The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has recognized LPA Design Studios with the AIA 2025 Architecture Firm Award, the highest national award the AIA bestows on an architecture practice.

Only one firm is recognized each year. One firm that demonstrates outstanding work and exceptional achievement year after year. One firm that that is reshaping the industry and changing the future.

LPA was honored for developing a culture of shared responsibility focused on tackling the most challenging issues of our times. The firm has proven that integrated teams working side-by-side with clients and communities can achieve unprecedented results. The AIA jury called LPA “a trailblazer in sustainable, high-performance architecture… [that] continues to set the standard for the architecture profession.”

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THIS IS LPA

SUSTAINABILITY

From humble beginnings, we grew as a multidisciplinary design collective, united by a shared responsibility to drive down carbon emissions on every project, every budget, and every scale.

We lead with climate responsibility to make a difference.

Early on, we decided as a firm to stake a claim that sustainable design is good design, and we set out to prove to our clients that a high-performance project doesn’t have to cost more. In ten years, we’ve shown that any firm, of any size, with any project mix, can make massive progress on carbon emissions.

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AIA Firm Award 2025 Project Data EUI 2030 UPDATED

“By demonstrating that high-performance, carbon-neutral buildings are achievable for every client, budget, and scale, LPA Design Studios continues to set the standard for the architecture profession.”

american institute of architects (AIA)

TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCE

To shape high-performance projects that people will fight to preserve, they need to provide transformative experiences. These are places where people feel they belong; that spark pride and affection; that become part of the fabric of their communities.

EQUITABLE COMMUNITIES

Community perspective is essential. That’s why we’ve developed engagement processes based in research—so we can meet the right challenges with the right solutions, making communities more resilient and sustainable.

CONTEXTUAL RESPONSE

Climate change demands creativity and persistence in adapting to new conditions and improving our relationship with nature and the built environment. This looks different in every region and every climate zone.

SUSTAINABILITY AT SCALE

We design for sustainability on every project, regardless of budget or scale. Each scale requires a different approach, while measuring performance, quantifying value and leaning on the expertise of an integrated team.

“I hope LPA keeps dragging the rest of the industry along with them.”

ed mazria faia founder, Architecture 2030

HOW WE WORK

We embrace integrated teams to achieve our goals.

Significant carbon reduction demands the attention of every discipline, working as a team. The partnership among disciplines shapes everything we do.

Informed design grounds our work and maximizes impact.

Informed design—our research-driven approach— turns our passion for sustainability into value for clients. Understanding the impact of design decisions allows us to merge carbon emissions targets with the project goals. It’s the recipe for high performance.

We use applied research to understand the impact of our work and push further.

Informed design is only possible when research is embedded throughout the process. In our drive for continuous improvement, teams persistently push for data to validate performance decisions.

Our shared culture makes it possible.

What we’re striving for isn’t easy. Who we are. How we work together. How we grow to better serve our clients and communities. That’s how we find success.

“LPA’s willingness to share their results and best practices is pushing us all to up our game.”

ted hyman faia founder, managing partner at zgf

OUR PEOPLE

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OUR COMMITMENT TO THE PROFESSION


Growing Together: 
Everyone counts.

We are fierce and fluent advocates for sustainable design, ready to share authorship and work together for a higher purpose. Our challenge is to produce results at scale, and to build a culture where every individual on every team sees the vision and has the skills and motivation to achieve it.

Shaping the Profession: There is always a way.

Changing an industry involves the whole industry. We advocate for integrated, informed design, not to win work but to spread a model of architectural practice that is critically important for our shared future.

Making an Impact:
We don’t do this alone.

Community is the source and endpoint in the circular economy of our impact. Whether in schools, college campuses or neighborhoods, our work both depends on and reaches out to the communities we serve.

"A shining example of the impact we can make on the world."

Elizabeth carmichael, president, sdgbc board of directors

No Excuses

No Excuses: Integrated Design for a Sustainable Future

Explore the evolution of LPA Design Studios’ culture and informed design process, recognized with the AIA 2025 Architecture Firm Award. Project studies provide vivid evidence that a collaborative, inclusive, research-driven design process can produce better results. “No Excuses” is an essential study of the power of connecting design excellence and performance.

Everything Counts. There is always a way. We don’t do this alone.

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