For the 48th consecutive year, innovative LPA projects honored for design excellence.
LPA received multiple honors at the recent American Institute of Architects’ Orange County Chapter Design Awards, including two prestigious Committee on the Environment (COTE) awards and the 25-Year Award for the “timeless” design of a Southern California middle school.
“These award-winning projects represent different teams, locations and building types,” said LPA President and Chief Design Officer Keith Hempel. “What unites them is a better process that, as our peers have recognized year-after-year, really does achieve better results.”
Two of the five projects, a Texas library and an Orange County residence, received COTE Awards, reserved for projects that embody excellence in sustainable design. The multi-generational house, AB 68, was the first residential project ever to win the award. Mendez Fundamental Intermediate School, a public school designed by LPA in 1999, received the 25-Year Award, which honors buildings that have “stood the test of time” and continue to serve as a “standards of excellence for architectural design and significance.”
This is LPA’s 48th year in a row receiving at least one design award from AIAOC. The firm has won a remarkable 164 awards from the chapter since 1971, including six 25-Year Awards.
Wimberly Village Library
Honor Award and COTE Award
Located in drought-prone Texas Hill Country, Wimberley Village Library is the first library in the state to employ a new water conservation program called One Water. Everything about the building, from its position on site to the shape of its roof, is deeply connected to the region’s water resources and landscape. A network of cisterns collects water from the roof for reuse. Native, drought-tolerant plants and bioretention basins filter 100% of rainwater. The building was designed and sited to preserve 103 live oak and elm trees, which provide shade throughout the site.
The net-zero energy private residence of LPA President Emeritus Dan Heinfeld was honored for demonstrating what is possible under AB 68, the California bill that authorized homeowners to build Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). The design integrates independent residences into a cohesive multi-generational home, including the 2,480 square-foot main residence, a 1,200 square-foot ADU and a 520 square-foot library. The first ADU development in Newport Beach built under the new legislation can be easily reconfigured into three distinct units of multi-family housing. The sustainable building features an efficient envelope, smart window orientation, shading, natural ventilation, daylighting, electric MEP equipment and a photovoltaic system sized to eliminate fossil fuel use.
The 1,300 student, 102,000-square-foot middle school completed in 1999, has “stood the test of time.” The project’s modern response to educational design for the Santa Ana Unified School District is largely unchanged from the original design. The project won both a AIA California and AIAOC award at its time of completion for an innovative design that addresses the difficult issue of site acquisition in dense urban areas. Nicknamed “Spacesaver,” the school was the first to use a novel state program that leveraged joint-use partnerships to avoid the costly and unpopular practice of displacing neighborhood residents when a new campus is established.
College of the Desert Library
Honor Award and Special Commendation for Historic Preservation
A historic mid-century library was transformed from a “house for books” into the heart of knowledge sharing on this Community College campus. The redesign opens the original concrete building’s heavy exterior to maximize daylight and create an inviting focal point at the campus core. Guided by input from students and faculty, designers reimagined the interior to provide spaces for study and reading, instruction, technology access and tutoring. Supporting the college’s goal of becoming “a model sustainable campus,” the green retrofit cut the library’s energy use by 77%, added shade trees to 25% of the site, replaced turf with drought-tolerant landscaping and married the site with the campus’ stormwater management system.
Inspired by movement, fitness and healthy living, SBCC’s new physical education complex cascades down a prominent slope, connecting two sides of the campus while maximizing daylight and framing ocean views. A universally accessible circulation spine connects different levels, orients students and creates a billboard for health and fitness activities. The super-efficient building with solar panels on the roof uses 86% less fossil fuel than a typical building, meeting the AIA 2030 Commitment target. Deep overhangs and sunshades protect the interiors from heat while tubular skylights bring daylight deep inside the building. Ceiling fans, exterior circulation, mixed-mode ventilation and operable partitions leverage prevailing breezes and further reduce the need for air conditioning.
