2018 Education Facility Design Awards
The year's best school and college facilities, presented by the AIA's Committee on Architecture for Education
University of Iowa Voxman Music Building
Education continues to evolve, and the projects from this year’s Education Facility Design Awards program—presented by the AIA and the Committee on Architecture for Education—represent the state-of-the-art learning environments being developed in today's learning spaces. These projects showcase innovation across the entire learning continuum, displaying how architects are creating cutting-edge spaces that enhance modern pedagogy.
From early childhood facilities to higher education and throughout the learning continuum, architecture can be used to inspire learners, educators, administrators, and campus communities alike. This year’s eight Awards of Excellence and two Awards of Merit were vibrant examples of contemporary educational architecture.
Chatham University Eden Hall Campus
The campus engages mindful living with increased awareness of resources and living systems, and is intentionally designed to support hands-on research and testing.
Haverford College Visual Culture, Arts, and Media (VCAM) Building
Haverford College’s new Visual Culture, Arts, and Media (VCAM) facility provides students, faculty, staff, and the wider community with a new, highly flexible, 24/7 creative hub of intersecting spaces designed for interpreting and making visual media.
Kawartha Trades and Technology Centre
The 87,000-sf Kawartha Trades and Technology Centre brings together theoretical teaching and applied learning in a dynamic, new environment that emphasizes program visibility, technology, collaborative learning and the simulation of real-world conditions.
Memphis Teacher Residency
Memphis Teacher Residency, a faith-based non-profit, required a new space for recruitment, training, and supporting teachers through an urban teacher residency graduate program.
Pagliuca Harvard Life Lab
The Pagliuca Harvard Life Lab is the newest addition to Harvard University’s Innovation Labs ecosystem, supporting Harvard students and alumni in their quest to create ventures that improve the world.
The Frick Environmental Center
The Frick Environmental Center, the first free and open-to-the-public Living Building Challenge-targeted project, provides students and learners of all ages with a state-of-the-art center dedicated to environmental education.
Tsinghua Ocean Center
Ocean Center is a laboratory and office building designed for the deep ocean research base of the University.
University of Iowa Voxman Music Building
With its new home located in downtown Iowa City, the 107-year old program is being reinvigorated by the exchange of academic and urban life—sharing musical discovery with the public, catalyzing an arts district, and bringing a civic presence to the School of Music.
Arlington Elementary School
A simultaneous and generative collaboration between the design of learning programs and the building design was used to move the needle away from traditional cells and bells.
Ballet Memphis
Ballet Memphis’ new, civic-oriented facility is an extension of their mission, performing a joyful message about culture and arts.
Image credits
Tim Griffith