LPA Takes Home Top Honors at the AIA Orange County Design Awards
Education, civic, workplace and commercial projects were recognized at the AIA Orange County’s annual design award gala.
LPA Design Studios took home six honors at the American Institute of Architects Orange County (AIA OC) Design Awards ceremony held on Sept. 29 at the LPA-designed Starr Atrium at Edwards Lifesciences.
The net-zero energy Frances Grice Cardinal Child Development Center collected two of the night’s top accolades, receiving an Honor Award and a prestigious Committee on the Environment (COTE) Honor Award celebrating design excellence in environmental stewardship. Pairing high-performance design with nature-based learning, the facility is also LEED Platinum–certified.
LPA was also recognized with a 25-Year Award for the innovative design of the Premier Automotive Group (PAG) headquarters, marking the firm’s seventh 25-Year Award from AIA OC, which honors buildings that have stood the test of time.
The all-electric, net-zero energy Fire Station 178 in Rancho Cucamonga, meanwhile, took home a COTE Merit Award; the campus modernization for Long Beach Polytechnic High School received a Commendation Award; and Goodman North American Headquarters received a Commendation Award for Commercial Interiors.
“These projects show how an integrated approach to design can deliver award-winning results for our clients,” said LPA President and Chief Design Officer Keith Hempel. “The common thread between them is our commitment to sustainability, community impact and, above all, collaboration, which is central to our process.”
Since 1971, LPA has received at least one design award from AIA OC each year, totalling 174. LPA’s Melody Tang presided over the event as AIA OC Chapter President, and LPA’s Nathan Dea, Design Award Committee Chair, served as the event’s Master of Ceremonies.
Frances Grice Cardinal Child Development Center
Honor Award and COTE Honor Award
In California’s San Bernardino Valley, the 15,300-square-foot Frances Grice Cardinal Child Development Center pairs high-performance design with nature-based learning. Serving students from diverse and low-income backgrounds, the Center demonstrates how learning environments can reflect and uplift their communities while encouraging a lifelong relationship with nature.
As AIA OC noted, “The jury found this to be a wonderfully exemplary project and appreciated that it was designed to be a discovery lab. Its exposed timber structure, visible rainwater management, abundant daylight and biophilic strategies with playful forms demonstrate how high-performance design can advance both environmental stewardship and equity.”
Premier Automotive Group
25-Year Award
In 2001, PAG’s headquarters was the first LEED NC–certified building in Orange County. Several innovative measures pushed the project to achieve this certification, including a 50,000-square-foot green roof, a raised-floor air distribution system and on-site fuel cells serving as an alternative energy source. Though the building is now leased to another company, it remains a standard for sustainable office design.
“Stretching across a dramatic site along the San Diego freeway, the design for the facility incorporates sustainable features as a part of an overall design aesthetic,” the jury reported. “The result of the sustainable design effort yielded a building that was 30% more efficient than a typical Title 24 building.”
Fire Station 178
COTE Merit Award
Rancho Cucamonga’s new all-electric, net-zero energy fire station — home to one of the first electric fire trucks in North America — is a case study in developing facilities that prioritize first responders’ health and safety. LPA’s integrated team delivered an efficient building with systems designed to provide continuous operation through power outages, natural disasters and other emergencies.
“This fire station pairs critical public-safety infrastructure with an ambitious approach to resilience,” the AIA OC jury said. “Durable design, expanded vegetation, thoughtful water management and the integration of an all electric fire apparatus demonstrate meaningful progress towards a healthier, lower-carbon model for essential civic facilities.”
Long Beach Polytechnic High School
Commendation Award
For more than a century, the Poly campus has been a beloved Long Beach landmark and a source of community pride. The main challenge for the campus renovation was to modernize the structures while honoring its legacy. With 245,000 square feet of new construction, 217,000 square feet of updated historic buildings and nearly 30 acres of outdoor site space improved, the campus is now equipped for another 100 years of educational excellence.
Per AIA OC, “The jury appreciated the idea of the historic spectrum as a way of categorizing and approaching where you would intervene on the site and how to elevate the cultural significance. From a design perspective, the project elevated the site's organization and flow. The community engagement and workshops helped to show the community had a voice and really helped shape some of these decisions.”
Goodman North American Headquarters
Commendation Award for Commercial Interiors
For the design of their new headquarters, the leaders of global real estate firm Goodman Group wanted the 10,000-square-foot space to represent their brand. LPA’s research team studied the staff’s work habits and preferences, and while the office was originally designed to accommodate 80% of the staff returning to the office, the fit-out had to be expanded soon after completion to accommodate the potential for 100% in-house participation.
“The jury liked that the architect worked with a behavioral psychologist to work with the users on what they need and attempted to redefine the office in the modern era,” the AIA OC jury noted. “There are three different kinds of workspace, so you can choose to sit in the zone that is going to best facilitate your productivity. Materials and form and volume help create these different moods within the space.”
