each. The resulting split-level building expansion is planned around neighborhoods for each discipline paired with flexible community spaces, including Maker Yards that enable collaboration and enhance cross-disciplinary visibility.

The project features exposed mass timber pavilions with classrooms, galleries, and studios that reduce embodied carbon while creating warm, tactile learning environments. Exterior circulation strategies reduce conditioned space significantly, and the project meets net zero energy standards. The landscape design, led by Surface Design Inc. and comprised of 85% native species, creates new habitats for wildlife and restorative spaces for students, bringing together well-being strategies for both the environment and the school community. 

Learn more about the CCA expansion on its project page.

2. Contemplative Commons, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.

For UVA’s Contemplative Commons, wellness is a core design driver. Led by Aidlin Darling Design, along with VMDO Architects as the architect of record and Nelson Byrd Woltz as the landscape designer, the building provides space for collaborative learning, physical activity, and contemplative practices spanning a range of programs and disciplines. Every part of the interior is connected to gardens or courtyards, ensuring that all students, including those with diverse physical abilities and sensory needs, has access to nature.

Biophilic design supports both inclusion and sustainability throughout the project. A living bridge connects residence halls to the Academical Village, offering an accessible route that offers students convenience and additional opportunities to reflect. The building’s U shaped form offers an inviting  connection to the historic landscape and architecture of the UVA Grounds, and provide views, passive cooling, and a sense of refuge.

Learn more about the Contemplative Commons on its project page.

3. Environmental Education Building, Auburn, Ala.

Nestled in the forest at the Kreher Preserve & Nature Center, the Environmental Education building by Leers Weinzapfel Associates is a universally accessible learning environment for preschoolers and community members. A gentle walkway invites visitors of all ages and abilities into the building, and a learning trail connects classrooms and offices through a sensory-rich corridor framed in locally sourced mass timber.

Butterfly roofs with clerestory windows fill classrooms with daylight and views of the forest, reducing energy use while supporting emotional regulation. The mass timber structure and renewable materials cut down on embodied carbon, and operable windows, passive cooling strategies, and point-supported CLT roof panels demonstrate how environmental performance can be visible and understandable for young learners.  

Learn more about the Environmental Education Building on its project page.

4. Evergreen Charter School, Hempstead, N.Y.

Located in an underserved Long Island community, Evergreen Charter School embodies the belief that every child deserves a healthy, inspiring learning environment. The mass timber structure, designed by Martin Hopp Architect PLLC, exudes warmth and dignity, and the building program is conceived to support the school’s goals for growth.  

The project’s sustainability strategies are ambitious and community-centered. The hybrid mass timber frame reduces embodied carbon by 37%, solar panels supply 44% of operational energy, and green infrastructure captures and filters stormwater. 

The architecture is intended to be part of a living curriculum that connects wellness, sustainability, and community through elements such as educational murals, gardens, and open-source environmental quality data. Evergreen demonstrates how environmental stewardship can be made accessible and how inclusive design can be a catalyst for community transformation.

Learn more about the school on its project page.

5. Rosa O. Valdes STEM + Innovation Center at Greenhill School, Addison, Texas

Designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, the Rosa O. Valedes STEM + Innovation Center at Greenhill School bring together collaborative learning and sustainability strategies. A central courtyard lets daylight pour into classrooms and gathering areas, and flexible project rooms open directly to the commons, encouraging connections across grade levels and learning styles. Materials including brick and mass timber create a familiar, welcoming environment rooted in the Addison and Greenhill community.  

Sustainability is visible and educational throughout the building. Rain chains channel stormwater into swales and a restored cistern for reuse, offering students first-hand exposure to water cycles. Clerestory windows and operable windows throughout all levels optimize daylight and natural ventilation, promoting passive cooling and comfort for students and teachers. The project’s diverse learning spaces, including an outdoor maker space called Foundry Plaza, amplify the school’s intention to enhance student engagement with the outdoors.

Learn more about the center on its project page.

6. Lindsay Boathouse, Toronto

Lindsay Boathouse at Upper Canada College expands access to rowing by creating a accessible facility on Toronto’s waterfront. With design led by VJAA Inc. and the work of architect of record RDHA Inc., the project supports community participation in a sport that is often seen as exclusive while providing needed resources for UCC’s award-winning K-12 rowing program. A flexible training room doubles as a community space for exhibitions and events, and the site is part of a larger plan to make Toronto’s urban waterfront more publicly accessible.

Environmental sensitivity strategies protect plants and wildlife along the delicate waterfront site. The high-performance design features cross-laminated timber wall panels that reduce carbon and eliminate the need for interior finishes, large operable windows that enable the structures to operate without major mechanical systems, and green roofs that manage stormwater. The boathouse shows how inclusive recreation and ecological stewardship can coexist in an urban ecological site.

Learn more about Lindsay Boathouse on its project page.

7. Lower School Campus of Westmark School, Encino, Calif.

Intended to support students with language-based learning differences, Westmark School’s new Lower Campus unifies inclusive and biophilic principles. Classrooms wrap around a sensory-friendly courtyard anchored by a grand sycamore tree, offering various settings such as paths and nooks for respite, connection, and movement. The project, designed by NBBJ, gives students opportunities to choose environments that support emotional regulation and comfort. Throughout design and development, community members were invited to engage in visioning and help the project take shape.

The campus is designed to be net-zero and features sustainability and resilience strategies that will enable it to weather harsh Southern California climatic conditions. Native, drought tolerant landscape design save water and increase biodiversity. Mass timber panels that sequester carbon were prefabricated to reduce construction waste, and there is flexibility in the design to add additional high-performance features over time, including solar panels. Environmental stewardship and neurodiversity centered design work in tandem to create a restorative and adaptive learning environment.

Learn more about the campus on its project page.

8. University of Houston RAD Center, Houston

Designed by Perkins&Will, the University of Houston’s Retail, Auxiliary, and Dining Center replaces a flood-prone dining hall with a new facility built atop existing foundations. The RAD Center features large, flexible spaces for everyday use and special events as well as smaller, more private spaces where students can meet with friends, study, and eat. Daylit dining areas, sheltered outdoor patios, and accessible green spaces support student well-being and social connection, and healthy food options and natural views reinforce community wellness.

Building a mass timber frame on top existing foundations enabled the team to reduce waste and embodied carbon significantly. The project achieves a 35% reduction in global warming potential and meets AIA 2030 guidance, demonstrating how mass timber can be an elegant yet sustainable material choice. 

Learn more about the RAD Center here.

A Better Future for Learning Environments

Schools across the country are continuing to navigate climate pressures, complex budgetary and policy demands, and growing needs for student well-being. These eight projects reflect the value of learning environments that are resilient and rooted in the everyday experiences of their students and educators.

Submissions for the 2027 Education Facility Design Award are open now! Submit your project through the application page by November 3, 2026.

Kathleen M. O’Donnell is a freelance writer, editor, and communications strategist based in Washington, D.C. She is committed to telling stories that provide useful insights to architects and designers and highlight the impact of their work.